Haris Muhammad

Senior Research Engineer with strong experience at UNSW, advancing carbon electrodes and CDI technologies. Skilled in team leadership, funding acquisition, and advanced spectroscopy, I drive innovative water treatment solutions, and am eager to bring my expertise and impact-focused mindset to your team.

• Interactions and adsorption of toxic metals onto biomass-based (biochar, activated carbon) and minerals (iron and clay minerals) engineered adsorbents in batch and column systems with data modeling such as non-linear isotherm (Boltzmann, Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin) and kinetic models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion model)
• Synthesized programmable 2D carbon nanosheets derived from agricultural waste (crop residues) via exfoliation approaches (liquid phase, chemical exfoliation, physio-thermal exfoliation) and analyzed with state-of-the-art characterization approaches (XPS, XRD, FTIR, TGA, Raman spectra, BET, SEM-EDX, TEM, etc.)
• Currently focusing on electrochemistry based on the capacitive deionization (CDI) approach for desalination at a practical scale
• Developing prototype and industrial units to address the groundwater salinity issue at home and community level,
• Focuses on the development of ion-exchange polymer films (IPFs) for the replacement of ion-exchange membranes in CDI systems to make them cost-effective and capable of commercialization at an industrial scale

• Guest Editor, Toxics, Green Amendments for the Remediation of Potentially Toxic Elements in Soil and Water
• Peer reviewer, Environmental Science & Technology (EST), Water Research, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Separation and Purification Technology, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physiochemical and Engineering Aspects

Publications Peer-Reviewed

Corresponding Author:

1. Haitao Ren, Zainab Amjad, Atif Saleem, Muhammad Usman, Kukybayeva Dina, Muhammad Haris*,Junkang Guo., 2025. Scalable interlinked hierarchical porous biochar-nanosheets for efficient removal of thallium from aquatic environment. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 491, 137879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137879 (Impact Factor, 11.3)

First Author:

1. Muhammad Haris, Zainab Amjad, Muhammad Usman, Atif Saleem, Ainur Dyussenova, Zarak Mahmood, Kukybayeva Dina, Junkang Guo, Wenke Wang., 2024. A review of crop residue-based biochar as an efficient adsorbent to remove trace elements from aquatic systems. Biochar, 6:47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-024-00341-2 (Impact Factor, 13.5)

2. Muhammad Haris, Muhammad Usman, Atif Saleem, Zarak Mahmood, Yasir Hamid, Junkang Guo., Shengguo Xue., 2023. Synthesis of conch-like layered carbon nanosheets by ball-milling assisted ultrasonic exfoliation for highly selective removal of Cd(II) from multiple water matrices. Separation and Purification Technology. 124756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2023.124756. (Impact Factor, 9.0)

3. Muhammad Haris, Usman, M., Su, F., Lei, W., Saleem, A., Hamid, Y., Guo, J., Li, Y., 2022. Programmable synthesis of exfoliated biochar nanosheets for selective and highly efficient adsorption of thallium. Chemical Engineering Journal 134842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.134842. (Impact Factor, 13.2).

4. Muhammad Haris, Hamid, Y., Usman, M., Wang, L., Saleem, A., Su, F., Guo, J., Li, Y., 2021b. Crop-residues derived biochar: Synthesis, properties, characterization and application for the removal of trace elements in soils. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 416, 126212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126212. (Impact Factor, 11.3).

5. Muhammad Haris, Wei, T., Cao, G., Yu, S.H., Ren, X.H., Jia, H.L., Saleem, A., Hua, L., Guo, J.K., Li, Y., 2021a. Study of soil microorganisms modified wheat straw and biochar for reducing cadmium leaching potential and bioavailability. Chemosphere 273, 129644.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129644.

