Recent Publications

Titanium Silicalite-1 Nanosheet Supported Platinum for Non-oxidative Ethane DehydrogenationACS Catalysis, 2021, 11, 9970–9985

Isolated metal sites in Cu-Zn-Y/Beta for direct and selective butene-rich C3+ olefins formation from ethanolACS Catalysis, 2021, 11, 9885–9897

Selective Butene Formation in Direct Ethanol-to-C3+-Olefin Valorization over Zn–Y/Beta and Single-Atom Alloy Composite Catalysts Using In Situ-Generated HydrogenACS Catalysis, 2021, 11, 7193-7209

“Ethylene production by direct conversion of methane over isolated single active centers”Chemical Engineering Journal, 2021, 42, No.: 130493

“Decomposition of dimethyl methylphosphonate vapor on ultrathin-film titania photocatalytic light absorber” Chemosphere , 2021, 274, No.: 129719

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Our Catalysis and Materials Synthesis group is housed in department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware. Our research stays at the interface of materials synthesis and catalytic science, with an emphasis on membrane and catalyst technologies to address the most challenging issues in renewable energy and chemical production, sustainable water supply, and environmental remedy.

Group News


Open Postdoctoral Researcher Positions – University of Delaware

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Two post-doctoral positions are available in the lab of Prof. Dongxia Liu in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Delaware. The positions are focused on green and sustainable chemical/energy conversions via heterogeneous catalysis, reaction engineering and electrifiable processes.

Interested candidates should have a background in one or several of the following areas: materials synthesis and characterization (e.g., nanoporous and metal oxide materials), membrane development and separations (e.g., inorganic membranes), kinetics and reactor studies (e.g., gas or liquid phase reactions in plug flow reactors). Additionally, expertise with electrochemistry or electrochemical synthesis is desirable. The position has a term of one to three years. A competitive salary and benefits package is available.

Please email liud@udel.edu to submit a CV as well as the contact information for 3 references.



We moved to University of Delaware (Jan. 1, 2023)

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Our research team moved to Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware.







Congratulations to Dr. Yuan Zhang for successfully defending her PhD thesis! (October, 2022)

leafYuan defended her PhD thesis on October 12, 2022. Her research addressed "Defect Engineering of Supported Metal Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation". She will start her next role at FDA soon. Congratulations, Dr. Yuan Zhang!





Collaborative paper published on Nature and featured as the cover art for this issue! (May, 2022)

leaf A collaborative paper "Programmable Heating and Quenching for Efficient Thermochemical Synthesis" is published in Nature(DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04568-6).) Congrats to lead authors.

Please see the report of University of Maryland:

Electrified Heating Towards Green Methane Conversion and Ammonia Synthesis.



Congratulations!





Mann's paper published on Advanced Energy Materials! (Dec, 2021)

leaf Mann's paper "Direct Nonoxidative Methane Conversion in an Autothermal Hydrogen-Permeable Membrane Reactor" is published in Advanced Energy Materials(Adv. Energy Mater. 2021, DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202102782. )

Please see the report of University of Maryland:

UMD Researchers Convert Methane Without Greenhouse Gas Emissions .

and the report of Chemical & Engineering News:

Reactor converts methane to heavier hydrocarbons without forming CO2 .

Congratulations!





Congratulations to Dr. Junyan Zhang for successfully defending his PhD thesis! (April, 2021)

leafJunyan defended his PhD thesis on April 7, 2021. His research addressed Rational Design of multifunctional zeolites for biomass conversion. Congratulations, Dr. Junyan Zhang!





Dr. Liu receives Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award(Sept. 2020)

leafDr. Liu is the recipient of UMD's 2020 Clark School of Engineering Outstanding Junior Faculty Research Award. The Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award is one of the highest honors the Clark School awards to junior faculty, and was instituted in 2010 to recognize exceptionally influential research accomplishments by faculty in the first 10 years of their independent career.





