News archive
December 2022
Our collaborative paper with Prof. Jia Niu's group on photocatalytic lignin valorization is accepted for publication by ACS Central Science. Well done!
November 2022
Two papers are recently accepted for publication by PNAS and JACS, respectively. Well done, group!
September 2022
The group welcomes back Dr. Wei Li! She will be overseeing the operation and directs research of the group.
August 2022
The group says goodbye to Dr. Haoyi Li, who finishes his training and will continue his journey at LBNL.
June 2022
Our perspective article on Li+ diffusion in Li metal anode is accepted for publication in J. Phys. Chem. C. Congratulations!
May 2022
Haochuan successfully defended his doctoral thesis! Yuhan, Yu, Muchun, and Tianying successfully passed their oral exams and became doctoral candidates! Congratulations to them!
December 2021
The group has received a grant to purchase a new AutoChem II 2920 Chemisorption Analyzer. We are grateful for the support and really look forward to taking advantage of this new capability.
Dr. Rong Chen finishes her studies with us. Congratulations to Rong! We'll miss you.
The group welcomes three new graduate students, Brooke Elander, Boqiang Chen, and James Wilkes. Welcome to the group! Excited to work with you.
October 2021
Tongtong Luo received the poster award at the annual Graduate Student Symposium held on Oct. 23, 2021. Congratulations to Tongtong!
Dr. Yanyan Zhao, who graduated from our group last year, recently received the prestigious Outstanding Student Award by the China Scholarship Council, continuing a success spree by graduates from our group. Congratulations to her!
August 2021
Dr. Yuanxing Wang finished his training with us. We wish him the best with his future endeavors!
July 2021
We are grateful that the National Science Foundation is providing us a new grant to support the project on Mg-battery using MOF. The project is in collaboration with Profs. Lucas Bao and Udayan Mohanty's groups.
June 2021
For the first time since March 2020, the group got together on June 18, 2021 for a happy hour to celebrate the Juneteenth and the summer weather. It is good to finally see everyone in flesh!
Our paper on using TEP for Li metal battery is highlighted as an inside cover by Angew. Chem. Check it out here!
May 2021
Haochuan and Qi's collaborative paper with the Byers' group is accepted for publication by Chem. Sci. Congratulations to them!
Our joint review paper on water oxidation with Prof. Xiaogang Yang is accepted for publication by Nano Research in a special issue dedicated to the celebration of Prof. Yitai Qian's 80th birthday. Congratulations!
Apr. 2021
Haochuan and Jingru's paper on SEI formation is accepted by Angew. Chem. (see here). Congratulations!
Mar. 2021
Congratulations to Haochuan Zhang for receiving the Graduate School's Dissertation Fellowship!
Keyan's collaborative paper with Prof. Kirk Bevan's group is accepted by ACS AMI. Congratulations!
The group welcomes Connor Gallacher as a new graduate student!
Our water oxidation paper is accepted for publication by Chem (see here). Well done, group!
Jan. 2021
We are devastated to share that our dear friend, collaborator, and colleague, Prof. Chia-Kuang "Frank" Tsung (宗家洸) passed away on Jan. 5, 2021 due to complications of Covid-19. A virtual memorial service is scheduled on Jan. 30th, 2021 at 7pm Boston time to honor his life and work. Please contact Dale Mohaney for more details of this service.
Rong's paper in collaboration with the Niu group is accepted for publication by Angew. Chem. This work is on electrochemial biomass conversion. Congratulations, Rong!
We are honored to welcome Dr. Hongna Zhang, who will work jointly between Prof. Waegele's group and us on the solar water splitting project. Hongna was previously working with Dr. Heinz Frei at LBL.
Dec. 2020
The group is honored to welcome 4 new members. They are: Muchun Fei, Tianying Liu, Yu Mu, and Yuhan Zhang, all first-year graduate students.
Please check out the YouTube channel of Center for Integrated Catalysis: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP-ctKdZ03cyzHazOAG0y9g You will be able to see the latest videos from our center activities.
Nov. 2020
Check out the latest videos about BC chemistry.
People and Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a60jfJ8JIVA
BC Campus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFLsiYIwRJ8
Merkert Building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqVDe146ZBI
Research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFprFx6YGh8
Why BC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJL6f2AUHmE'
Oct. 2020
Dr. Yucheng Yuan will join us as a postdoctoral researchers in December. Yucheng graduated from Brown University earlier this year. We are excited to work with her!
