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Nazarbayev University Repository (NUR) is an institutional electronic archive designed for the long-term preservation, aggregation, and dissemination of scientific research outcomes and intellectual property produced by the Nazarbayev University community and affiliated organizations.

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001. Theses 2845
002. NU Research Publications 11015
003. NU Research Institutes & Centres 586
004. NU Journals & Magazines 279
005. Forums, Conferences & Projects 1333

Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Design And Characterization Of Advanced Materials For High Hydrogen Storage Efficiency
(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2025-05-12) Tebenova, Aiganym
This work investigated the synthesis, characterization and hydrogen storage performance of iron-based metal-organic framework (Fe-MOF) designed for potential integration into composite materials. The Fe-MOFs were synthesized via a solvothermal method, optimized by varying solvent washing protocols to evaluate impacts on crystallinity and structural integrity. The resulting material was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface analysis, revealing crystalline structures with octahedral particle shapes and moderate surface areas. Hydrogen storage capacities measured using a high-pressure sorption analyzer demonstrated promising adsorption at cryogenic temperature (77K) with capacities around 1.3 wt%, but significantly lower adsorption at room temperature (~0.35wt%). These findings highlight the potential of synthesized Fe-MOFs as effective materials for hydrogen storage applications, emphasizing the necessity of further structural optimization or compositing strategies to improve performance under ambient conditions.
Access status: Embargo ,
Development of Inverted Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells on Flexible Substrate
(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2025) Toleu, Talgar
In this project, fabrication and efficiency evaluation of PSCs in both conventional and inverted architectures on rigid and flexible substrates is studied. The PSCs are started from conventional PSCs on FTO glass to establish a base from which to develop the processes, reaching a peak power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.9%. The work is subsequently extended to inverted PSCs on rigid ITO substrates and optimization of interface layers and spin coating conditions resulted in a best efficiency of 8.1%. Hence, the inverted architecture was finally successfully applied to a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, yielding a maximum efficiency of 3.5%. Finally, these results indicate that flexible PSCs can be fabricated using inverted architectures but underscore the significance of layer deposition, interfacial adhesion and mechanical processes of handling. Our findings offer a roadmap to scale up and improve the cost of scalable flexible perovskite solar cells for future energy applications.
Access status: Embargo ,
Evaluation of Personal Investment Strategies In An Emerging Market
(Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Business, 2025-12) Yergaliyev, Amir; Bektemir Ysmailov
This paper evaluates the performance of the main financial assets that are available for retail investors in Kazakhstan and whether they provide protection against inflation. With monthly data for the years 2010–2024 across equities, gold, the USD/KZT exchange rate, S&P 500 returns in KZT, residential real estate, and bank deposits, the paper compares nominal and real returns and estimate inflation betas following Fama and Schwert (1977). The analysis is complemented by return spreads relative to KZT deposits, Sharpe ratios, and cumulative investment paths. The findings demonstrate that both in nominal terms and real terms, USD-linked assets, especially S&P 500 returns denominated in KZT, perform better than domestic alternatives. But none of the assets hedge expected or unexpected inflation; inflation betas are indistinguishable from zero or negative. In depreciation periods, real estate offers only partial short-term nominal protection and fails to preserve long-term purchasing power. The results document a lack of effective inflation-hedging instruments in Kazakhstan and highlight structural constraints facing domestic investors in a high-inflation, high-dollarization environment.
Access status: Embargo ,
Characterization of thermal damage evolution of rock specimens and its effect on rock brittleness
(Nazarbayev University School of Mining and Geosciences, 2025-11-12) Sansyzbekov, Gabit; Amoussou Coffi Adoko; Mathews, George
Understanding thermal damage in rock is crucial for safe deep underground engineering, as elevated temperatures at depth significantly alter the physical and mechanical properties of rock masses. Thermal expansion leads to the initiation and propagation of micro-cracks and mineralogical changes, which in turn reduce compressive strength, tensile strength, and elastic modulus. These effects are critical in applications such as deep mining, geothermal energy, underground coal gasification, and nuclear waste storage. Although the transition from brittle to ductile behavior under thermal loading has been widely studied, the combined effects of high temperatures and pressures (HTPs) on rock brittleness remain insufficiently understood. This knowledge gap potentially limits our understanding of the thermal damage evolution of rock under HTP conditions. In addition, despite the existence of many thermal damage constitutive models, their validity in different contexts (e.g., triaxial tests with multiple temperatures and pressures) has not been carried out yet. This study aims to characterize the damage evolution in rock specimens subjected to heat treatment at different confining pressures and to derive empirical thermal damage constitutive equations. To this end, a critical and comprehensive literature review was conducted (Chapter 2). Next, selected statistical thermo-mechanical damage constitutive models were assessed (Chapter 3). Crack development and mineral transitions of rocks at high temperatures were then examined (Chapter 4), followed by the determination of the thermal damage of rock specimens subjected to heat treatment (Chapter 5). In Chapter 6, a suitable brittleness index of rocks at HTPs was chosen. Finally, the implications of these results for brittle failure of rock masses in deep mines were discussed in Chapter 7. The results indicated that (1) statistical thermo-mechanical constitutive models based on the Weibull distribution and multiple rock failure criteria yield stress-strain predictions closely matching experimental data, (2) P-wave velocity, porosity, uniaxial compressive strength, and tensile strength are key parameters influencing thermal damage, and (3) the best brittleness index capturing thermo-mechanical changes under HTPs was chosen. The effect of thermal damage evolution on brittleness is demonstrated by a brittleness index based on stress-strain curves. The original contribution of this thesis is that the selected index is sensitive to thermal and mechanical degradation mechanisms, including the development of microcracks and mineralogical changes, which directly influence the post-peak behavior of rocks. However, further research could investigate (1) direct measurement of residual stress and strain that could improve the proposed brittleness index under HTPs and (2) the application of different failure criteria can be used to develop statistical thermo-mechanical damage models for rocks. Overall, this work combines published experimental data with microstructural evidence and analytical study to determine the effect of HTPs on the thermal damage and brittleness of rock masses. The findings could advance theoretical understanding of thermal damage evolution and provide a predictive framework with direct applications in deep mining, geothermal extraction, and nuclear waste disposal.
Access status: Open Access ,
Forced Labor and The Landscape Modification: A Phenomenological Study of Karlag Prisoners’ Experiences at Aktailak
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2025-05) Bilal, Zhamila
This capstone project aims to explore the experience and activities of Karlag prisoners at the Aktailak site during the late operation of the camp by focusing on their interactions with the landscape and construction of the camp's infrastructure under the conditions of forced correctional labor. The study will be conducted through the lenses of the post-processual archaeological theories of landscape phenomenology and narrative storytelling proposed by Christopher Tilley (1994) and Janet Spector (2009), respectively. The research will provide a humanizing reconstruction and interpretation of the experiences and activities of the prisoners who extensively modified the landscape and interacted with the environment around them. The main focuses of the project will be on the bodily and sensory aspects of the convicts inside the camp spaces, the construction of the irrigation system and buildings, and the environmental and living conditions that accompanied convicts at Aktailak. The research and the site overview will be supported by the primary sources and archival collection of memoirs, diaries, official documents, and historical records about Karlag and its subdivisions.