Metal Oxide DEsign Laboratory MODEL

- Designing inorganic materials through crystal growth, transformation, and surface/interface engineering for sustainable energy and chemical conversion -

Welcome to the Metal Oxide DEsign Laboratory (MODEL), led by Seungho Cho. We develop composition- and structure-programmable metal (hydr)oxides by uncovering the fundamental principles governing their formation and evolution. Our research integrates crystal growth, phase transformation, and rational synthesis to achieve precise control over multi-element compositions, structures, and interfaces for energy and environmental applications.

Research Areas

Layered Metal Hydroxides and Oxides

Programmable 2D inorganic frameworks for controlling composition, cation distribution, interlayer chemistry, and post-synthetic transformation.

Multicomponent and Compositionally Complex Materials

Designing complex cation lattices to regulate local atomic environments, cation proximity, and cooperative interactions.

Phase Transformation and Interface Engineering

Using compositionally defined precursors to control phase evolution and construct metal–metal and metal–oxide interfaces.

Catalysis and Energy Conversion

Connecting materials formation, local structure, and interfaces with catalytic activity, selectivity, and reaction pathways.

News & Highlights

October 2026 | Donghyeok and Su-Jin's paper, "Electron-Rich Nickel Enabled by Charge Transfer in Multimetal Nanostructures for Efficient Ammonia-to-Hydrogen Conversion" has been published in Advanced Science.
April 2026 | Hyoseok's paper, "Diverse Cation Exchange in Layered Titanate Nanostructures for Tailored Catalysis" has been published in Advanced Materials.
April 2026 | Hyunmin and Yoon Seo's paper, "Engineered Metal-Metal Junctions from Layered Double Hydroxide Frameworks for High-Rate Solid Oxide Cells" has been published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Featured Recent Publications

Electron-Rich Nickel Enabled by Charge Transfer in Multimetal Nanostructures for Efficient Ammonia-to-Hydrogen Conversion, Advanced Science (2026)

Cr-to-Ni charge transfer creates electron-rich Ni active sites for efficient and durable Ru-free ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion.

Diverse Cation Exchange in Layered Titanate Nanostructures for Tailored Catalysis, Advanced Materials (2026)

Post-synthetic cation exchange expands the accessible composition and functionality of layered oxide nanostructures.

Engineered Metal-Metal Junctions from Layered Double Hydroxide Frameworks for High-Rate Solid Oxide Cells, Advanced Functional Materials (2026)

Layered hydroxide frameworks serve as programmable precursors for constructing nanoscale metal–metal junctions.

Greenhouse Gas-Driven Room-Temperature Synthesis of Compositionally Complex Nanomaterials via Anion-Cation Arrangement Control, Nano Letters (2025)

Anion–cation arrangement enables solution-based synthesis of compositionally complex inorganic nanomaterials.

Pseudo-Trilayer Organoclay Enables Directed Li⁺ Transport and Anion Trapping in Quasi-Solid-State Gel Electrolytes, ACS Nano (2025)

Pseudo-trilayer organoclays create directional Li⁺ transport pathways while trapping anions in quasi-solid-state gel electrolytes.

Energy-Efficient Dual Formate Electrosynthesis via Coupled Formaldehyde Oxidation and CO₂ Reduction at Ultra-Low Cell Voltage, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2025)

Coupling formaldehyde oxidation with CO₂ reduction achieves energy-efficient dual formate production at an ultra-low cell voltage.

Enhanced Bifunctional Electrocatalysis for Zinc-Air Battery Using Porous Conductive Substrate with Abundant Anchoring Sites, Advanced Science (2025)

A porous conductive substrate with abundant anchoring sites promotes efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis for zinc-air batteries.

Coupling Furfural Oxidation for Bias-Free, High-Performance H₂ Production Using Crystalline Silicon Photoelectrodes, Nature Communications (2025)

Coupling furfural oxidation with photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution lowers the energetic demand for bias-free solar H₂ production.

Solar-Driven High-Rate Ammonia Production from Wastewater Coupled with Plastic Waste Reforming, Nano Letters (2025)

Solar-driven nitrite reduction coupled with plastic-derived oxidation achieves high-rate ammonia production from wastewater.

Unveiling Trade-Off and Synergy in Simultaneous Removal of NOₓ, CO, and NH₃ on Mixed Metal Oxide Nanostructure Catalysts, ACS Nano (2025)

Mixed metal oxide catalysts achieve simultaneous removal of NOₓ, CO, and NH₃ through balanced catalytic synergy.

Homogeneously Mixed Cu–Co Bimetallic Catalyst Derived from Hydroxy Double Salt for Industrial-Level High-Rate Nitrate-to-Ammonia Electrosynthesis, Journal of the American Chemical Society (2024)

Controlled multimetallic precursor design supports high-rate nitrate-to-ammonia electrosynthesis under industrially relevant conditions.

Nanoscale Precursor Distribution by Microfluidization for Scalable Production of Highly Efficient Thermocatalysts, Advanced Functional Materials (2024)

Microfluidization produces highly dispersed mixed metal oxide catalysts for scalable low-temperature NH₃-SCR.

Tuning CuMgAl-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanostructures to Achieve CH₄ and C₂+ Product Selectivity in CO₂ Electroreduction, Nano Letters (2024)

CuMgAl-LDH composition regulates Cu oxidation states and steers CO₂ electroreduction toward CH₄ or C₂+ products.

Enhancing Water Oxidation Catalysis by Controlling Metal Cation Distribution in Layered Double Hydroxides, Advanced Functional Materials (2024)

Controlled cation distribution in layered double hydroxides tunes local metal environments and improves water oxidation catalysis.