You can view Dunwei's NSF CCI Webinar on electrochemistry here: https://youtu.be/2OJzEsVtUcE
Sept. 2020
The first CIC webinar by Prof. Paula Diaconescu was a huge success! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/Ob4Pxy7WoEA
July 2020
Our collaborative paper with Prof. Gonghu Li's group is accepted for publication by J. Chem. Phys. Well done, Bingqing!
We are getting a new NSF grant to support our efforts on photocatalysis. It is the second new NSF grant we received this summer.
We are also part of the team led by Prof. Paula Diaconescu at UCLA to win a Phase I of Center for Chemical Innovations (CCI). At BC, we will be working with Prof. Jeff Byers group on integrated catalysis. Well done, group, for pulling a hat trick in grant applications!
We are excited that Dr. Hongna Zhang will join us as a new postdoctoral researcher. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Heinz Frei at Berkeley Lab. She got her doctoral degree from the Chinese Academy of Science with Prof. Jincai Zhao. Hongna will join us in December and work on the project in collaboration with Prof. Waegele. Welcome, Hongna!
June 2020
#ShutDownSTEM, #ShutDownAcademia, #Strike4BlackLives
(Below is a statement from BC Chemistry Faculty on the recent social movement and a response to a publication in Angewandte Chemie.)
Dear Chemistry Community,
The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmed Arbery, in addition to the treatment of Christian Cooper, serve as stark reminders of the unjust and unfair treatment of black members of our community. Unfortunately, this treatment is too commonplace in our society and the biases that lead to it are not absent in the sciences nor in this department.
Recently, an op-ed masquerading as a scientific article was authored by T. Hudlicky and was briefly published in Angewandte Chemie. In addition to many factual errors, the article espoused viewpoints that are overtly racist and sexist, and that are hurtful to many of our students and faculty. The Chemistry Faculty condemn these viewpoints. The clear bias and lack of appreciation for diversity in the sciences is counter to the values of our Department. We believe that diversity in the sciences is vital for achieving excellence and that an inclusive culture strengthens our research programs.
When it comes to matters of discrimination in the sciences, either explicit or implicit, we can always make progress in bettering our actions. In that vein, and in respect for the #ShutDownSTEM, #ShutDownAcademia, and #Strike4BlackLives effort (https://www.shutdownstem.com), we invite you to spend time tomorrow reflecting on ways the department might act to eliminate racism within our community and to share them with us directly.
May 2020
Dr. Qi Dong, who graduated from our group last year, was one of the recipients of the Outstanding Student Award by the China Scholarship Council, a highly prestigious and competitive recognition. Congratulations, Qi!
We are excited that Dr. Sufeng Cao will join us as a postdoctoral researcher. He just graduated from Tufts University with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Welcome, Sufeng!
We are grateful that NSF is providing us a new grant to support our collaborative efforts with Profs. Brudvig, Batista and Pan to study CO and CH4 oxidation. Well done, group!
Jingru defended her thesis on Zoom, despite the pandemic-induced lockdown. Congratulations!
April 2020
New honors to our undergraduate researchers! Nicholas Dulock is now a Sophomore Scholar, and Alinda Dersjant is the Dean's Scholar. Congratulations to them!
March 2020
Yanyan will receive the prestigious Dissertation Fellowship from the graduate school. Congratulations to Yanyan!
The group is excited to announce that (soon-to-be Dr.) Ben Williams will join us as a postdoctoral researcher this summer. Welcome, Ben!
Nick Dulock is one of 2 Beckman Scholars in 2020! Congratulations to Nick.
December 2019
Dunwei was interviewed by Richard Harris of the National Public Radio. List to the interview online.
Da defended his thesis successfully on Dec. 18th and became the 14th doctoral degree awardee from the group. Congratulations!
The group welcomes three new students. Joanna Choe joins us as a sophomore. Tongtong Luo and Hongyan Wang join us as first-year graduate students.
November 2019
Jingru is one of the winners of the inaugural Chemistry Graduate Student Fellowship! Congratulations to Jingru! Well done.
We welcome Dr. Haoyi Li, who just graduated from Tsinghua University, to join us as a postdoctoral researcher. We also welcome Ms. Tara McDonald ('22) who is a sophomore in the honors program.
October 2019
Submit your papers to the special issue by J. Chem. Phys. on photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, and photoelectrocatalysis.
The group congratulates Yanyan for becoming a proud mom! This is the 7th baby born to our members while working in the group. What a productive group!
September 2019
The Vanderslice professorship announcement by BC News: link. Thanks to everyone who helps make this possible!
