Research Overview
We design chemical architectures that enable molecules to move, react, and perform.
Rather than focusing on a single material platform, we integrate structure, transport, active sites, and stability to create catalysts and adsorbents for energy, carbon management, and sustainable chemical processes. Our goal is to translate molecular-level understanding into practical technologies with meaningful environmental and societal impact.
1. CO₂ Capture and Utilization
Closing the Carbon Cycle
Climate change requires technologies that can efficiently capture CO₂ from dilute and concentrated sources and convert it into useful products. We design porous adsorbents and catalytic interfaces that control CO₂ accessibility, binding, transport, conversion, and regeneration. By connecting molecular-level design with scalable processes, our research aims to reduce carbon emissions and enable circular production of fuels and chemicals.
[1] “An Ethylenediamine‐Grafted Y Zeolite: a Highly Regenerable Carbon Dioxide Adsorbent via Temperature Swing Adsorption without Urea Formation”
Energy & Environmental Science, 9, 1803-1811 (2016) – Link
[2] “Epoxide-Functionalization of Polyethyleneimine for Synthesis of Stable Carbon Dioxide Adsorbent in Temperature Swing Adsorption”
Nature Communications, 7, 12640 (2016) – Link
[3] “Oxidation-stable amine-containing adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture”
Nature Communications, 9, 726 (2018) – Link
[4] “Design of Amine-Containing Nanoporous Materials for Postcombustion CO2 Capture form Engineering Perspectives”
Accounts of Chemical Research, 56, 2887-2897 (2023) – Link
2. Sustainable Ammonia Synthesis
Producing Essential Chemicals with Less Energy
Ammonia is essential for global food production and is emerging as a carbon-free energy carrier, yet its conventional production is highly energy- and carbon-intensive. We engineer metal–promoter interfaces and molecular reaction environments that facilitate nitrogen activation while controlling hydrogen transfer and catalyst poisoning. Our goal is to enable lower-temperature, lower-pressure ammonia synthesis compatible with renewable energy and distributed chemical manufacturing.
[1] “Splitting of Hydrogen Atoms into Proton-Electron Pairs at BaO-Ru Interfaces for Promoting Ammonia Synthesis under Mild Condition”
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 145, 11364-11374 (2023) – Link
[2] “Electron and Proton Storage on Separate Ru and BaO Domains Mediated by Conductive Low-Work-Function Carbon to Accelerate Ammonia Synthesis”
Nature Catalysis, 8, 248-256 (2025) – Link
3. Renewable Fuels and Chemicals
Transforming Renewable Carbon into Useful Products
Biomass and other renewable carbon sources can replace fossil resources, but their complex and bulky molecules are difficult to process selectively. We integrate hierarchical pores, transport pathways, and multifunctional active sites to control deoxygenation, hydrogenation, cracking, and isomerization. These chemical architectures provide pathways toward sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, lubricant base oils, and high-value chemicals.
