Dr Dragos Neagu

Senior Lecturer

Chemical and Process Engineering

Personal statement

I am currently a Senior Lecturer (2023), having joined the University of Strathclyde in 2020, as a Chancellor's Fellow in Renewable Energy in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering. I completed my MEng in Materials and Process Engineering at the University Politehnica of Bucharest in 2008, and later earned a PhD in Energy Materials from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, in 2013. Following this, I worked in several post-doctoral research roles at the University of St Andrews and Newcastle University.

My career has been dedicated to contributing innovative and ground-breaking concepts in the fields of advanced materials and renewable energy conversion applications, as evidenced by my 40+ peer-reviewed publications, including five in the prestigious Nature-family journals and two in Energy and Environmental Science.

Now leading a dynamic research team of 5 PhD students, 2 PDRAs, and multiple masters and interns, as well as international visitors, our focus is on the development of materials and devices for renewable energy conversion. This includes materials development, characterisation, and testing with applications in green hydrogen production, clean power generation, carbon capture, and conversion to sustainable fuels and chemicals. My mission is to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon society by improving technology performance, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. This is achieved by collaborating with both industrial and academic partners worldwide to drive meaningful change.

In addition to my research, I am committed to mentoring the next generation of energy engineers and promoting knowledge transfer for a cleaner, sustainable energy future.

Expertise

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Area of Expertise

Technologies: electrolysers, fuel cells, catalysis, membranes, chemical looping, direct air capture, hydrogen, sustainable fuels
Material classes: oxides, ceramics, composites, nanoparticles, nanomaterials, perovskites, spinels, molten carbonates
Materials preparation and processing: solid state synthesis, hydrothermal, reduction processing, exsolution, ball milling, sonication, screen printing, tape casting, cell assembly
Methods: X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)
Software: Wolfram Mathematica, Origin Pro, CrystalMaker, GSAS II, CASA XPS, Blender, MidJourney

Prize And Awards

Nomination for Strathclyde Teaching Excellence Award: Recipient; 2022
Strathclyde Images of Research finalist: Recipient; 2023

More prizes and awards

Publications

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Publications

Roadmap on exsolution for energy applications: Neagu Dragos, Irvine J T S, Wang Jiayue, Yildiz Bilge, Opitz Alexander K, Fleig Jüergen, Wang Yuhao, Liu Jiapeng, Shen Longyun, Ciucci Francesco, Rosen Brian A, Xiao Yongchun, Xie Kui, Yang Guangming, Shao Zongping, Zhang Yubo, Reinke Jakob, Schmauss Travis A, Barnett Scott A, Maring Roelf, Kyriakou Vasileios, Mushtaq Usman, Tsampas Mihalis N, Kim Youdong, O'Hayre Ryan, Carrillo Alfonso J, Ruh Thomas, Lindenthal Lorenz, Schrenk Florian, Rameshan Christoph, Papaioannou Evangelos I, Kousi Kalliopi, Metcalfe Ian S, Xu Xiaoxiang, Liu Gang; Journal of Physics: Energy Vol 5 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/acd146
Switching on electrocatalytic activity in solid oxide cells: Myung Jae-ha, Neagu Dragos, Miller David N, Irvine John TS; Nature Vol 537, pp. 528-531 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19090
Nanosurface-reconstructed fuel electrode by selective etching for highly efficient and stable solid oxide cells: Sun Yueyue, Zhou Jun, Yang Jiaming, Neagu Dragos, Liu Zhengrong, Yin Chaofan, Xue Zixuan, Zhou Zilin, Cui Jiajia, Wu Kai; Advanced Science Vol 12 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202409272
Exsolution of Ni nanoparticles in A-site excess STO films: Both Kevin G, Neagu Dragos, Prytz Øystein, Norby Truls, Chatzitakis Athanasios; Nanoscale Advances Vol 6, pp. 6336-6343 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA00213J
Squeezing out nanoparticles from perovskites : controlling exsolution with pressure: López‐García Andrés, Remiro‐Buenamañana Sonia, Neagu Dragos, Carrillo Alfonso J, Serra José Manuel; Small Vol 20 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202403544
Separation and concentration of CO₂ from air using a humidity-driven molten-carbonate membrane: Metcalfe Ian S, Mutch Greg A, Papaioannou Evangelos I, Tsochataridou Sotiria, Neagu Dragos, Brett Dan JL, Iacoviello Francesco, Miller Thomas S, Shearing Paul R, Hunt Patricia A; Nature Energy Vol 9, pp. 1074-1083 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01588-6

More publications

Teaching

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Teaching

Between 2022-2024, I served as the Academic Year Coordinator for Year 1 students, a role that entails ensuring a smooth transition for first-year students into their academic journey. This involves managing the academic quality, delivery, and assessment of first-year modules, as well as addressing student queries, concerns, and suggestions.

I teach foundational courses including 'Basic Principles in Chemical Engineering (CP101)' and supervise 'Chemical Engineering Design (CP407)'. Additionally, I supervise the final year MEng Chemical Engineering project (18530) and MSc projects (CP949). During 2023, I was a tutor for SF106 'Sustainable development'.

Research

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Research Interests

Our research is currently centred around the design, preparation, and testing of energy materials, catalysts, and adsorbents. A primary focus is the application of energy materials to technologies such as fuel cells and electrolysers for clean power generation and green hydrogen production, and catalysts for converting carbon into useful and sustainable fuels and chemicals. Additionally, we utilise adsorbents for carbon capture technologies and water treatment for environmental applications. Overall, our goal is to enhance technology performance, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability.

We are particularly interested in the instrumentation and methods that underpin this research. We strive to understand materials and processes at every scale, from the atomic to the macroscopic. This often involves supporting investigations with in situ electron microscopy studies to understand the role of atoms in driving material properties, and advanced synchrotron experiments coupled with process analysis to understand structure-property correlations across material scales.

Furthermore, we are invested in understanding the impact of these materials at scale. For example, we assess the consequences on performance at the device, system, and ultimately, economic levels when a material's property or metric is improved. For instance, if we enhance a material's ion conductivity for electrolysers tenfold, what is the effect on the cost of the produced hydrogen? This understanding is crucial for identifying the factors that drive the reduction of costs of technologies and processes, making them viable for enabling other technologies or fields. It also helps in agenda-setting by determining if certain materials are worth developing and to what extent before diminishing returns are reached, and a step-change innovation is required to further advance a field.

Many of these processes are also relevant for space exploration. For example, the Martian atmosphere is rich in carbon dioxide, which could be harnessed to produce pure oxygen for sustaining life and fuels and chemicals for sustaining colonization. As such, one area we are looking to expand into is energy and chemical production for space exploration.