Behnam Ghalei
Assistant Professor, Chemical & Materials Engineering
- behnam.ghalei@njit.edu
- 973-642-4236
- 222 York Center (YORK)
About Me
I am an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering at NJIT and the Principal Investigator of the RAMP Lab (Reactive & Adaptive Membrane Processes Lab). My research focuses on next-generation membrane materials and separation processes for water treatment, CO₂ capture, gas purification, hydrogen recovery, and biopharmaceutical processing.
At RAMP, we engineer intelligent membranes that not only separate but also react — integrating nanozymes, photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, and porous materials into polymer, inorganic, and hybrid platforms. Our goal is to tackle global challenges in environment, energy, and life sciences by shaping the future of separation and conversion.
Before joining NJIT in Fall 2025, I served as Principal Scientist and R&D Manager at Vandstrom Inc. (2023–2025), where I led membrane innovation projects bridging fundamental research and industrial application. Prior to that, I conducted postdoctoral research at iCeMS, Kyoto University (2013–2016), and later served as Assistant and Associate Professor at Kyoto University (2016–2023).
I earned my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Tarbiat Modares University (2013). To date, I have published 50+ peer-reviewed papers, contributed to patents and book chapters, and served on editorial boards of journals in membrane, polymer, and materials science.
At RAMP, we engineer intelligent membranes that not only separate but also react — integrating nanozymes, photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, and porous materials into polymer, inorganic, and hybrid platforms. Our goal is to tackle global challenges in environment, energy, and life sciences by shaping the future of separation and conversion.
Before joining NJIT in Fall 2025, I served as Principal Scientist and R&D Manager at Vandstrom Inc. (2023–2025), where I led membrane innovation projects bridging fundamental research and industrial application. Prior to that, I conducted postdoctoral research at iCeMS, Kyoto University (2013–2016), and later served as Assistant and Associate Professor at Kyoto University (2016–2023).
I earned my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Tarbiat Modares University (2013). To date, I have published 50+ peer-reviewed papers, contributed to patents and book chapters, and served on editorial boards of journals in membrane, polymer, and materials science.
Education
Post-Doctoral Fellow; Kyoto University,; iCeMS; 2016
Ph.D.; Tarbiat Modares University; Chemical Engineering; 2013
M.Eng.; Tarbiat Modares University; Polymer Engineering; 2006
B.Eng.; Tehran Polytechnic; Polymer Engineering; 2003
Website
Teaching Interests
Separation Processes
Membrane Separation
Physical Chemistry of Porous Materials
Membrane Separation
Physical Chemistry of Porous Materials
Past Courses
CHE 360: SEPARATION PROCESSES I
CHE 791: GRADUATE SEMINAR
Research Interests
Separation processes
Reactive and responsive membranes
Nanomaterials and polymers for molecular separation
Biomimetic Membranes
Reactive and responsive membranes
Nanomaterials and polymers for molecular separation
Biomimetic Membranes
Journal Article
Zaoming Wang, Idaira Pacheco-Fernández, James E. Carpenter, Takuma Aoyama, Guoji Huang, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Behnam Ghalei, Easan Sivaniah, Kenji Urayama, Yamil J. Colón, Shuhei Furukawa. 2024. "Pore-networked membrane using linked metal-organic polyhedra for trace-level pollutant removal and detection in environmental water." Communications Materials, vol. 5, no. 1.
Somaye Nilouyal, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, H. Enis Karahan, Ansori Muchtar, Ikumi Joko, Habib Al-Aziz, Detao Qin, Masateru M. Ito, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2024. "Exploring the potential of fluorinated polyurethane membranes in hydrocarbon separation." Materials Letters, vol. 357, pp. 135653.
Somaye Nilouyal, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, H. Enis Karahan, Ansori Muchtar, Ikumi Joko, Habib Al-Aziz, Detao Qin, Masateru M. Ito, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2024. "Exploring the potential of fluorinated polyurethane membranes in hydrocarbon separation." Materials Letters, vol. 357, pp. 135653.
