Dr. Dalal Alezi

Dr. Dalal Alezi is an assistant professor of chemistry at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). She completed her master's degree at KAU, and earned her Ph.D. at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Alezi's Ph.D. research focused on the design and synthesis of novel metal-organic materials and exploration of their properties in a wide range of applications, including gas separation and storage, catalysis and drug delivery.

She was awarded the Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division Student Award in 2016 and was selected as one of the 45 finalists for the Reaxys Ph.D. prize, which recognizes young chemists for their innovative work, from a pool of 450 excellent candidates. In 2017, she was chosen to join the 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, a high honor where outstanding graduate students from around the world were able to network with selected Nobel Laureates. She was also featured in Nature as an agent of change in Saudi Arabia, Nature 2017, 549, S70.

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are considered to be the most promising class of porous materials that are positioned to address many enduring societal challenges pertaining to energy and environmental sustainability. This is due to the potential ability to mutually control their porous system structure, composition, and functionality. My research focuses on using MOFs for energy storage and gas separation. The objective is to find a solution for one of the most serious problems facing our planet, the availability of freshwater, using characteristic performance MOFs rather than other adsorptive porous materials. We aim to explore and synthesize new stable MOFs utilized in water absorption related applications such as water capture and humidity control.

KACST