[1] “Maximizing Biojet Fuel Production from Triglyceride: Importance of the Hydrocracking Catalyst and Separate Deoxygenation/Hydrocracking Steps”
ACS Catalysis, 7, 6256-6267 (2017) – Link
[2] “Effects of Fatty Acid Structures on Ketonization Selectivity and Catalyst Deactivation”
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 6, 13035-13044 (2018) – Link
[3] “Effects of Fatty Acid Compositions on Heavy Oligomer Formation and Catalyst Deactivation during Deoxygenation of Triglycerides”
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 6, 17168-17177 (2018) – Link
[4] “Single-Step Hydroconversion of Triglycerides into Biojet Fuel Using CO-Tolerant PtRe Catalyst Supported on USY”
Journal of Catalysis, 379, 180-190 (2019) – Link
[5] “Coproduction of Value-Added Lube Base Oil and Green Diesel from Natural Triglycerides via a Simple Two-Step Process”
Industral & Engineering Chemistry Research, 59, 8946-8954 (2020) – Link
[6] “Importance of Pore Size and Lewis Acidity of Pt/Al2O3 for Mitigating Mass Transfer Limitation and Catalyst Fouling in Triglyceride Deoxygenation”
Chemical Engineering Journal, 439, 135530 (2022) – Link
[7] “Catalytic Conversion of Triglycerides into Diesel, Jet Fuel, and Lube Base Oil”
Chineses Journal of Catalysis, 58, 15-24 (2024) – Link
4. Plastic Chemical Recycling
Returning Waste Plastics to the Carbon Cycle
Plastic waste and pyrolysis oils contain diverse molecules and impurities that rapidly deactivate conventional catalysts. We design catalytic architectures that manage heavy-molecule transport, remove contaminants, control reaction sequences, and maintain stability under realistic waste-derived feeds. Our research seeks to convert difficult plastic waste into reusable feedstocks and chemicals, supporting a more circular and resource-efficient plastics economy
[1] “Catalytic Synergy between Lewis Acidic Alumina and Pt in Hydrodechlorination for Plastic Chemical Recycling”
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146, 23881-23890 (2024) – Link
5. Energy-Efficient Catalytic Processes
Making Chemical Manufacturing Cleaner and More Efficient
Many industrial chemical processes require high temperatures, intensive separations, and frequent catalyst replacement. We design reaction environments in which active sites, molecular transport, and surface chemistry work together to improve activity, selectivity, and durability. Through this approach, we aim to reduce energy consumption, waste generation, and carbon emissions across important catalytic processes.
[1] “Dynamic Metal-Polymer Interaction for the Design of Chemoselective and Long-Lived Hydrogenation Catalysts”
Science Advances, 6, eabb7369 (2020) – Link
[2] “Tailoring Dynamic Metal-Polymer Interaction to Improve Catalyst Selectivity and Longevity in Hydrogenation”
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60, 12482-12489 (2021) – Link
[3] “Catalytic Interplay of Ga, Pt, and Ce on the Alumina Surface Enabling High Activity, Selectivity, and Stability in Propane Dehydrogenation”
ACS Catalysis, 11, 10767-10777 (2021) – Link
[4] “Hierarchical BEA Zeolite with Trimodal Micro-/Meso-/Macroporosity as a Selective and Long-Lived Catalyst for Isobutane/2-Butene Alkylation”
ACS Catalysis, 12, 4067-4077 (2022) – Link
[5] “Hierarchical LTL Zeolite as an Efficient and Sustainable Solid Acid Catalyst for Replacing HCl in the Production of Polyurethane Intermediates”
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 62, e202304244 (2023) – Link
[6] “Cooperative Interplay of Micropores/Mesopores of Hierarchical Zeolite in Chemical Production”
ACS Catalysis, 14, 2031-2048 (2024) – Link
[7] “Synergistic Combination of Inorganic and Organic Promoters on Palladium Catalysts for Effective Acetylene Partial Hydrogenation”
ACS Catalysis, 14, 2938-2948 (2024) – Link
6. Advanced Materials and Chemical Architecture
Building New Platforms for Future Challenges
Emerging energy and environmental challenges often cannot be solved with existing materials alone. We explore zeolites, oxides, polymers, carbons, high-entropy materials, and composites as building blocks for controlling pores, interfaces, transport pathways, active sites, and stability. The objective is not simply to synthesize new materials, but to create functional chemical architectures capable of addressing problems that current technologies cannot solve.
[1] “Amphiphilic Organosilane-Directed Synthesis of Crystalline Zeolite with Tunable Mesoporosity”
Nature Materials, 5, 718-723 (2006) – Link
[2] “Stable Single-Unit-Cell Nanosheets of Zeolite MFI as Active and Long-Lived Catalysts”
Nature, 461, 246-249 (2009) – Link
[3] “Bottom-up Synthesis of Two-Dimensional Carbon with Vertically Aligned Ordered Micropores for Ultrafast Nanofiltration”
Science Advances, 9, eade7871 (2023) – Link
[4] “Diversity in Atomic Structures of Zeolite-Templated Carbons and the Consequences for Macroscopic Properties”
JACS Au, 4, 1489-1499 (2024) – Link