Somaye Nilouyal, H. Enis Karahan, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Detao Qin, Masateru M. Ito, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2024. "Nanocellulose‐Incorporated Composite Membranes of PEO‐Based Rubbery Polymers for Carbon Dioxide Capture." Advances in Polymer Technology, vol. 2024, no. 1.
Qi Guo, Behnam Ghalei, Detao Qin, Daizu Mizutani, Ikumi Joko, Habib Al-Aziz, Tomohiro Higashino, Masateru M Ito, Hiroshi Imahori, Easan Sivaniah. 2023. "Graphene oxide-fullerene nanocomposite laminates for efficient hydrogen purification." Chemical Communications, vol. 59, no. 66, pp. 10012-10015.
Abbas Mohammadi, Mahtab Eslamiyeh, Saeed Beigi-Boroujeni, Behnam Ghalei. 2023. "Antibacterial waterborne polyurethane coatings impregnated with in-situ formed and capped silver nanoparticles via p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene." Progress in Organic Coatings, vol. 180, pp. 107551.
Somaye Nilouyal, H. Enis Karahan, Elvis Wang Ng, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Masateru M. Ito, Detao Qin, Hajime Hirao, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2023. "Nanobiomineralization of Carbon Dioxide by Molecularly Engineered Metal–Histidine Complex Nanozymes." Chemistry of Materials, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 1610-1623.
Somaye Nilouyal, H. Enis Karahan, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Andrew H. Gibbons, Masateru M. Ito, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2022. "Carbonic Anhydrase-Mimicking Supramolecular Nanoassemblies for Developing Carbon Capture Membranes." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 14, no. 33, pp. 37595-37607.
Detao Qin, Andrew H. Gibbons, Masateru M. Ito, Sangamithirai Subramanian Parimalam, Handong Jiang, H. Enis Karahan, Behnam Ghalei, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Ganesh N. Pandian, Easan Sivaniah. 2022. "Structural colour enhanced microfluidics." Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1.
Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Mahdi Shahrooz, Takuma Yamamoto, Ansori Muchtar, Masateru M. Ito, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Mikihito Takenaka, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2021. "Influence of microstructural variations on morphology and separation properties of polybutadiene-based polyurethanes." RSC Advances, vol. 11, no. 25, pp. 15449-15456.
Guoji Huang, Behnam Ghalei, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, H. Enis Karahan, Daiki Terada, Detao Qin, Conger Li, Masahiko Tsujimoto, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Kunihisa Sugimoto, Ryuji Igarashi, Bor Kae Chang, Tao Li, Masahiro Shirakawa, Easan Sivaniah. 2021. "Overcoming humidity-induced swelling of graphene oxide-based hydrogen membranes using charge-compensating nanodiamonds." Nature Energy, vol. 6, no. 12, pp. 1176-1187.
Behnam Ghalei. 2021. "Synergy of colourful minds." Nature Energy, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 3-3.
Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Morteza Sadeghi, Somaye Nilouyal, Guoji Huang, Ansori Muchtar, Masateru M. Ito, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2020. "Tuning the morphology of segmented block copolymers with Zr-MOF nanoparticles for durable and efficient hydrocarbon separation membranes." Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 8, no. 18, pp. 9382-9391.
Shao Hsuan Yuan, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Takuma Yamamoto, Ansori Muchtar, Chih Yi Wu, Guoji Huang, Yi Cheng You, Easan Sivaniah, Bor Kae Chang, Behnam Ghalei. 2020. "Nanosized Core–Shell Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks‐Based Membranes for Gas Separation." Small Methods, vol. 4, no. 8.
Detao Qin, Guoji Huang, Daiki Terada, Handong Jiang, Masateru M. Ito, Andrew H. Gibbons, Ryuji Igarashi, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Masahiro Shirakawa, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2020. "Nanodiamond mediated interfacial polymerization for high performance nanofiltration membrane." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 603, pp. 118003.
Ahmad Arabi Shamsabadi, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Saeed Khoshhal Salestan, Ahmad Rahimpour, Behnam Ghalei, Easan Sivaniah, Masoud Soroush. 2020. "Pushing Rubbery Polymer Membranes To Be Economic for CO<sub>2</sub> Separation: Embedment with Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub><i>x</i></sub> MXene Nanosheets." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 3984-3992.
