The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan announces the results of the 2023 competition for annual state scientific scholarships. Let me express my most sincere congratulations to them on winning the annual scholarship! This is a great achievement that confirms your desire for knowledge, diligence and talent. Your work and dedication have not only elevated you to new heights, but also inspired others. The extent of your dedicated engagement and your success is admirable. May this scholarship become not only a well-deserved prize, but also an additional source of motivation for you to continue striving for your highest goals and dreams. You are an example for all of us, and your success inspires us to work harder and believe in ourselves. We wish to the B.Soltabayev and A. Turlybekuly continued success and fulfillment in your scientific pursuits.

January 29, 2024

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced the outcomes of the 2023 'Best Scientific Worker' award, an annual recognition that honors 50 exceptional scientists across the country by year-end. This prestigious award aims to support and encourage scientists and researchers who have significantly contributed to the development of science and technology. Professor of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering and one of the founders of Advanced Sensor Lab, Almagul Mentbayeva, was unveiled as the winner in the category of Natural Sciences.

December 26, 2023

This study represents a significant milestone as it is the first to employ a room-temperature N2O gas sensor capable of detecting ultra-low concentrations. The resulting gas sensors have outstanding sensitivity characteristics and can be used to develop commercial gas-sensing devices.

We wish to the authors team A. Turlybekuly, M.Sarsembina, A. Mentbayeva, Zh.Bakenov and B.Soltabayev continued success and fulfillment in your scientific pursuits.

The complete article is accessible through the link provided; simply click 'photo'.

September 20, 2023

It is aimed to explore the advantages of titanium doping and magnetron sputtering as opposed to chemical-based methods on the surficial and electrical characteristics of ZnO films and their gas sensing performance in particular. RF magnetron sputtering was employed to synthesize a pure ZnO nanofilm as a reference and Ti-doped ZnO nanofilms with various Ti contents. The doping process was done by sputtering Ti-doped ZnO targets developed through solid-state reaction, and doping content was determined by EDS analysis. All nanofilms exhibited pure hexagonal wurtzite structure and relatively flat and homogenous surfaces with a clear distribution of nanoparticles in the Ti-doped samples. The observed enhancement in the properties of the nanofilms was reflected in the ultimate performance of the gas sensor. In this regard, the sensor with 1 wt% Ti content showed the best gas sensing performance with an ultra-sensitivity of 1.72 for 1 ppm and 0.9 for 1 ppb NO gas at a relatively low working temperature of 167 °C. The sensor also acquired outstanding stability, quick responsivity, reproducibility and superior selectivity required for NO monitoring.

The complete article is accessible through the link provided; simply type 'photo'.

August 25, 2023

The main purpose of the research is to predict and simulate methane outbursts in coal mines, fostering safety and innovation in Kazakhstan's mining industry. Advanced Sensors Lab and ArcelorMittal Temirtau have commenced joint research, aiming to address significant challenges in the prediction and simulation of methane outbursts in coal mines.

The complete article is accessible through the link provided; simply click 'photo'.

August 2, 2023

Doctor of PhD, researcher at National Laboratory Astana, NU Amanzhol Turlybekuly gave an interview in the program 'Dialogue' 24.kz . Dr. Turlybekuly's research interests are chemical engineering, composite materials for biomedicine, reverse engineering, 3D printing. During the interview, the topic of diabetes mellitus, the causes of the growth of diabetic patients, as well as his project to develop gas sensors that will determine the amount of acetone released by breathing was touched upon. Moreover, along with the presenter, the topics of Kazakhstan's science in the future, the importance of the development of the humanities in the country, and the 'New Kazakhstan' were discussed.

November 30, 2022

Baktiyar Soltabayev, Senior Researcher at the National Laboratory Astana of Nazarbayev University as a guest on the TV program 'Dialogue'24.kz, answered questions about gas sensors. He has over seven years of experience in the field of gas sensors and nanofilms, as well as experience in nuclear physics, new materials, and technologies. During the interview, topics were raised about the causes of environmental pollution with toxic gases, how these causes can be eliminated with the help of gas sensors based on metal oxides, their applications, the gas sensor project, and that foreign colleagues were interested in this project.