Yumin's perspective paper has been accepted for publication by J. Chem. Phys. It'll be published as a cover article and will be featured as a Feature article, too. Congratulations!
August 2019
We welcome 3 new group members, Dr. Yuanxing Wang as a postdoctoral scholar, Ms. Gabriela Prostko as an undergraduate researcher, and Dr. Keyan Li as a visiting scholar!
Jingru's collaboration paper with Yang in the Tsung group is accepted for publication by Angew. Chem. Congratulations!
Dunwei was appointed the Margaret A & Thomas A Vanderslice Chair in Chemistry. Thanks, group, for making this possible. We are grateful to the Vanderslice family for the generous support.
Two new papers were accepted, including our collaborations with Prof. Yanhua Zhang at Nanjing Tech and Dr. Elizabeth Pastrana in Peru. Congratulations!
July 2019
The group is grateful to NSF (CBET) and DOE (BES) for funding us with two new projects on photocatalysis and H2O oxidation.
Two recent papers were accepted, including our collaboration with Prof. Liangbing Hu (Nano Letter; on Li-O2 battery) and Water-in-Salt for CO2 reduction (ACS Cent. Sci). Both papers are led by Qi. Congratulations.
June 2019
The group remembers Dr. James E. Thorne, who passed away on June 20, 2019.
Dunwei has been elected as the chairperson of the Chemistry Department. He starts his term in June 2019.
May 2019
We are getting our new X-ray photoelectron spectrometer!
Yumin and Qi successfully defended their theses. Congratulations!
March 2019
A new joint paper with Prof. Hamann is accepted for publication in ACS AMI. Cheers!
Our joint paper with Prof. Katayama on the charge dynamcis of hematite was featured on the cover of J. Phys. Chem. Cheers!
February 2019
Several new papers are recently accepted for publications, including Yumin's Pt studies (by Nano Research), Da's review paper on CO2 reduction (by J. Photochem. Photobio C) and Jim's collaboration paper with Prof. Katayama group on transient studies of Fe2O3 (by J. Phys. Chem. C). Congratulations to them all!
We welcome Dr. Rong Chen to join us as a postdoctoral researcher.
Dr. Wei Li, a recent graduate from the group, is among those who received the prestigious Outstanding Student Award for overseas Chinese. Congratulations to Wei! She is the 3rd in the group to receive this award.
Dunwei was named a Young Innovator in Nano Energy by the journal Nano Reserch. Thanks, group , for making this possible.
January 2019
Yumin's paper is accepted for publication by Chem. Soc. Rev. Congratulations!
We also welcome a new member, Alinda Dersjant, to the group.
December 2018
Dunwei went to India for a solar energy utilization symposium.
The group welcomes Dr. Hongbo Liang and Dr. Bingqing Zhang as new visiting scholars. Dr. Liang will be with us for 6 months and Dr. Zhang will be with us for 2 years.
October 2018
We are excited that ACS PRF has awarded a New Direction grant to support our efforts on photocatalysis. Well done, group!
A new paper with Xiaogang is accepted by ACS Applied Energy Materials.
September 2018
Jim successfuly defended his thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Thorne!
Two new collaborative papers were recently accepted. One concerns hematite by Guanyu Liu and will be published in Nano Energy; the other concerns transient surface photovoltage studies on BiVO4 by Xiaogang and will be published in Chem. Sci. Congratulations to them!
August 2018
Shasha's paper on H2O2 selectivity is accepted for publication by J. Chem. Phys. Congratulations!
July 2018
Yanyan's new end-on DHC paper is picked up by news outlets. Science Daily
We are excited to announce that two new grants were recently awarded to us, including an internal Ignite award and a new NSF award! Well done, group!
June 2018
Two new papers were accepted, including Yanyan's paper on end-on bound dual atom catalysts by ACS Central Science and Jim's collaboration paper with Prof. Katayama on charge dynamic studies by J. Photochem.
Qi's Chem cover went online. Enjoy!
May 2018
Dunwei leads a group of BC students to experience China and study sustainability.
Congratulations to Dr. Wei Li and Dr. Qingmei Cheng for successfully defending their theses!
We congratulate Xizi Zhang for receiving a number of prestigious awards, including: the McGuinn Award, the McCarthy Prize, the 2018 ACS Undergraduate Award in Physical Chemistry, Scholar of the College, and elected as a Phi Beta Kappa member! Well done, Xizi! Good luck with your future research/study at Yale!