Behnam Ghalei, Kazuki Wakimoto, Chih Yi Wu, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Takuma Yamamoto, Kento Sakurai, Masakazu Higuchi, Bor Kae Chang, Susumu Kitagawa, Easan Sivaniah. 2019. "Rational Tuning of Zirconium Metal–Organic Framework Membranes for Hydrogen Purification." Angewandte Chemie, vol. 131, no. 52, pp. 19210-19216.
Behnam Ghalei, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Somaye Nilouyal, Eshagh Vakili, Mahdi Koolivand Salooki. 2019. "Effect of Polyvinyl Alcohol Modified Silica Particles on the Physical and Gas Separation Properties of the Polyurethane Mixed Matrix Membranes." Silicon, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 1451-1460.
Saeid Maghami, Morteza Sadeghi, Arjomand Mehrabani-Zeinabad, Mehdi Zarabadi, Behnam Ghalei. 2019. "The Role of Interfacial Morphology in the Gas Transport Behavior of Nanocomposite Membranes: A Mathematical Modeling Approach." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 58, no. 25, pp. 11022-11037.
Binod Babu Shrestha, Kazuki Wakimoto, Zhenggong Wang, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Tomoya Suma, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2018. "A facile synthesis of contorted spirobisindane-diamine and its microporous polyimides for gas separation." RSC Advances, vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 6326-6330.
Guoji Huang, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Ansori Muchtar, Kento Sakurai, Binod Babu Shrestha, Detao Qin, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2018. "Pebax/ionic liquid modified graphene oxide mixed matrix membranes for enhanced CO2 capture." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 565, pp. 370-379.
Abbas Mohammadi, Mehdi Barikani, Amir Hossein Doctorsafaei, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Esmaeil Shams, Behnam Ghalei. 2018. "Aqueous dispersion of polyurethane nanocomposites based on calix[4]arenes modified graphene oxide nanosheets: Preparation, characterization, and anti-corrosion properties." Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 349, pp. 466-480.
Sama Ghalei, Hamid Asadi, Behnam Ghalei. 2018. "Zein nanoparticle‐embedded electrospun PVA nanofibers as wound dressing for topical delivery of anti‐inflammatory diclofenac." Journal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 135, no. 33.
Zhenggong Wang, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Kazuki Wakimoto, Binod Babu Shrestha, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Behnam Ghalei, Easan Sivaniah. 2018. "Tuning the Gas Selectivity of Tröger's Base Polyimide Membranes by Using Carboxylic Acid and Tertiary Base Interactions." ChemSusChem, vol. 11, no. 16, pp. 2744-2751.
Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Morteza Sadeghi, Kazuki Wakimoto, Binod Babu Shrestha, Rouhollah Bagheri, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2018. "Pentiptycene-Based Polyurethane with Enhanced Mechanical Properties and CO<sub>2</sub>-Plasticization Resistance for Thin Film Gas Separation Membranes." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 10, no. 20, pp. 17366-17374.
Behnam Ghalei, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Morteza Sadeghi, Eshagh Vakili, Alireza Jalili. 2018. "Polyurethane‐mesoporous silica gas separation membranes." Polymers for Advanced Technologies, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 874-883.
Behnam Ghalei, Yosuke Kinoshita, Kazuki Wakimoto, Kento Sakurai, Simon Mathew, Youfeng Yue, Hiromu Kusuda, Hiroshi Imahori, Easan Sivaniah. 2017. "Surface functionalization of high free-volume polymers as a route to efficient hydrogen separation membranes." Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 4686-4694.
Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Morteza Sadeghi, Kazuki Wakimoto, Andrew Harold Gibbons, Rouhollah Bagheri, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2017. "Enhancement of CO2 capture by polyethylene glycol-based polyurethane membranes." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 542, pp. 143-149.
Yosuke Kinoshita, Kazuki Wakimoto, Andrew Harold Gibbons, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Hiromu Kusuda, Easan Sivaniah, Behnam Ghalei. 2017. "Enhanced PIM-1 membrane gas separation selectivity through efficient dispersion of functionalized POSS fillers." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 539, pp. 178-186.
