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Nanostructured conducting polymers
Nanostructured conducting polymers, such as polypyrrole (PPy), polyaniline (Pani), polythiophene (PTh), and PEDOT, combine the properties of plastics with those of metals and semiconductors. Our research focuses on a reproducible synthesis of conducting polymer nanostructures from zero-dimensional to 3D composites to address fundamental problems in hydrogen gas detection.
Research team
  • Dr. Salimgerey Adilov
    Assistant Professor
    Dr. Salimgerey Adilov obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Bogazici University in Turkey. After graduating in 2002, he was awarded a teaching assistantship from Worcester Polytechnic Institute to pursue a graduate degree. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry in 2008. His Ph.D. research was on the synthesis of porphyrin solids for host-guest chemistry, octupolar properties, and crystal engineering.
    After obtaining his doctoral degree, Salimgerey began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at Kazakh-British Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 2010, he joined Nazarbayev University as a senior researcher at the Center for Energy Research.

    Specialization: Organic Chemistry
  • Dr. Guldana Zhigerbayeva
    Researcher
    Education
    PhD in Chemical Engineering (2025) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
    Master of Science in Chemical and Materials Engineering (2020) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
    Bachelor of Science in Chemical Technology of Organic Substances (2018) - Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

    Research Area
    Conducting polymers, micro-scale wearable devices, skin-inspired electronics, gas sensors, electrocatalytic water splitting

    Specialization
    Chemical characterization techniques: UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, NMR, TGA, GC, HPLC, XRD, SEM, AFM.
    Polymerization of conducting polymers, Micro-Pseudocapacitors fabrication, Gas sensor measurements, Electrochemical analysis
  • Dr. Dana Kanzhigitova
    Researcher
    Education
    PhD in Chemistry (2024) - Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
    Master of Science in Chemistry (2020) - Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
    Bachelor of Science in Chemical Technology of Inorganic Substances (2018) - Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

    Research Area
    Conducting polymers, Conjugated polyelectrolytes, Self-doped conducting polymers, polymer solar cells, electrochromic devices

    Specialization
    X-ray diffraction, Four-Probe Method, Hall effect systems, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Gas sensor measurement.
  • Perizat Askar
    PhD student, Nazarbayev University
    Education
    Ph.D in Chemical Engineering (2023 - current) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
    Master of Science in Chemical and Materials Engineering (2023) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
    Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (2019) - Dalian University of Technology

    Research Area
    Nanostructured conducting polymer, composites, gas sensor

    Specialization
    X-ray diffraction, Four-Probe Method, Hall effect systems, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Gas sensor measurement.
  • Sagydat Duisenbekov
    MSc student, Nazarbayev University
    Education
    Master of Science in Chemistry (2023 - Current) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
    Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (2023) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

    Research Area
    Conducting polymers, composite electrodes for supercapacitors, and capacitive deionization.

    Specialization
    Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  • Kamshat Umbetova
    Research Assistant
    Education
    PhD in Chemical Engineering (2013-2016) - Kazakh-British Technical University
    Master of Business Administration (2009-2011) - Kazakh-British Technical University
    Bachelor of Science in Chemical Technology of Organic Substances (2004-2008) - Kazakh-British Technical University
  • Aslan Tapkharov
    BSc student, Nazarbayev University
    Education
    Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (2025) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

    Research Area
    Synthetic Methodology, Porphyrin Crystallography, Physical Chemistry

    Specialization
    NMR, FTIR, SEM, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, and Single-Crystal X-ray diffraction
  • Alina Tilekkabylova
    MSc student, Nazarbayev University
    Education
    Master of Science in Chemical and Materials Engineering (2026) - Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
    Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (2024) - Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary

    Research Area
    Conducting polymers for electrochromic devices
Publications
  • Askar, P., Kanzhigitova, D., Tapkharov, A. et al. Hydrogen sensors based on polyaniline and its hybrid materials: a mini review. Discover Nano 20, 68 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-025-04231-9
  • Yeszhan, Y., Duisenbekov, S., Kurmangaliyeva, D., Kazhigitova, D., Askar, P., Tileuberdi, Y., Konarov, A., Adilov, S., & Nuraje, N. (2025). Enhanced electrochemical performance of a polyaniline-based supercapacitor by a bicontinuous microemulsion nanoreactor approach. RSC Advances, 15(2), 1205–1211. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4RA07348G
  • Alipuly, M., Kanzhigitova, D., Bexeitova, A., Askar, P., Kanayeva, D., Adilov, S., & Nuraje, N. (2024). Stable conductive PANI-based hydrogels with antibacterial activity. Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, 8(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-024-01110-2
  • Askar, P., Kanzhigitova, D., Ospanova, A., Tapkharov, A., Duisenbekov, S., Abutalip, M., Soltabayev, B., Turlybekuly, A., Adilov, S., & Nuraje, N. (2024). 1 ppm-detectable hydrogen gas sensor based on nanostructured polyaniline. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 26984. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77083-5
  • Kanzhigitova, D., Abutalip, M., Nazir, F., Amze, M., Askar, P., Yeszhan, Y., Pham, T. T., Rakhmetullayeva, R., Adilov, S., & Nuraje, N. (2024). Controlled Synthesis of Polyaniline-Based Nanomaterials with Self-Assembly and Interface Manipulation. Langmuir, 40(4), 2183–2190. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c03167
  • Abutalip, M., Zhigerbayeva, G., Kanzhigitova, D., Askar, P., Yeszhan, Y., Pham, T. T., Adilov, S., Luque, R., & Nuraje, N. (2023). Strategic Synthesis of 2D and 3D Conducting Polymers and Derived Nanocomposites. Advanced Materials, 35(5), 2208864. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202208864
  • Kanzhigitova, D., Askar, P., Tapkharov, A., Kudryashov, V., Abutalip, M., Rakhmetullayeva, R., Adilov, S., & Nuraje, N. (2023). p-Toluenesulfonic acid doped vanadium pentoxide/polypyrrole film for highly sensitive hydrogen sensor. Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, 6(6), 218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-023-00796-0
Funded projects
"Study of Dopant and Composite Effects on Conducting Polymers’ Energy Applications"
Project PI: Salimgerey Adilov
Duration: 2024 - 2026
"Fabrication of controlled nanostructures of conducting polymers and their composites to improve hydrogen gas sensing"
Project PI: Nurxat Nuraje
Duration: 2024 - 2026
"Fabrication of Nanostructured Conducting Polymers and Their Nanocomposites for Energy Applications"
Project PI: Nurxat Nuraje
Duration: 2023 - 2025
"Crosslinked 3D-Nanoporous Conducting Polymer Materials via Bicontinuous Microemulsion-based Approach"
Project PI: Salimgerey Adilov
Duration: 2021 - 2023