November 11, 2022

Ti-doped ZnO films with flower–rod-like nanostructures were synthesized by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method for enhanced NO gas-sensing applications. The stoichiometric ratio of Ti in the host ZnO lattice was confirmed by atomic absorption and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopies. All of the synthesized films exhibited a pure wurtzite hexagonal structure that seemed to deteriorate at high Ti doping contents as was manifested by the measured X-ray diffraction patterns. Scanning electron microscopy images of ZnO revealed the coexistence of porous flower- and rod-like structures, which became finer, denser, and more compact with Ti doping. By UV–vis measurements, the transmittance of the synthesized pure ZnO thin film in the visible region (∼75%) increased by about 10% with Ti doping, and the energy band gap seemed to decrease up to some limit of Ti content. Among the fabricated sensors (based on pure ZnO, 1% Ti-doped, 3% Ti-doped, and 5% Ti-doped ZnO films), the best sensing performance was observed for the 1% Ti-doped ZnO film. At first, this was associated with its high density of oxygen vacancies present on the surface of the film and ionized oxygen vacancies present in the ZnO lattice (confirmed, respectively, by X-ray photoelectron and photoluminescence spectroscopies). Nonetheless, this may also be due to its increased crystallinity (confirmed by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy), high area-to-volume ratio (confirmed by scanning electron microscopy images), high specific surface area (confirmed by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements) as well as high mobility and carrier concentration (confirmed by Hall measurements). The sensor was highly selective to NO gas and showed notable stability as well as very short response and recovery times, which makes it eligible for the early detection of any indoor or outdoor NO gas leakages.

August 30, 2022

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a well-known semiconductor material due to its excellent electrical, mechanical, and unique optical properties. ZnO nanoparticles are widely used for the industrial-scale manufacture of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, including metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors, light-emitting diodes, transistors, capacitors, and solar cells. This study proposes optimization of synthesis parameters of nanosized ZnO by the electrospinning technique. A Box–Behnken design (BB) has been applied using response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the selected electrospinning and sintering conditions. The effects of the applied voltage, tip-to-collector distance, and annealing temperature on the size of ZnO particles were successfully investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirm the formation of polyvinylpyrrolidone-zinc acetate (PVP-ZnAc) fibers and nanostructured ZnO after annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate a pure phase of the hexagonal structure of ZnO with high crystallinity. Minimal-sized ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized at a constant applied potential of 16 kV, with a distance between collector and nozzle of 12 cm, flow rate of 1 mL/h, and calcination temperature of 600 °C. The results suggest that nanosized ZnO with precise control of size and morphology can be fabricated by varying electrospinning conditions, precursor solution concentration, and sintering temperature.

May 22, 2022

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most promising metal oxide semiconductor materials, particularly for optical and gas sensing applications. The influence of thickness and solvent on various features of ZnO thin films deposited at ambient temperature and barometric pressure by the sequential ionic layer adsorption and reaction method (SILAR) was carefully studied in this work. Ethanol and distilled water (DW) were alternatively used as a solvent for preparation of ZnO precursor solution. Superficial morphology, crystallite structure, optical and electrical characteristics of the thin films of various thickness are examined applying X-ray diffraction (XRD) system, scanning electron microscopy, the atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Hall effect measurement analysis and UV response study. XRD analysis confirmed that thin films fabricated using ethanol or DW precursor solvents are hexagonal wurtzite ZnO with a preferred growth orientation (002). Furthermore, it was found that thin films made using ethanol are as highly crystalline as thin films made using DW. ZnO thin films prepared using aqueous solutions possess high optical band gaps. However, films prepared with ethanol solvent have low resistivity (10–2 Ω cm) and high electron mobility (750 cm2/Vs). The ethanol solvent-based SILAR method opens opportunities to synthase high quality ZnO thin films for various potential applications.

January 17, 2022