Professor Nuno Maulide, a full professor in the field of organic chemistry at the University of Vienna, was elected as a visiting professor at the 95th session of the Senate of the University of Banja Luka, upon the proposal of the Teaching-Scientific Council of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Professor Maulide is a regular member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the leader of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Entropy-Oriented Drug Design. In addition, in 2018, he was named Austrian Scientist of the Year by the Austrian Club of Educational and Scientific Journalists. He is the recipient of the Ignaz L. Lieben and Tetrahedron Young Investigator awards. Professor Maulide has authored over 175 scientific publications and two books, with his works cited more than 8300 times in the Google Scholar citation database.
Professor Maulide is the first selected visiting professor in the Chemistry Study Program and a leading global scientist in the field of chemical sciences. His presence will inspire both professors and students in the Chemistry Study Program to strive for the highest standards in the study of chemistry. This collaboration will undoubtedly contribute to the quality of education and scientific work at our faculty and represents a continuation of the activities outlined in the Research Plan of the Chemistry Department
In cooperation with prof. Dr. Elvir Babajić from the University of Tuzla, during the summer months we worked on the history of the formation of deposits and occurrences of clay in our country, which are related to volcanic activity.
This creative and scientific story begins in Bratunac, at the Zagoni kaolin deposite, where lithological varieties of kaolin and kaolinized dacites, as well as unusual samples reminiscent of bauxite, were sampled. The samples will be the subject of further research by the RIS BRIEFCASE consortium in which we are a partner. In the meantime, our team is working on an educational “briefcase” that contains more stories about volcanoes that, millions of years ago, defined the mineral wealth of Bosnia and Herzegovina with their eruptions.
By the way, the appearance of volcanoes was frequent during the formation of both oceanic and continental Earth’s crust. Volcanic activity has many aspects related to chemical sciences. The sensor-measured chemical composition of gases released by inactive volcanoes, especially the ratio of the amount of CO2/SO2, helps in predicting future eruptions. Today, these analyzes are even done using light drones (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-21935-5). On the other hand, the collision of lava with sea water can also lead to the creation of clouds of hydrochloric acid vapor, which carries a great risk for human, animal and plant life. There is also a positive influence of volcanoes on the appearance of life on Earth. Thanks to volcanic activity, a large amount of water was released from the interior of the planet, and water is the basis of life processes. Also, one of the results of eruptions is the scattering of pyroclastic material (Greek: pyros-fire, clastos-grain) in a wide area around the center of the eruption, and depending on the chemical composition of the lava itself, the ash can be very rich in minerals that nourish the soil.
In addition to the examination of specific minerals, the focus of our research is also the geopolymerization reaction of kaolin. Mineral substances such as kaolin were formed as a result of volcanic eruptions. Volcanic deposits are abundant near active and inactive volcanoes, and today large areas of the lithosphere are rich in minerals that were formed during this process. The deposits are formed by the cooling of magma during explosive volcanic eruptions. The interest in the use of minerals that were formed due to volcanic activity, in geopolymers, is due to their high content of silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide, which form the basis for the synthesis of geopolymers. Our goal is to examine the composition of kaolin originating from our country, as well as its potential in application, with a focus on “3D” printing of construction objects. This modern and innovative approach to the construction of buildings could greatly help reduce the negative impact of man on the planet in the decades to come. In the next few months, as part of the RIS BRIEFCASE project, Marija Stojaković, our young researcher, will work on this topic.
The researchers of our department, Sunčica Sukur, MSc and Marija Stojaković, BSc, participated in this year’s edition of FEMS EUROMAT, a well-known international congress that was held in the period September 3-7, 2023 at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main.
FEMS EUROMAT is held every two years and is a unique opportunity for researchers, scientists, engineers and students to exchange ideas, share their research and learn about the latest developments in materials science and engineering. Our colleagues had the opportunity to present their research in the areas “Materials for Circularity and Sustainability” and “Material Processing”.