Behnam Ghalei, Kento Sakurai, Yosuke Kinoshita, Kazuki Wakimoto, Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Qilei Song, Kazuki Doitomi, Shuhei Furukawa, Hajime Hirao, Hiromu Kusuda, Susumu Kitagawa, Easan Sivaniah. 2017. "Enhanced selectivity in mixed matrix membranes for CO2 capture through efficient dispersion of amine-functionalized MOF nanoparticles." Nature Energy, vol. 2, no. 7.
Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Behnam Ghalei, Kazuki Wakimoto, Rouhollah Bagheri, Easan Sivaniah, Morteza Sadeghi. 2016. "Plasticization resistant crosslinked polyurethane gas separation membranes." Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 4, no. 44, pp. 17431-17439.
Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Behnam Ghalei, Rouhollah Bagheri, Yosuke Kinoshita, Hiroshi Kitagawa, Easan Sivaniah, Morteza Sadeghi. 2016. "Polyurethane gas separation membranes with ethereal bonds in the hard segments." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 513, pp. 58-66.
Milad Laghaei, Morteza Sadeghi, Behnam Ghalei, Mahdi Shahrooz. 2016. "The role of compatibility between polymeric matrix and silane coupling agents on the performance of mixed matrix membranes: Polyethersulfone/MCM-41." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 513, pp. 20-32.
Eshagh Vakili, Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Behnam Ghalei, Morteza Khoshbin, Hadi Nasiri. 2016. "Characterization and Gas Permeation Properties of Synthesized Polyurethane-Polydimethylsiloxane / Polyamide 12-b-Polytetramethylene Glycol Blend Membranes." Silicon, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 75-85.
Eshagh Vakili, Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Behnam Ghalei, Morteza Khoshbin, Hadi Nasiri. 2016. "Characterization and Gas Permeation Properties of Synthesized Polyurethane-Polydimethylsiloxane / Polyamide 12-b-Polytetramethylene Glycol Blend Membranes." Silicon, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 75-85.
Milad Laghaei, Morteza Sadeghi, Behnam Ghalei, Mohammad Dinari. 2016. "The effect of various types of post-synthetic modifications on the structure and properties of MCM-41 mesoporous silica." Progress in Organic Coatings, vol. 90, pp. 163-170.
Milad Laghaei, Morteza Sadeghi, Behnam Ghalei, Mohammad Dinari. 2016. "The effect of various types of post-synthetic modifications on the structure and properties of MCM-41 mesoporous silica." Progress in Organic Coatings, vol. 90, pp. 163-170.
Qilei Song, Shuai Cao, Robyn H. Pritchard, Behnam Ghalei, Shaheen A. Al-Muhtaseb, Eugene M. Terentjev, Anthony K. Cheetham, Easan Sivaniah. 2014. "Controlled thermal oxidative crosslinking of polymers of intrinsic microporosity towards tunable molecular sieve membranes." Nature Communications, vol. 5, no. 1.
Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Behnam Ghalei, Milad Fardi, Mojtaba Esmaeeli, Eshagh Vakili. 2014. "Structural and transport properties of polydimethylsiloxane based polyurethane/silica particles mixed matrix membranes for gas separation." Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 841-848.
Vahabodin Goodarzi, Seyed Hassan Jafari, Hossein Ali Khonakdar, Behnam Ghalei, Mehdi Mortazavi. 2013. "Assessment of role of morphology in gas permselectivity of membranes based on polypropylene/ethylene vinyl acetate/clay nanocomposite." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 445, pp. 76-87.
Vahabodin Goodarzi, Seyed Hassan Jafari, Hossein Ali Khonakdar, Behnam Ghalei, Mehdi Mortazavi. 2013. "Assessment of role of morphology in gas permselectivity of membranes based on polypropylene/ethylene vinyl acetate/clay nanocomposite." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 445, pp. 76-87.
Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Behnam Ghalei. 2013. "Preparation, characterization and gas permeation properties of polyurethane–silica/polyvinyl alcohol mixed matrix membranes." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 432, pp. 115-125.
Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Behnam Ghalei. 2013. "Preparation, characterization and gas permeation properties of polyurethane–silica/polyvinyl alcohol mixed matrix membranes." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 432, pp. 115-125.
Morteza Sadeghi, Mohammad Mehdi Talakesh, Behnam Ghalei, Mohammadreza Shafiei. 2013. "Preparation, characterization and gas permeation properties of a polycaprolactone based polyurethane-silica nanocomposite membrane." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 427, pp. 21-29.
Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Behnam Ghalei. 2012. "Characterization and gas permeability of polyurethane and polyvinyl acetate blend membranes with polyethylene oxide–polypropylene oxide block copolymer." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 401-402, pp. 97-108.
Morteza Sadeghi, Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Mehdi Barikani, Behnam Ghalei. 2011. "Study on the morphology and gas permeation property of polyurethane membranes." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 385-386, pp. 76-85.
Morteza Sadeghi, Mohammad Ali Semsarzadeh, Mehdi Barikani, Behnam Ghalei. 2010. "The effect of urethane and urea content on the gas permeation properties of poly(urethane-urea) membranes." Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 354, no. 1-2, pp. 40-47.
Behnam Ghalei, Mohamad‐Ali Semsarzadeh. 2007. "A Novel Nano Structured Blend Membrane for Gas Separation." Macromolecular Symposia, vol. 249-250, no. 1, pp. 330-335.
Behnam Ghalei, Mohamad‐Ali Semsarzadeh. 2007. "A Novel Nano Structured Blend Membrane for Gas Separation." Macromolecular Symposia, vol. 249-250, no. 1, pp. 330-335.
Chapter
Mitra Abbaspour, Ofélia de Araújo, M.A.A. Aziz, Ali Behrad Vakylabad, Enrico Bocci, Hudson Bolsoni Carminati, José Luiz de Medeiros, Silvio de Oliveira Junior, Andrea Di Carlo, Meire Ellen Domingos, Moisés Teles dos Santos, Alberto Figoli, Daniel A. Flórez-Orrego, Xingyuan Gao, Behnam Ghalei, Mohsen Ghasemian, Kamran Ghasemzadeh, Foroogh Mohseni Ghazi, Jonathan Harding, C.N.C. Hitam, Adolfo Iulianelli, Baishali Kanjilal, H. Enis Karahan, Sibudjing Kawi, Hadiseh Khosravani, Parvin Kiani, Matteo Manisco, Arameh Masoumi, Stéphanie Mathieu, Maryam Meshksar, Rafael Nogueira Nakashima, Iman Noshadi, Hasancan Okutan, Shuxian Qiu, Hamid Reza Rahimpour, Mohammad Reza Rahimpour, Maryam Koohi Saadi, Alper Sarıoğlan, Elisa Savuto, Kambiz Taghaddom, Ş. Birgül Tantekin-Ersolmaz, Xin Tu, Abdullah Z. Turan, Sadiye Velioğlu, Cansu Yıldırım, Shabnam Yousefi. "Contributors." "Advances in Synthesis Gas : Methods, Technologies and Applications," pp. xiii-xv. Elsevier, 2023.
Cansu Yıldırım, H. Enis Karahan, Sadiye Velioğlu, Alper Sarıoğlan, Ş. Birgül Tantekin-Ersolmaz, Behnam Ghalei. "Molecular sieving membrane development for syngas purification." "Advances in Synthesis Gas : Methods, Technologies and Applications," pp. 341-358. Elsevier, 2023.
Alper Sarıoğlan, Abdullah Z. Turan, H. Enis Karahan, Hasancan Okutan, Ş. Birgül Tantekin-Ersolmaz, Behnam Ghalei. "Zeolites and molecular frameworks for adsorption-based syngas purification." "Advances in Synthesis Gas : Methods, Technologies and Applications," pp. 203-228. Elsevier, 2023.
Minoo Mosadegh, Rokhsare Kardani, Amir Dashti, Morteza Asghari, Behnam Ghalei. "Applications of Metal−Organic Frameworks in Wastewater Treatment and Gas Separation and Purification." "ACS Symposium Series," pp. 271-337. American Chemical Society, 2021.