Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to value-added products is a promising way to solve CO2 emission problems. Thanks to the eminent conductivity and proper adsorption to intermediates, palladium has become a promising candidate for CO2 electroreduction (CO2ER). However, Pd-based nanocatalysts generally need a large overpotential to overcome energy barriers in generating highly s...

Prof. Yue Wu, from Iowa State University, visited our lab today. He gave an IRCE2 Lecture named Tuning Electrical and Thermal Properties in Nanostructured Materials.Prof. Yue Wu joined Iowa State University as the Herbert L. Stiles Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in summer 2014. He obtained his B.S. degree in Chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of Ch...

Progress in heterogeneous catalysis is often hampered by the difficulties of constructing active architecture and understanding reaction mechanism at molecular level due to the structural complexity of practical catalysts, in particular for multicomponent catalysts. Although surface science experiment and theoretical simulation help understand the detailed reaction mechanisms over model systems...

Cocatalysts on the outside and inside of hollow spheres trigger photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction to syngas‘Unlike previous ones, our cocatalyst structure is completely separated by a TiO2 shell, enabling electrons and holes generated by TiO2 to flow in opposite directions, which greatly supresses charge carrier recombination,’ Gong tells Chemistry World. Irradiation by solar light caus...

Our new proposal focusing on CO2 utilization collaborated with Profs. Feng Jiao and Bingjun Xu at University of Delaware was approved!2019-2022: “Solar-driven Carbon Dioxide Utilization for Environmental Sustainability”, PI Prof. Tuo Wang

Photocatalytic CO2 reduction represents a sustainable route to generate syngas (the mixture of CO and H2 ), which is a key feedstock to produce liquid fuels in industry. Yet this reaction typically suffers from two limitations: unsuitable CO/H2 ratio and serious charge recombination. This paper describes the production of syngas from photocatalytic CO2 reduction with tunable CO/H2 ratio via adj...

Li Ang, Zhibin, Xiaoxia, Jijie, Chengcheng, Shenjun, Jiubing, Weiting, Li Hao, Mengxin and Shanshan passed their dissertation defense today. Congrats!List of the thesis titles:Li Ang: Rational Regulation and Effective Utilization of Charge Carriers in PhotocatalystsZhibin: Effective Charge Carrier Utilization in Hematite PhotoanodesXiaoxia: Catalytic System Design and Mechanism Investigation fo...

The mixed-metal oxides are one of the most frequently used catalysts in chemical industry, because the superior catalytic reactivity can be achieved by taking advantage of the synergetic effects of their parent oxides. However, the interfacial electronic interactions between metal oxides remains unclear due to their structural complexity. This paper describes the modulation of catalytic perform...

Mixed-metal oxides are one of the most frequently used catalysts in chemical industry, because the superior catalytic reactivity can be achieved by taking advantage of the synergetic effects of their parent oxides. However, the interfacial electronic interactions between metal oxides remain unclear, because of their structural complexity. This paper describes the modulation of catalytic perform...

​CO2 reduction in aqueous solutions is an attractive strategy for carbon capture and utilization. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is a promising catalyst for CO2 reduction as it can not only convert CO2 into valuable hydrocarbons but also suppress the side H2 evolution reaction (HER). However, the nature of the active sites is still under debate due to the complex surface structure of Cu2O under reducing...

Prof. Taeghwan Hyeon, from the Seoul National University, visited our lab today. He gave a Peiyang Lecture with the title “Chemistry for Nano, and Nano for Medicine & Energy”.Prof. Taeghwan Hyeon is a faculty member of the School of Chemical and Biological Engineering of Seoul National University. He has been focused on the synthesis and applications of uniform-sized nanoparticles and related...

Chalcopyrite thin film absorbers such as Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) exhibit excellent solar energy conversion efficiency, particularly when coupled with CdS to form an excellent p-n junction. An increasing number of investigations have focused on adopting protective layers and cocatalysts for chalcopyrite/CdS to improve its stability and surface reaction kinetics. However, satisfactory performance has...

Prof. Michael Grätzel, from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, visited our lab today. He gave a Peiyang Lecture with the title “Mesoscopic Photosystems For Generation of Electricity and Fuels from Sunlight”.Prof. Michael Graetzel directs there the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research in the field of energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic syste...

The intrinsic errors due to functionals are always a concern on the reliability of the predicted catalytic performance by density functional theory. This paper describes a probability-based computational screening study, which has successfully identified an optimal bimetallic alloy (Pt3In) for propane dehydrogenation reaction (PDH). Considering DFT uncertainty, Pt3In was found to get an activit...

Supported vanadium oxides are one of the most promising alternative catalysts for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and massive efforts have been made to improve its catalytic performance. However, unlike Pt‐based catalysts, the nature of the active site and surface structure of supported vanadium catalysts under reductive reaction condition still remain elusive. We show that the surface structure...

​The existence of acetylene impurities in ethylene feedstock is harmful to downstream polymerization reactions. The removal of acetylene can be achieved via semihydrogenation reaction, which is normally catalyzed by Pd-based catalysts. This paper describes the coverage effect on the activity of acetylene hydrogenation reactions over Pd and PdSn alloy surfaces. High-coverage models are presente...