In general, the importance of the area “Materials for Circularity and Sustainability” is reflected in the challenges of materials science and solutions for sustainable development to end the dramatic increase in demand for material resources. One of the examples is the global exploitation of various raw materials, which in the last 40 years has increased about three times (to more than 90 billion tons). If the scenario of sustainable development in which the circulation of materials (reuse, re-production and recycling) is realized, the increase in exploitation can potentially be reduced by at least 25%. One of the possibilities for improving material circulation was also presented by our colleague Sukur on the example of red mud, from which high-quality magnetite could potentially be produced very efficiently. Her work, due to the importance of the topic itself, was marked as a phighlihgt lecture in this section.
Colleague Stojaković presented in the field of “Material Processing”, which includes the latest experimental and theoretical achievements in the processing and production of various materials. The impact of the production process on the properties of the final products was on special focus in all areas, together with aspects of the modern development of materials and processes, such as the sustainability of materials and processes, the circular economy and the possibility of recycling. Our topic was research on kaolinite and kaolinized granite from our country as a raw material for geopolymers and other potential applications in which we have new, so far unpublished results achieved together with an industrial partner.
For the second year in a row, our Faculty was the host of “Materials without borders” conference designed by our young researchers in the frame of RM@Schools project.
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“No borders”, indeed, it was! 4 excellent pupils teams have get to know each other and compete in the subjects of applied material chemistry. First, they had an excellent exchange of knowledge.
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The Italian team, RM ambassadors of the Liceo Roiti from Ferrara, have shown how they teach metals chemistry to the younger pupils in their school and beyond.
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Grammar School Gradiška studied the thermal and mineral water in Bosnia and Herzegovina, relating contemporary tourism and healing potentials with ancient history of Romans who first brought the concept of spa to this region.
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School “Sveti Sava” from Foča, little, but yet so international city with great Faculty of Medicine, is thinking deeply about how it is important to stop using coal as the energy source to preserve the health of the population in their region. With their teachers they studied in the newest literature that natural coal exfoliation is a great way to produce graphene, which is an important material bringing the digitalization and sensors of new generations.
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Finally, the winner of the best presentation was the team from “Đura Jakšić”, a school holding the name of a famous poet. They studied the “wool wonder” of extracting lanolin. With their presentation they have raised awareness on the about 3 million wool fleeces wasted in our country yearly, while the domestic cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry is importing lanoline at €50 /kg from far countries. Lanoline could be so easily extracted from the Pramenka sheep wool and it would be an amazingly organic and pure product.
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Second day, pupils have got to visit the ArcelorMittal Prijedor iron mine, the Colorit factory and finished the conference by lunch in Ethno-village/museum Ljubačke doline, where they had the opportunity to enjoy the impressive mineral collection. Greatest achievement of this conference was young people from different countries bonding together without borders and we will search for a way to sustainably continue it in the future.
The workshop on the development and application of advanced materials and modern analytical techniques was held on July 7, 2023 in the amphitheater of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka.
The participants had the opportunity to attend lectures from the most current fields of science held by chemists from well-known world universities. Professor Dušan Losić from the School of Chemical Engineering of the University of Adelaide and director of the ARC Graphene Research Hub spoke about the development and modification of graphene materials for use in environmental remediation and other applications.
The Losić group’s research interests are focused on graphene and other advanced materials and include fundamental and applied aspects in nanotechnology, chemistry, materials science, engineering, medicine and agriculture. The results of the research aim to deal with problems in health, environment, agriculture and energy.
Professor Losić is the head of the Losić research group and one of the world’s leading scientists in the field of graphene with over 24000 citations and numerous patents that led to the start of industrial production of this material.
The second lecture on the latest trends in the field of electroanalytical chemistry related to the examination of surface phenomena on electrodes was held by Milomir Šuvira, a doctoral student in the field of analytical chemistry at the University of Washington, and at the end, the lecture was also held by Prof. Dr. Altijana Hromić Jahjefendić from the International University of Sarajevo on the topic of application of mineral and nanomaterials in biomedical technologies.