Lu won Hulka Energy Research Fellowship (March 2020)

leafLu Liu is the Hulka Fellowship recipient of year 2020.’s  see more details from UMERC. Lu will focus her research on sustainable bioethanol production enabled by renewable polymer-derived carbon membranes. She will develop densification-induced ultra-thin Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) hollow fiber membranes using low-cost renewable cellulose acetate-based precursors, which are promising membrane materials for gas separations. She proposes to address the following challenges to make CMS membranes suitable for algae-based bioethanol production. Membrane cost must be reduced for large-scale production; and membrane CO2 permeance must be significantly improved to provide economical CO2 productivity using NPFG feed with low-CO2 concentration. Congratulations to Lu!


Lu and Kechen's paper published on J. Am. Chem. Soc. (May 2019)

leaf Lu and Kechen's (Equaly Contribution) tilted "Vapor-Phase Strategy to Pillaring of Two-Dimensional Zeolite"is published in J. Am. Chem. Soc. Congratulations!


Su's paper published on Angewandte Chemie (May 2019)

leaf Su's paper tilted "Direct Non-oxidative Methane Conversion in a Millisecond Catalytic Wall Reactor"is published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Congratulations!


Su Named Outstanding Graduate Assistant (April 2018)

leafSu Cheun Oh is one of approximately 80 winners of the University of Maryland Graduate School’s 2017-2018 Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award(link is external). The award recognizes the outstanding contributions that graduate assistants provide to students, faculty, departments, administrative units, and the university as a whole. Recipients of the award are among the top 2 percent of GAs on campus in a given year. The awards will be given at the Annual Fellowship and Award Celebration on May 8. Congratulations to Su!


Su won Kokes Travel Award (April 2017)

leafSu Cheun Oh won a 2017 Kokes Travel Award from the North American Catalysis Society (NACS). The award covers hotel and registration fees at the 25th annual NACS meeting in Denver, CO. Congratulations to Su!



Su won Ted Koch Travel Award (April 2017)

leafSu Cheun Oh won a Ted Koch Travel Award from the Catalysis Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. She will use this award to support her trip to attend the AIChE annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN. Congratulations to Su!



Mann, Yiqing and Su's paper published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (November, 2016)

leafMann, Yiqing and Su's paper "Advanced Hydrogen-Permeable Membrane Reactor for Fe©SiO2 Catalyzed Direct Non-Oxidative Methane Conversion" apppears in Angewandte Chemie Congratulations! 




Congratulations to Dr. Laleh Emdadi for successfully defending her PhD thesis! (August, 2016)

leafLaleh Emdadi defended her PhD thesis on July 28, 2016. Her research addressed innovative methods for synthesis of hierarchical meso-/microporous lamellar zeolites and their applications in catalytic reactions.  Congratulations, Dr. Laleh Emdadi!

 



Yiqing was awarded Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship (April, 2016)

leafYiqing Wu was awarded the Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship for a semester in the academic year of 2016-2017 in a University-wide competition sponsored by the Graduate School of University of Maryland.

The Semester Dissertation Fellowships provide support to University of Maryland doctoral candidates who have excellent qualifications and are in the latter stages of writing their dissertations. This full‐time, semester‐long fellowship can be used in Fall 2016 or Spring 2017.  The Fellowship carries a stipend of $10,000, plus a candidacy Graduate School Tuition Award for the semester in which the fellowship is taken. In addition, the Graduate School pays the student’s mandatory fees and provides the student with an $800 credit to help pay for the individual health insurance coverage for the Fellow. Congratulations!


Amanda was awarded 2016 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (April, 2016)

leafAmanda Filie received a prestigious fellowship award through the 2016 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). For the 2016 competition, NSF received close to 17,000 applications and made 2,000 award offers. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. Amanda's proposal is developed on the basis of her research on lamellar zeolites in the group. As part of her award, Amanda will receive a three-year annual stipend along with a cost of education allowance for tuition and fees and opportunities for international research and professional development. Amanda will start her graduate study at Harvard University in this coming fall. Congratulations!