La2O3 exhibits good performance for various catalytic applications, such as oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) and dry reforming of methane (DRM), during which coke formation may lead to the deactivation of catalysts. Typically, the reaction between CO2 adsorbed on La2O3 and coke is the rate-determining step of the coke elimination process. This paper describes the influence of Ce addition on ...

Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide) to value‐added products is a promising way to solve CO2 emission problems. This paper describes a facile one‐pot approach to synthesize palladium–copper (Pd–Cu) bimetallic catalysts with different structures. Highly efficient performance and tunable product distributions are achieved due to a coordina...

Gonglab’s 2017 Annual Summing-up Meeting was held on Jan 17 and 22.The winners of 2017 are:Research Star of Gonglab:Congling Hu (PhD)Piaoping Yang (Master)Best Newcommer:Gong Zhang2nd Prize of Research Stars:Xiaoxia Chang, Sai Chen and Chengcheng Li3rd Prize of Research Stars:Hao Li, Chengsheng Yang, Shenjun Zha and Wenjin Zh

During photoelectrochemical water oxidation reaction process, excessive surface oxygen vacancies always trap the photogenerated holes and the surface recombination will be aggravated. We developed an ozone treatment method that could effectively heal surface oxygen vacancies and suppress the recombination of electron-hole pairs on the surface of two-dimensional WO3 nanoflakes. The ozone treatme...

Tengfang passed his dissertation defense today. Congrats! The title of his thesis is “Study on the Catalytic Performances and Mechanism of Propane Dehydrogenation over Supported vanadium Catalysts”. He will start his new career in Huizhou Yussen Chemical Co.,Ltd. All the best, Tengfang!

​Prof. Xiaodong Chen from Nanyang Technological University visits us today. He gave a talk titled “Mechanomaterials Design for Energy Storage”

Our new proposal focusing on CO2 reduction collaborated with Prof. Felix Studt at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie was approved!2018-2020: “Understanding the CO2 reduction mechanism over CoCu-based catalyst by combined theoretical and experimental studies”, PI Prof. Zhi-Jian Zhao

​Prof. Zhao has been appointed as Associate Editor of Chemical Engineering Science. Chemical Engineering Science (CES) has been publishing papers on the fundamentals of chemical engineering since 1951. CES is the platform where the most significant advances in the discipline have ever since been published. Chemical Engineering Science has accompanied and sustained chemical engineering through ...

​Prof Gong won the Lectureship Award in Osaka-Kansai International Symposium on Catalysis. Congratulations

​Prof. Gong won the The SCEJ (Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan) Award for Outstanding Asian Researcher and Engineer. Congratulations

​Prof. Wang wins the Hou Debang Chemical Engineering Science and Technology Award For Youth on October 14th at the 2017 CIESC Annual Meeting. The Hou Debang Chemical Engineering S&T Award dedicates to the memory of Mr Hou Debang for his whole life contribution to chemical industry and chemical engineering career development. Congratulations

Prof Gong host the ChemComm Symposium on Energy Science and Materials at Tianjin University. In the symposium, nine worldwide famous specialists discussed the recent progress and future trend in energy science and other interdisciplinary investigations such as advanced materials, nanotechnology, CO2 conversion, etc

Prof Gong has been appointed as an editorial advisory board member of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering invites Letters, Articles, Features, and Perspectives (Reviews) that address challenges of sustainability in the chemical enterprise and advance principles of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering.Ang's work on "Synergy between Thin Heterojunctio...

​Prof. Neyman from Universitat de Barcelona visited us today and gave a lecture with the title “Modelling Catalytic Nanomaterials-as Simple as Possible, but not Simpler”. Welcome to Tianjin!

​We are excited to welcome 19 new graduate students to the Energy and Environmental Catalysis Group. They are Xin Chang, Zhiqiang Chen, Hongfang Li, Lulu Li, Bin Liu, Rui Liu, Sihang Liu, Tao Liu, Jieli Wang, Meilin Wang, Shujie Wang, Xianhui Wang, Quan Xiao, Yufei Xie, Xintong Yuan, Gong Zhang, Xianhua Zhang, Chen Zhao and Jing Zhao. Welcome!

​Prof. Wang has been appointed as Subject Editor of Renewable Energy. Renewable Energy seeks to promote and disseminate knowledge on the various topics and technologies of renewable energy systems and components. The journal aims to serve researchers, engineers, economists, manufacturers, NGOs, associations and societies to help them keep abreast of new developments in their specialist fields ...

​Prof. Gong has been listed as one of the Top 1% highly cited Chinese researchers in general chemistry by RSC. Congratulations

​Prof. Wang receives NSFC Young Talent Award. Congratulations

​Prof Gong has been appointed as an Associate Editor of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

New funding was approved from National Nature Science Foundation of China, collaborated with Chulalongkorn University, Thailand:2017-2020: “Sorption enhanced chemical looping reforming of bio-ethanol for hydrogen production”, PI Prof. Jinlong Gong

​Zhiqi, Xinyu, Ke, Yijia, Shengnan and Sika passed their dissertation defense. Congrats!

Prof. Studt from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology visited us today and gave a lecture with the title “Thermal and Electrochemical Reduction of CO2”. Welcome to Tianjin

​Prof. Xin Chen from Boston University visits our lab today. He gave a talk “Application of non-linear optics in surface science and catalysis”