Dr Mahsa Masoudi
Pronouns: She/Her
About
Biography
Mahsa is a Research Fellow in the School of Engineering at the University of Surrey, investigating catalytic and mechanochemical approaches for the chemical depolymerisation and upcycling of polymer waste.
She obtained her PhD in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of Surrey in 2026, focusing on the design and application of efficient catalytic materials for energy storage and reversible CO₂ conversion in rechargeable lithium–carbon dioxide (Li–CO₂) batteries. Her doctoral research developed expertise in catalysis, electrochemistry, and materials chemistry, which she now applies to sustainable chemical recycling.
Her technical expertise encompasses catalyst synthesis and characterisation, electrochemical techniques, mechanochemical processing, polymer degradation, and a range of analytical methods. Her research interests lie in applying catalysis and materials science to challenges in sustainable energy and chemical recycling.
Areas of Specialism
- Catalysis, Mechanochemistry, and Plastic Depolymerisation: Advanced recycling of PP, PET, and PVC; catalyst development and reaction optimisation.
- Product Analysis: GC, MS, HPLC, NMR, and TGA.
- Catalysis and Energy Storage: Development of catalytic materials for electrochemical energy-storage devices, including batteries and full cells.
- Materials Characterisation: XRD, XPS, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, EDS, and BET.
- Electrochemical Analysis: Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements.
My qualifications
Affiliations and memberships
ResearchResearch interests
Research interests lie in the area of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Devices:
- Bioelectrochemical Systems: Microbial Fuel Cells
- Lithium Batteries: Li-CO2 Batteries
- Wastewater Treatment using Microbial Fuel Cells
- Catalysis: Design and development of catalysts to facilitate redox reactions in Fuel Cells and Batteries.
Research interests
Research interests lie in the area of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Devices:
- Bioelectrochemical Systems: Microbial Fuel Cells
- Lithium Batteries: Li-CO2 Batteries
- Wastewater Treatment using Microbial Fuel Cells
- Catalysis: Design and development of catalysts to facilitate redox reactions in Fuel Cells and Batteries.
Publications
Highlights
- M. Masoudi, M. Rahimnejad, M. Mashkour, “Providing a new configuration of aircathode single chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) with maximum usability of surface area and volume of the MFC chamber to treat wastewater and produce electricity simultaneously,” Iran Patent 102660 (A61K;A61B), Oct. 2021.
The development of efficient earth-abundant catalysts through scalable synthesis routes remains a critical challenge for advancing rechargeable lithium-CO2 (Li‒CO2) batteries. Herein, a facile synthesis strategy was developed by directly introducing Fe atoms into phosphomolybdic acid (PMA), followed by calcination at temperatures between 300 and 600 °C to optimize catalyst structure and performance. This approach produced two distinct catalyst families: Fe phosphomolybdate (FePMA), which preserves the Keggin ion structure, and FeMoO, a molybdenum trioxide-iron phosphate (MoO3/FePOx) composite formed at higher temperatures. Benefiting from abundant redox-active centers, the FeMoO-500 catalyst exhibited a high discharge capacity of 26,110 mAh g−1, with a coulombic efficiency of 93% and high stability of 92 cycles at a current density of 50 mA g−1. It also effectively facilitated the CO2 reduction/evolution reactions, displaying a very low overpotential of 0.8 V. Meanwhile, FePMA-300 also demonstrated good catalytic activity, achieving a high discharge capacity of 20,300 mAh g−1 and an overpotential of 0.9 V, thanks to its intact Keggin structure that hosts a rich network of Fe and Mo redox sites. This study introduces FePMA and FeMoO as cathode catalysts in Li‒CO2 batteries for the first time and sheds light on their potential applications in other CO2 conversion technologies.