Date: Friday, 7th November 2025

Time: 11h00 – 12h00

Venue: The Orbital, Room 3-1, Chemistry Building

Enquiries: Prof. HW Langmi ([email protected])

Porous Materials Driving Environmental Sustainability: Zeolites to MOFs for Air, Water, and Soil Remediation

Abstract

Porous materials have emerged as key enablers of sustainable environmental technologies by combining tunable chemistry, hierarchical porosity, and surface functionality. This seminar highlights advances from natural and engineered zeolites to metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) developed in our laboratories for air, water, and soil remediation. In air quality applications, we integrate MOF-based coatings into solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and passive samplers for the selective capture and quantification of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs/SVOCs). For water treatment, our porous materials including MOFs, modified natural zeolite, and zeolitized fly ash systems valorize industrial by-products into high-performance sorbents for heavy metals, nutrients, and emerging contaminants. Extending to soil systems, we explore zeolite- and biochar-modified composts as slow-release nutrient reservoirs, enhancing soil fertility while reducing nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emissions. Together, these efforts demonstrate a circular and integrated approach, transforming waste into functional materials and bridging the gap between laboratory research and scalable environmental solutions.

Biography

Professor Dr. Hossein Kazemian is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Science Program (GEES) at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and Director of Northern Analytical Lab Services (NALS), Northern BC’s Environment and Climate Solutions Hub. His research focuses on porous materials, natural and synthetic zeolites, MOFs/ZIFs, and MOF-polymer hybrids, for environmental monitoring, sensing, and remediation. He has led multi-partner projects that bridge fundamental materials chemistry to applied solutions for air and water quality. Hossein is passionate about turning science into societal benefit and helping international early career researchers and students chart resilient, impact-oriented careers. Dr.
Kazemian is on a year-long 2025 sabbatical, delivering invited talks and building collaborations across North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. His South Africa visit (University of Pretoria, University of Venda, and the University of Johannesburg) is the final leg of this sabbatical, where he will share recent results and explore new partnerships.

Learn more
• Lab website (NALS): https://nals.unbc.ca ;
• MATTER Research Team homepage: https://matter.unbc.ca
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hosseinkazemian
• Google scholar:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?sortby=pubdate&hl=en&user=m0_aWlQA
AAAJ&view_op=list_works\