6. Muhammad Haris, Hamid, Y., Wang, L., Wang, M., Yashir, N., Su, F., Saleem, A., Guo, J.K., Li, Y., 2021c. Cd diminution through microbial mediated degraded lignocellulose maize straw: Batch adsorption and bioavailability trails. Journal of Environmental Management. 302, 114042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114042. (Impact Factor, 8.4)

Conference Paper:

1. Muhammad Haris, Yasir Hamid, Atif Saleem, Junkang Guo* 2023. Pristine and engineered wood derived biochar for abating toxic metals contamination in soil environment. Proceedings of the Earth and Environmental Sciences International Webinar Conference 2021. Environmental Earth Sciences 

((EESCI))Recent Advances in Environmental Sustainability Chapter 14. ISBN978-3-031-34783-2. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34783-2_14

Co-Authorship:

1. Guo, J.K., Muhammad, Haris., Lv, X., Wei, T., Ren, X.H., Jia, H.L., Atif, S., Hua, L., 2020. Prospects and applications of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria to mitigate soil metal contamination: A review. Chemosphere 246, 125823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.125823.

2. Wang L., Muhammad, Haris., Laipan, M., Fan, X., Guo, J., Li, Y., 2022.Enhanced removal of Cr (VI) and Mo (VI) from polluted water using L-cysteine doped polypyrrole/bentonite composite, Applied Clay Science. 217 (2022)106387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2021.106387. (Impact Factor, 5.8)

3. Zhang, Y., Muhammad, Haris., Zhang, L., Zhang, C., Wei, T., Li, X., Niu, Y., Li, Y., Guo, J.K., Li, X 2022.Amino-modified Chitosan/Gold Tailings Nanoparticle Composite for Selective and Highly Efficient Removal of Lead and Cadmium from Wastewater. Chemosphere, 136086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136086.

4. Wang L., Min W., Muhammad, Haris., Yan S., Guo J.K., Minwang L., 2022. Polypyrrole-Bentonite composite as a Highly Efficient and Low Cost Anionic adsorbent for Removing Hexavalent molybdenum from Wastewater. Journal of Colloid Interface Science. 29735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2022.02.002. (Impact Factor, 9.7).

5. Junkang Guo; Xianwei Yu; Muhammad Haris; Tian Liu; Jiayuan Wang; Junjun Zhao; Yifan Li., 2023.Synthesis of a micro-nano FeOx/MnOx modified large volume non-enamel ceramsites for selective and efficient adsorption of cadmium. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 11, 110199.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.110199. (Impact Factor = 7.2)

6. Yasir Hamid; Lei Liu; Muhammad Haris; Muhammad Usman; Qiang Lin; Yonglong Chen; Muhammad Saqib Rashid; Zaid Ulhassan; M. Iftikhar Hussain., 2023. Novel thiol-grafted composite of chitosan and rice straw biochar (TH@CT-BC): A two-step fabrication for highly selective adsorption of cadmium from contaminated water Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 11, 110527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.110527. (Impact Factor = 7.2)

7. Atif Saleem, Jingjie Chen, Meng Liu, Nian Liu, Muhammad Usman, Ke Wang, Muhammad Haris, Yuezhou Zhang*, Peng Li*., 2022.Versatile Magnetic Mesoporous Carbon Derived Nano-adsorbent for Synchronized Toxic Metal Removal and Bacterial Disinfection from Water Matrices. Small, 2207348. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202207348, (Impact Factor = 12.1).

8. Atif Saleem, Yuezhou Zhanga, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad, Haris., Peng Li 2022. Tailored architectures of mesoporous carbon nanostructures: From synthesis to applications. Nano Today (46) 101607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101607. (Impact Factor, 10.9).

9. Guo, J.K., Wang, L., YuLing T., Muhammad, Haris.,F, XiaoHu., C, Geng., L, Minwang., 2022. Polypyrrole modified bentonite nanocomposite and its application in high-efficiency removal of Cr(VI). Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 9, 106631. doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106631. (Impact Factor, 7.2).

10. Hamid, Y., Lei, L., Usman, M., Ravi, Naidu., Muhammad, Haris., Qiang, L., Zaid, U., Iftikhar, M., Yang, X. 2022. Functionalized biochars: synthesis, characterization, and applications for removing potentially harmful elements from water. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 437 (2022) 129337. (Impact Factor, 11.3).

11. Saleem, A., Wang, J., Sun, T., Sharaf, F., Muhammad, Haris., Lei, S., 2020.Enhanced and selective adsorption of Copper ions from acidic conditions by diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-chitosan sewage sludge composite. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 8, 104430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2020.104430. (Impact Factor, 7.2).