The workshop is the final part of a three-day training as part of the DeepGreenInno coordination project at the Chemistry Department, where colleagues from the partner International University of Sarajevo had training in the field of preparing nanoporous, activated carbon, and determining the antioxidant capacity of plants exposed to stress due to toxic metal pollution.
Also, the partner team had training on project management from the program of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology, in which the University of Banja Luka is the leader in Bosnia and Herzegovina with seven implemented projects.
The workshop was also attended by Prof. Dr. Zoran Vujković, Assistant Minister for Scientific and Technological Development and Prof. Dr. Milica Balaban, Vice-rector for International and Inter-university Cooperation of the University of Banja Luka.
As part of the SeconChan project and with additional support from the DeepGreenInno project, a study visit to the salt mine in Tuzla was organized during June.
On this occasion, teachers, associates and students of the Chemistry Department had the opportunity to learn more about the technological process in the Tetima deposit, where sodium chloride is exploited by extraction from a depth of about 800 meters. The exploitation process is fully automated with the use of very sensitive sensors and a remote control system. After extraction, the salt concentrate is transported over 16 kilometers to two large industries, a table salt factory and a sodium bicarbonate factory. Our team’s special attention was drawn to the carefully designed solutions for preserving the natural habitat and preventing landslides in the mine area.
The visit was also a good opportunity to discuss other possible applications of sodium chloride, especially in technologies that enable the so-called green transition. Research into sodium-based battery technology has recently attracted the attention of the scientific community as a potentially viable replacement for lithium batteries and the risks associated with the production and use of lithium-based batteries. Although still in the research phase, sodium-based batteries could soon become competitive with lithium batteries in terms of charge density and reliability, and especially because of the low cost of the raw material. Through the discussion, which aimed to develop entrepreneurial spirit and critical thinking, the students had the opportunity to see the salt deposit in Tuzla as a potential raw material base for the production of batteries in the future.
In recent years, Chemistry Department has significantly strengthened cooperation with Japanese universities, with whom it has several collaborative publications.
Among the permanently employed teachers at Chemistry Department there are three scholarship holders of the Matsumae International Foundation, as well as one scholarship holder of the Government of Japan. The last in a series of significant activities related to Japan is the visit of professor Jin Miyawaki from Kyushu University.
The professor’s arrival was realized with the support of the Ministry for Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society through the co-financing program for the stay of foreign scientists, as well as the Ministry of Civil Affairs as part of the project activities of the SeconChan project.
Professor Miyawaki’s stay was packed with specific activities, from a tour of the laboratory facilities, the Faculty itself, the University City, and individual discussions and consultations with colleagues. Also, the professor and the team of Chemistry Department visited the company “Destilacija” in Teslić, where pilot tests of the production of nanoporous carbon are underway.
The professor also pointed out to the factory the importance of the complete valorization of the raw materials created by the dry distillation of coal, with particular reference to tar as a polymer raw material potentially usable even in high-performance carbon fiber technology.
On the other hand, domestic engineers have shown very significant results in the utilization of the heat of gases and smoke generated in the processes, which have resulted in almost complete utilization of thermal energy.
Professor Miyawaki was also a speaker at this year’s NanoPol international seminar on the topic Activated Carbons with Enhanced Effective Adsorption Amount: Deep Tech Solution in Effective Usage of Waste Heat Resources, and he joined other guests during the tour to the Belgrand company.
The exchange continued in Sarajevo with the project partners at the International University of Sarajevo, where Prof. Miyawaki spent the last two working days touring the facilities and exchanging experiences with colleagues, where he also held a lecture.
During the stay, they expressed the desire to continue cooperation through the exchange of samples, joint publications, and the hope that there will be an exchange of students in the near future.
As part of the long-term inter-university cooperation between the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava and the University of Banja Luka from June 13, 2023, to June 21, 2023, Dr. Andrea Machyňáková, from the mentioned university.
This is one more of the successfully completed exchanges through the Erasmus+ program of international credit mobility – mobility of students and staff of higher education between the Program and partner countries.
