text: El-Shall's research interests include nanostructured materials, graphene and nanocatalysis for energy and environmental applications, gas phase clusters and vapor phase nucleation. El-Shall is the architect of the concept of cluster polymerization, and intracluster polymerization was first demonstrated in his lab at VCU.
  As of 2021, El-Shall has written over 290 publications in refereed journals in the areas of physical chemistry, catalysis and nanoscience. He also holds 11 US patents on the synthesis of nanomaterials, nanoparticle catalysts, graphene, graphene-supported catalysts and graphene-based materials for the removal of pollutants from water.