12. Guo, J.K., Lv, X., Jia, H.L., Hua, L., Ren, X.H., Muhammad, Haris., Wei, T., Ding, Y., 2020. Effects of EDTA and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on plant growth and heavy metal uptake of hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance. Journal of Environmental Science 88, 361–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2019.10.001.(Impact Factor, 6.3)

13. Jia, H., Wang, X., Wei, T., Zhou, R., Muhammad, Haris., Hua, L., Ren, X., Guo, J., Ding, Y., 2019. Accumulation and fixation of Cd by tomato cell wall pectin under Cd stress. Environmental and Experimental Botany. 167, 103829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2019.103829. (Impact Factor, 4.7)

14.Shahzad, A., Ullah, S., Dar, A.A. Muhammad Fahad Sardar, Tariq Mehmood, Muhammad Aammar Tufail,Awais Shakoor & Muhammad Haris. Nexus on climate change: agriculture and possible solution to cope future climate change stresses. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 14211–14232 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12649-8

15. Junkang Guo, J Zhao, Xinhao Ren, Honglei Jia, Haris Muhammad, Xin Lv, Ting Wei, Li Hua. 'Effects of Burkholderia sp. D54 on growth and cadmium uptake of tomato, ryegrass and soybean plants', International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2020, 17, 1149–1158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02571-5. (Impact Factor, 3.4)

16. Xianwei Yu, Chao Zhang, Muhammad Haris, Cui Chen, Huan Wang, Jin Guo, Haojiang Meng, Xiaolong Wu, Xiaoyang Liu, Weiwei Hu, Junkang Guo. Study of ceramsite-supported iron and manganese oxides for enhancing soil immobilization and reducing plant uptake of cadmium', Journal of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, 2024, 12, 111938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2024.111938 (Impact Factor, 7.2)

17. MJ Ahmed, I Anastopoulos, D Kalderis, Muhammad Haris,Muhammad Usman. Insight into the wheat residues-derived adsorbents for the remediation of organic and inorganic aquatic contaminants: A review. 2024. Environmental Research, 118507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.118507 (Impact Factor, 7.7)

18. Lei Wang; Jian Zhang; Wenshan Guo; Xiaoqiang Cao; Jianliang Xue; Muhammad Haris; Yuanyao Ye; Huu Hao Ngo. 2024. Biochar-Based Functional Materials for the Abatement of Emerging Pollutants from aquatic matrices Environmental Research 252 (119052). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119052 (Impact Factor, 7.7)

19. Yasir Hamid; Yonglong Chen; Qiang Lin; Muhammad Haris; Muhammad Usman; Muhammad Saqib Rashid; Ioannis Anastopoulos; Bilal Hussain; Hayssam M. Ali; Fakhir Hannan; Xianyuan Yin; Xiaoe Yang. 2024. Functionality of wheat straw-derived biochar enhanced its efficiency for actively capping Cd and Pb in contaminated water and soil matrices: Insights through batch adsorption and flow-through experiments. Chemosphere. 362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142770

20. Yasir Hamid; Yonglong Chen; Muhammad Haris; Muhammad Usman; Bilal Hussain; Muhammad Saqib Rashid; Xiaoe Yang. 2025. Magnetic biochar for the remediation of arsenic contaminated water: A complete guide of science, synthesis, and solutions. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (13), 118348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.118348

21. Min Wang; Muhammad Haris; Chao Zhang: Ting Wei: Lei Zhang; Minwang Laipan; Junkang Guo, 2025. Cell wall polysaccharides response to cadmium stress and transcriptome analysis in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Plant Science (359), 112664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2025.112664

Book Chapter:

1. Hamid, Y., Liu, L., Ulhassan, Z., M.A, Zahir., Muhammad, Haris., Muhammad U., Xiaoe, Y., Weijun Z., 2021. Application of biochar for attenuating heavy metals in contaminated soil: potential implications and research gaps. Chapter 4, Biomass-Derived Materials for Environmental Applications". https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91914-2.00009-XBook.