Design Criteria for Next Generation Bio and Synthetic Nanomaterials in Hydrogen Production

Dr. Christopher Chukwuati is a distinguished researcher in environmental chemistry. He specializes in designing and developing advanced nanostructured materials for various environmental and energy-related applications, including photocatalysis and water treatment. He has authored and co-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. His publications are increasingly cited by fellow researchers, underscoring his growing influence and relevance in academic and applied research communities. In 2025, he authored a manuscript with the Journal of Water Processing Engineering. He co-authored a review manuscript with the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. He awaits the final decision on some of his revised manuscripts. Additionally, Dr. Chukwuati is actively engaged in collaborative projects with Hydrox, a hydrogen generation company in South Africa, and continues to explore interdisciplinary solutions to pressing environmental challenges like photoelectrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation.Dr. Kingsley Ukoba is a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He obtained a doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, graduating among the top 15 researchers. He coordinates the smart energy group for JENANO, headed by Professor Tien-Chien Jen. He oversees a group of doctoral students, master's, and undergraduate students of the South Africa Research (SARCHI) of Green Hydrogen. He has won individual and group grants, awards, and fellowships. Recent among them is the 1-million-South-African-Rands SASOL/NRF Collaborative Research grant for water treatment using Atomic Layer deposition in 2021. He is among the authors of the African Integrated Assessment report, a joint publication by the United Nations Environment Programme, the African Union Commission, CCAC, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). He is also a 2022 Engineering for Change (E4C) fellow, sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), to support an impact project focused on Climate Action. He has authored four books, book chapters, and over 70 journal articles, presented at conferences, and serves as a reviewer for high-impact journals and conferences. He is an academic and career mentor to students.Prof. Tien-Chien Jen is a B1 NRF-rated scholar with a Scopus h-index of 44 and over 8,400 citations, and a Google Scholar h-index of 54 and over 12,500 citations, highlighting his standing as a researcher known for his substantial contributions. He has also published in high-impact journals, including Chemical Reviews. Prof. Jen is the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and is the SARChI Chair for Green Hydrogen in South Africa. Prof. Jen exemplifies sustained research excellence and prolific productivity through his leadership of multiple high-impact research centers at UJ, including the ALD and Manufacturing Research Centers. His research portfolio, which encompasses atomic layer deposition, nanofabrication, renewable energy systems, and advanced thermal analysis and manufacturing, has yielded over 700 peer-reviewed publications, including 400 journal articles and 10 books. His success is further reinforced by substantial international grants, NRF-backed investments in advanced laboratory infrastructure, and the establishment of a Joint Research Centre with Nanjing Tech University, all of which have catalysed a dynamic, collaborative research ecosystem. Prof. Jen's status as an ASME Fellow and Academician of ASSAf underscores the global and national impact of his contributions, confirming his capacity to produce consistently high volumes of influential scholarship.

• Introduction to Hydrogen as an Energy Vector.- Advanced Water Electrolysis Technologies.- 3D Printing in Hydrogen Production Techniques.- Conversion of Waste as Feedstock for Hydrogen Generation.- Advanced Methods in Waste-to-Hydrogen.- Challenges and Limitations in Utilizing Waste as Feedstock for Hydrogen Production.- Advanced Biosynthesized Nanomaterials for Hydrogen Production: Mechanisms, Materials, and Applications.- Synergistic Integration of Biosynthesized and Synthetic Nanomaterials for Enhanced Hydrogen Generation.- Sources and Alternative Material Inputs for Biosynthesized and Synthetic Nanomaterials in Hydrogen Generation.- Technical Design Criteria for Next-Generation Biosynthesized and Synthetic Nanomaterials in Hydrogen Generation.