Dr. Machyňáková held a lecture for students of the first and second cycle of the Chemistry Department on the topic “Sample preparation in analytical chemistry,” where students had the opportunity to improve their knowledge in the field of analytical chemistry. The lecture covered several analytical methods, SBSE (stir bar extraction), SPME (solid phase microextraction), and SPE (solid phase extraction), their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the sampling procedure. With this lecture, Dr. Machyňáková accented the importance of adequate sample preparation and the possibility of improving the sensitivity of analytical methods, the reliability of analytical results, as well as extending the life of instruments.
After the lecture on the premises of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the attendees took the opportunity to discuss with Dr. Machyňákova about the mentioned analytical methods and inter-university cooperation.
The International Seminar on Deep Technology in Nanomaterials and Material Chain Pollution (NanoPol2023) was held on June 15-16, 2023 at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka.
The seminar brought together a great number of experts from recognized world universities, as well as industrial partners with whom the organizer of the seminar, the Chemistry Department, has long-standing cooperation.
As part of the Nanopol2023 seminar, the project DeepGreenInno: Deep Tech in Material Sciences: Greening the Balkan HEIs Innovation and Entrepreneurial Potential was presented. During the seminar, the attendees had the opportunity to hear about up-to-date topics in the field of new materials, waste valorization, achievements in the technology of surface protection of materials, as well as about issues of sustainability of the European chain of primary raw materials.
The seminar was opened by Assistant Minister for Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society, Prof. Dr. Zoran Vujković, and the participants were addressed by the Vice-rector for Material and Human Resources of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Dr. Dalibor Kesić and Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Prof. Dr. Goran Trbić.
The opening lecture at the seminar was held by Prof. Dr. Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, who as the coordinator presented the activities of DeepGreenInno and other projects realized at Chemistry Department. Professor Jin Miyawaki from Kyushu University in Japan held a plenary lecture on the latest achievements in the field of carbon nanomaterials, as well as on the possibilities of using activated carbon in so-called Deep Tech research.
It should be mentioned that Professor Miyawaki’s visit was made possible by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society, through the program of co-financing the visit of foreign scientists, as well as the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the SeconChan project activities.
Furthermore, Professor Vladimiro Dal Santo from the National Research Council of Italy, presented on the subject of the application of catalytic materials in biorefining, and Professor Maria Nikolova from University of Ruse in Bulgaria, on the subject of the application of modern technologies in protective coatings.
During two days at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, COST association, the oldest European framework for networking, was promoted, as well as the WBC-RRI.NET and RIS BRIEFCASE projects with promotional info-stands. The coordinator of the RIS BRIEFCASE project, Dr. Lidia Gullon from the Gómez Pardo Foundation in Seville, also delivered a presentation and drew attention to the worrying data on the lack of a self-sustaining chain of mineral resources in Europe.
The second day of the seminar was dedicated to the visit of the Belgrand company from Teslić, the only European factory of LED displays formatted according to the customer’s wishes. Activities continued at the International University in Sarajevo, which is one of the partners in the DeepGreenInno project consortium, where education was held for younger teachers and students.
Chemistry Department is in the process of signing a contract for the realization of its first coordination project in the programs of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Since 2017, the Chemistry Department has participated in six partner EIT projects, and a great effort and success in mastering the project preparation methodology in this branch of the Horizon Europe program is crowned by the DeepGreenInno coordination project. This is the first coordination project in our country, as well as in the countries of the Western Balkans in this science support program.
DeepGreenInno: Deep Tech in Material Sciences: Greening the Balkan HEIs Innovation and Entrepreneurial Potential is a project with a total budget of €750,000 and a total of eight partners from six countries (Bulgaria, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina).
It should be noted that the preparation of the DeepGreenInno project application was supported by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at the same time represents one of the most successful examples of the dedicated use of domestic programs to support the preparation of projects from the framework of Horizon Europe.
The opening of all 16 projects that received funding in this call was held in Prague at the workshop held on May 29-30, 2023, where four teams from our consortium attended. Additionally, the event in Prague was the first training workshop in defining the Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP).
After this event, on June 15, 2023, the first official meeting of the entire project consortium was held at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka, where plans for activities during the implementation of the project were defined.
