About

Roya Maboudian holds the John F. Heil, Jr. Chancellor's Chair in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research program focuses on surface and interfacial science as well as micro- and nanotechnology. She aims to expand understanding of materials, surfaces, and interfaces, and to apply this knowledge to advances in technologically emerging and societally critical areas. Her current research interests include low-dimensional materials, hybrid organic/inorganic materials, metal oxides, and silicates, with a focus on establishing synthesis-structure-property relationships and understanding and controlling surfaces and interfaces. Her work is directed toward impacting areas such as environment, health, sustainability, and energy.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Optoelectronics
• Composite material
• Chemical engineering

Selected publications

• Electron energy loss spectroscopy of nanoscale local structures in calcium silicate hydrate

  Cement and Concrete Research · 2025-02-24 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) is a crucial cement hydration product for the strength and durability of concrete. While previous studies have extensively investigated the structural and compositional characteristics of C-S-H, they mostly focused on average properties within ensemble systems. In this work, we use electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), electron nano-tomography, and other spectroscopies to study the local structure of C-S-H at an unprecedented spatial resolution of 5 nm. The chemical environments of silicon (Si) and calcium (Ca) elements, thickness, and dielectric properties are scrutinized. Statistical analysis of over 10,000 data points reveals significant heterogeneity in the silicate chemical environment, including different polymerization degrees and tetrahedral distortions. In contrast, the local Ca environment exhibits more homogeneity with a coordination number ranging from 7 to 9, indicating a weak octahedral-like symmetry for C-S-H. Additionally, our findings show that the local thickness of C-S-H predominantly hovers around ∼15 nm consisting of 13–14 layers, validated through electron tomography . This work provides insights into the local structural features of C-S-H from the single colloid perspective and thus facilitates the future development of more realistic C-S-H models.

  PublisherDOI

• Mitigating Humidity Interference in Chemiresistive Hydrogen Sensors Through Hydrophobic Surface Functionalization

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Activating Carbon and Oxygen Bonds for Low-Temperature Thermal Decomposition of Spent Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Materials

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2025-03-06 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access

  and CO is also the largest, with a value of 0.433 |e|. Therefore, synchronous activation of C and O bonds can reduce the decomposition temperature of active crystals by 200 °C and allows a low-temperature pyrolysis recycling of retired LIB cathode materials. Our research provides a potential strategy for low-carbon recycling of retired LIBs worldwide.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dissolution of Spent Lithium‐Ion Battery Cathode Materials: Overlooked Significance of Aluminum Impurities (Adv. Sci. 21/2025)

  Advanced Science · 2025-06-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring characteristics of palladium-loaded tin (IV) oxide nanohybrids towards chemiresistive gas sensing

  Applied Surface Science · 2025-01-29 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dissolution of Spent Lithium‐Ion Battery Cathode Materials: Overlooked Significance of Aluminum Impurities

  Advanced Science · 2025-02-28 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Impurities are pivotal in determining the quality of the critical metal products derived from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but there is a lack of understanding of their potential impacts. The mechanisms by which Aluminium (Al) impurities permeate the active crystals of spent ternary nickel─cobalt─manganese oxide (NCM) cathode materials and interact with critical metal sites are elucidated. During frictional contact, the substitution of transition metals by Al impurities disrupts the bonding between critical metals and oxygen, leading to the formation of more stable Al─O covalent bonds. Al can preferentially substitute for Co, altering the local coordination and electronic structure of transition metals. Owing to the strong interaction of Al─O, the Fermi level shifts downward, thus increasing the stabilization of lattice oxygen in the NCM cathode materials and consequently delaying the dissolution of NCM cathode materials. In different extraction environments, the invasion of Al retards the release of lattice oxygen and inhibits the dissolution of NCM in formic acid but enhances those in ammonia solution and shows mixed results in deep eutectic solvents. These crucial findings will help to elucidate the mechanisms of Al impurities in the recycling industry chain of retired LIBs, thereby enhancing the recovery of high-quality critical metal products.

  PublisherDOI

• Does the hydration process of supplementary cementitious materials affect the aging creep of blended cement paste?

