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Dr Uche Onwukwe
Research Fellow II

Summary

Uche is a researcher with a background in Materials Science and a PhD in biomimetics towards the green synthesis of functional materials. They have  extensive experience in the use of various characterisation techniques including electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), various spectroscopic techniques (Raman, FTIR, UV-VIS-NIR) , a range of X-Ray techniques (XRF, XRD) and an understanding of the use of  different thermal techniques. 

Their research interests lies in nanomaterials synthesis and characterisation, biomimetics and presently in circular economy - specifically  phytomining and hyperaccumulators. 

Responsibility

Some of the works Uche has carried out are 

  • Microplastics Investigation using Perkin Elmer Micro FTIR.
  • Method development for microplastic investigation using KORE Time of Flight Secondary Ions Mass Spectrometry (TOF -SIMS).
  • Low asbestos content investigation on the Jeol 2100- TEM.
  • Heavy metal contamination investigation on biomass and soil samples using a Rigaku X-Ray Fluoresence (XRF) spectroscopy.
  • Lithium investigation in biomass samples and various subtrate using TOF-SIMS.  
  • Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) imaging and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy   (EELS) on organic samples.

Uche also holds the following posts:

Ionising radiation and laser safety committee (IRLCA) member (Brunel University)

Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS)

Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) champion 

Newest selected publications

Mumford, AD., Martinez-Moreno, MF., Morales-Hidalgo, M., Povedano-Priego, C., Generelo-Casajus, L., Jroundi, F., et al. (2025) 'Assessing microbially influenced corrosion of titanium as novel canister material for geological disposal facilities'. Applied Surface Science, 717 (1 February 2026). pp. 1 - 14. ISSN: 0169-4332 Open Access Link

Journal article

Martin Torrejon, V., Fernando, S., Roy, UK., Onwukwe, U. and Anguilano, L. (2025) 'Transforming seaweed into bioplastics: a review of cultivation, harvesting and processing methods'. Applied Phycology, 6 (1). pp. 52 - 73.Open Access Link

Journal article

Gómez-Bolívar, J., Warburton, MP., Mumford, AD., Mujica-Alarcón, JF., Anguilano, L., Onwukwe, U., et al. (2024) 'Spectroscopic and Microscopic Characterization of Microbial Biofouling on Aircraft Fuel Tanks'. Langmuir, 40 (7). pp. 3429 - 3439. ISSN: 0743-7463 Open Access Link

Journal article

Howard, SA., Carr, CM., Sbahtu, HI., Onwukwe, U., López, MJ., Dobson, ADW. and et al. (2023) 'Enrichment of native plastic associated biofilm communities to enhance polyester degrading activity'. Environmental Microbiology, 25 (12). pp. 2698 - 2718. ISSN: 1462-2912 Open Access Link

Journal article
More publications(11)