Two new papers are recently accepted, including Wei's paper on facet-dependent hematite studies by ACS AMI and our joint feature article on CO2 reduction with Nanjing Tech (Yuanxing and Cailing) by J. Colloid. Inter. Sci. Congratulations!
April 2018
Dunwei was interviewed by Reuters TV. https://reut.rs/2HPjJOn
Qi's collaboration paper with the Byers group is accepted by JACS. Congratulations!
Yanyan's paper is highlighted by Nature Energy: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-018-0141-0
Two new papers are recently accepted, including the Prospective article on catalysis in metal air batteries Qi wrote for MRS Communications and Wei and Da's paper on selective methane reforming for ACS Central Science. Congratulations to them!
March 2018
News coverage on Yanyan dinuclear catalyst Eurekalert, Science Daily, PhysOrg, and many more.
Qi's Li-O2 battery paper will be on the cover of Chem later this spring. Congratulations, Qi!
Dunwei was recently interviewed by Green Sense Radio. Stay tuned for the show!
Xiahui got the highly competitive, prestigious Chinese Government Award for Oustanding Overseas Students. Congratulations to Dr. Yao! He is the second one from the group to win this award.
February 2018
Four new papers have been recently accepted for publications, including Wei's collaboration paper with Prof. Chen Yang, Yanyan's paper on dinuclear heterogeneous catalyst, and Qi's paper on Li-O2 batteries. Yumin's perspect on solar water splitting will appear in Chem. Of them, Qi's paper will be published as the cover article. Congratulations to them!
Dunwei was promoted to full professor. Thanks group for making this possible.
December 2017
Summer abroad program on climate change and environmental chemistry link Apply now!
The group welcomes two new graduate students, Chaochao and Haochuan! We also welcome a visiting student, Bingju Zhong, from Nanjing Tech Univ.!
Dunwei will serve as an advisory board member for the new ACS journal ACS Applied Energy Materials.
New book on energy conversion and storage editted by Dunwei is now published.
November 2017
Join us for the MRS meeting in Boston! The group has a total of 4 talks and multiple posters.
Jim's joint paper with Prof. Katayama on charge carrier studies is accepted by J. Photochem. Photobio. A. Congratulations!
We welcome Tomoki Kanazawa from Tokyo Institute of Technology as a short-term visitor!
Jim's joint paper with Yifan on soft X-ary study of hematite is published in JPCC. Congratulations!
Xin Ba finishes his visit and returns to Wuhan. Good luck with your future endeavors !
October 2017
Jim's paper on photocathode study is now accepted by Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. Congratulations!
We received a new grant from Mass Clean Energy Center to support our efforts on water splitting. Thanks, MassCEC!
September 2017
Several new papers of ours have been recently accepted. Congratulations to the authors.
Yumin's paper on Ta3N5 will be published in Joule soon.
Wei's joint paper with the Hill group is accepted by ACS Appl. Mater. Interface.
Wei's joint review paper has been published by Nano Futures.
Shasha finished her visit and returned to Zhejiang University. Good luck, Shasha!
July 2017
We are grateful to two new grants from the NSF and one grant from the DOE for supporting our research efforts! This is the way to go, group!
Erik and Jim's IMPS study of BiVO4 is now published in ACS Appl. Mater. Interface.! Congratulations!
June 2017
Congratulations to Xiahui for successfully defending his thesis! He became the #8th Ph.D. produced by the group!
Hongye finished her visit and returned to Zhejiang University. Good luck, Hongye!
April 2017
Jingru and Xiahui's paper accepted by Nano Res. Cogratulations!
Qingmei's paper on photorechargeable paper accepted by Adv. Mater. Congratulatios to Qingmei!
Weiqiang finished his visit and returned to Jinagsu University. Good luck, Weiqiang!
November 22, 2016
The group welcomes Xin Ba as a visiting student!
Qi's paper on Mg-O2 battery is published as a front inside cover. Congratulations, Qi!
Da's paper on CO2 reductionis accepted by Chem. Commun. Congratulations, Da!
September 30, 2016
Living in Material World, enjoy!
September 10, 2016
Jim got a DOE fellowship to carry out time-resolved X-ray absorption studies. Congratulations to Jim!
Xiahui, Jingru and Qi's Mg-Br2 paper is now published in Nano Energy. Congratulations to them!
Shasha Zhu joins us as a visiting student. She is currently a graduate student at Zhejiang University and will spend a year with us. Welcome!
August 1, 2016
Jim got a fellowship to do research at the Advanced Light Source at Berkeley. Congratulations to Jim!