  Cement and Concrete Research · 2025-02-11 · 23 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Critical Review of Nanomechanical Properties of Calcium (Alumino) Silicate Hydrates: Test Methods, Influencing Factors, and Enhancing Strategies

  Engineering · 2025-11-01 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The mechanical properties of calcium (alumino) silicate hydrates (C-(A)-S-H) represent a critical focus within the cement and concrete industry. This review begins by summarizing particle- and subparticle-scale models of C-(A)-S-H. Building on these models, the effects of chemical composition and microstructure on the intrinsic mechanical properties of C-(A)-S-H, as determined by high-pressure X-ray diffraction, are described. Existing studies have demonstrated that increasing the Ca/Si ratio and Al incorporation enhances the intrinsic mechanical properties of C-(A)-S-H. Advanced techniques, such as high-pressure Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron radiation-based techniques, have been employed to elucidate the origins of intralayer sliding and preferred intragranular orientation, offering insights into the fundamental mechanisms of creep. Compared with intralayer sliding, the preferred intragranular orientation of cement-based materials significantly contributes to creep in C-(-A)-S-H, establishing a direct link to macroscopic creep behavior. Based on these findings, this review summarizes several “bottom–up” strategies for strengthening and toughening C-(A)-S-H.

  PublisherDOI

• Potentials of In-Cabin CO₂ Sensing to Prevent Hot Car Deaths

  IEEE Sensors Journal · 2025-03-13

  articleSenior author

  Temperatures within a vehicle vary alongside outdoor weather conditions. However, even in moderate climates, heat can build up quickly inside a car, resulting in temperatures that are <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10~^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>F–<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$20~^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>F higher than outside temperatures in a matter of minutes. If an infant or toddler were to be trapped inside a vehicle, this may result in hyperthermia, and in severe cases death. A child detection system that takes advantage of CO<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> exhalation is examined in this article. If noticeable increases or sudden fluctuations in CO<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> levels are detected, the system could trigger warnings such as alarms or cellphone notifications and engage life saving measures, such as turning on AC or slightly opening windows, for instance. Our studies show that while changes in CO<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> concentration can be recognized correctly by a logistic regression algorithm, the slowness of CO<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> diffusion interferes with the accuracy of the model. Sensors that measure weight or detect motion can be applied to further optimize the entire detection system.

  PublisherDOI

• Promoting sustainable food production through waste reduction and valorization: a California case study

  npj Materials Sustainability · 2025-06-16 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Food waste poses significant challenges to global food security, environmental sustainability, and resource efficiency. This study examines waste in California’s specialty crops (tree nuts and fruits) across pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages, highlighting issues like overproduction, natural disasters, pests, labor costs, and poor handling. Solutions include good agricultural practices, good handling practices, hazard analysis and critical control points, green technologies, and resource recovery. A bio-circular economy approach is proposed, focusing on waste valorization and education to build sustainable food systems.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• ISS: Collaborative Research: Examination of the Multi-physical Properties of Microgravity-synthesized Graphene Aerogels

  NSF · $276k · 2019–2023

• PFI:AIR - TT: Microheater-based Platform for Combustible Gas Sensing

  NSF · $200k · 2014–2017

• SusChEM: Environmentally sustainable concretes enabled by multiscale investigation of ancient Roman concretes

  NSF · $498k · 2014–2018

• Wear of MEMS: Metrology, Hard Coatings and Process Integration

  NSF · $230k · 2004–2008

• Investigation of Growth and Dopant Incorporation in Silicon Carbide Nanowires

  NSF · $291k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Carlo Carraro

  University of California, Berkeley

  306 shared

• Heather A. Clark

  101 shared

• Lanqun Mao

  Beijing Normal University

  101 shared

• J. Justin Gooding

  UNSW Sydney

  101 shared

• Shana O. Kelley

  Northwestern University

  101 shared

• Maarten Merkx

  Eindhoven University of Technology

  101 shared

• Eric Bakker

  University of Geneva

  101 shared

• Michael J. Sailor

  University of California, San Diego

  101 shared

Labs

• Maboudian LabPI

Awards & honors

• IBM Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
• AT&T Foundation Special Grant Award
• National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award
• National Academy of Sciences' Sixth Annual Symposium on Fron…
• Hellman Family Award