June 1, 2016
We welcome two visiting scholars, both from Jaingsu University, Prof. Weiqiang Fan and Prof. Hongye Bai!
December 11, 2015
Chun successfully defended her thesis. Congratulations!
We welcome two new members to the group: Jingru and Yanyan!
December 2, 2015
We are on CBS news on climate change.
October 7, 2015
Xiahui's paper is featured as cover of ACS Appl. Mater. Interface. link
June 2015
New record on hematite-based solar water splitting
Gizmag, AZoCleantech, Rinnovabili, PhysOrg, ScienceBlog, R&D Magzine, Nanowerk
Jin successfully defended his thesis; Congratulations!
April 2015
Congratulations to Jin, who won the Chinese Government's Outstanding Oversea's Student award!
March 2015
New strategies for Li-O2 batteries (selected coverage)
PhysOrg, R&D Magzine, Nanowerk, Science Daily,NSF Science 360
December 2014
Welcome new members: Qi and Da!
We are on MRS TV
(clik here if you don't see the vidoe below)
January 2014
Welcome new members, Ji-Wook, Qingmei, Yuming, and Jim! Also welcome new undergraduate researchers, Ted, Jordan, and Erik!
October 2013
Rust powers artificial photosynthesis
PhysOrg, Science Codex, TG (Tech Generation) Daily, Controlled Environments Magazine, ECN Magazine
May 2013
Xiaogang will join Xuchang University in China. Good luck, Xiaogang!
March 2013
Matt successfully defended his thesis. He will join M. Gratzel group for a postdoctoral training. Good luck, Matt!
Rui successfull defended her thesis. She will join JCAP in Caltech as a postdctoral researcher. Good luck, Rui!
July 2012
Rui and Guangbi's paper is feature as the cover of Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. this month (link).
This work is also covered by WIRED. AZNano, MaterialsView, MaterialsView China, PhysOrg, Science Daily, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
May 2012
Yongjing, Sa, and Guangbi successfully defended their theses to become the first Ph.Ds from our group. Congrulations!
February 2012
Thanks, Alfred P. Sloan Foudation, for funding our research news release
January 2012
New graduate students Chun Du and Carrie Stephani join our group. Welcome!
December 2011
BC team demonstrates new battery material.
New cover for Yongjing and Guangbi's paper.
October 2011
Congratulations to Sa for being selected as a finalist of MRS student award competition!
April 2011
Our frontiers series feature article is highlighted by the cover of Chemical Physics Letters (volume: 507; issue: 4-6).
Materials Today: splitting water with rusty nets
March 2011
Catalst Award from Massachusetts Clean Energy Center link
March 2011
Nano nets for solar energy (and maybe very tiny fish)
Reason for the low performance of chemically grown Si nanowires understood
February 2011
Back cover of Angew. Chem.
What one can do with rust?
Science Daily Physorg Nanowerk EcoSeed R&D Magzine 科技日报
February 2011
Our group is featured on the BC homepage for the week of Feb. 3, 2011 to Feb. 10, 2011
see a screenshot here:
January 2011
Developer of Nnaonets Snares NSF Award link
December 2010
News on our novel outreach program
Making science a Fan-Tastic experience
November 2010
Our paper on the new tungsten oxide photoelectrodes is highlighted by the chemistry department. click here
February 2010
Nanonets for battery applications
Science Daily Physorg BC Chronicle NanowerkPhysics News
December 2009
First year graduate students Jin Xie and Zachary Simpson joined our group. Welcome, Jin and Zachary!
February 2009
Efficient water splitting using nanostructures (selected coverage)
Science Daily United Press International eScience News Nanowerk R&D Magzine Market Watch the Post Chronicle Huliq News The Energy RoadmapChem Europe
July 2008: Sa, Xiaohua and Yongjing's paper on TiSi₂ nanonets is now accepted for publication in Angew. Chem. and selected as a "Hot Paper" by the editors. Congratulations to them all!
(selected news coverage)
Technology Review EE Times The Bulletin Science Daily Small Times Physorg Materials Today eScience News Nano Techwire ZP Energy BC Heights 科技日报 电子工程专辑
June 2008: First year graduate students Rui, Matt, and Andrew, undergraduate student Stafford Sheehan joined us. Welcome all!
March 2008: First year graduate student Guangbi joined us. Welcome Guangbi! Meanwhile, Weidong left us to transfer to Boston University, good luck Weidong.
March 2008: Huaizhou, Sa and Zainul’s paper on SiNW growth was published on JPCC, congratulations!