Yiqing won poster presentation award in NECZA 2015 meeting (December, 2015)

leafYiqing Wu won the poster presentation award in NECZA 2015 (19th North-East Corridor Zeolite Association) Meeting. The poster is titled “Tailoring Catalytic Properties of Meso-/Microporous Layered Zeolites By Atomic Layer Deposition". Congratulations!




Amanda won Undergraduate Research Symposium Presentation Award (May, 2015)

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Amanda Filie won the best presentation award in Engineering Category of the 22nd Annual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium held at Morgan State University. The talk was titled “Inulin Hydrolysis over Zeolite Catalysts”. Congratulations! 

 



Laleh was Awarded Kokes Fellowship (May, 2015)

leafLaleh Emdadi won a 2015 Kokes Travel Award from the North American Catalysis Society (NACS). The award covers hotel and registration fees at the 24th annual NACS meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. Congratulations to Laleh!

 



Su was Awarded Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Grant (March, 2015)

leafSu Cheun Oh has received the Jacob K. GoldhaberTravel Award from the graduate school of University of Maryland. Su will be using this award to support her trip to the 24th North American Catalysis Society meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. Congratulations to Su!



Wells and Hulka Fellowships Support Exciting Energy Technologies (March, 2015)

leafleafMann Sakbodin has received the Harry K. Wells Graduate Fellowships from University of Maryland Energy Research Center. The $20,000 award, made possible by a $400,000 endowment from Harry K. Wells (B.S ’43, mechanical engineering), support graduate research in the field of sustainable energy generation or storage. Congratulations to Mann!

Yiqing Wu has received the Hulka Energy Research Fellowship from University of Maryland Energy Research Center. This one-year award is also $20,000, and is supported by an annual gift from Ms. Barbara Hulka. Congratulations to Yiqing!



Yiqing was awarded Kokes Fellowship (March, 2015)

leafYiqing Wu won a 2015 Kokes Travel Award from the North American Catalysis Society (NACS). The award covers hotel and registration fees at the 24th annual NACS meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. Congratulations to Yiqing!







Yiqing's paper published in Journal of Catalysis (December, 2014)

leafYiqing Wu’s paper on the "Spatial distribution and catalytic performance of metal-acid sites in Mo/MFI catalysts with tunable meso/microporous lamellar zeolite structures"appears in Journal of Catalysis. Congratulations!




Yan and Laleh's paper published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters (December, 2014)

leafYan (Dr. Mi Group) and Laleh's paper on "Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Zeolite/Polyelectrolyte Nanocomposite Membranes with High Zeolite Loading" appears in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Congratulations!





Laleh wins Harry K. Wells Graduate Fellowship (May, 2014)

leafLaleh Emdadi has been awarded the Harry K. Wells Endowed Fellowship. The award was established to provide annual fellowships for Clark School graduate students working on energy engineering and alternative energy sources in conjunction with the University of Maryland Energy Research Center (UMERC).  Congratulations to Laleh!


Maryland Day Exhibition (April, 2014)

leafLaleh Emdadi, Yiqing Wu, Baoyu Liu, and Christina Fontanos show Science and Technology in Liu’s Catalysis and Materials Synthesis Lab to public on 16th Maryland Day. See pictures here.




  Oluwakonyinsola (Konyin) won Senior Robert L. Wistort Best Presentation Awards (April, 2014)


leafOluwakonyinsola (Konyin) O. Adesoye, a high school student from Eleanor Roosevelt High School, presented her research project on “Optimizing Catalytic Capability of Lamellar MFI Zeolites” conducted in Liu’s group during her one-year internship. She was awarded Senior Robert L. Wistort Best Presentation Award of Prince George Science Fair Association. She placed third in the chemistry category, which is comprised of more than 100 chemistry-related projects.

Konyin will study Chemical Engineering at Columbia University (New York) in this coming fall. Congratulations!


Laleh, Yiqing and Guanghui's paper in Chemistry of Materials is one of the most read articels (March, 2014)

leafLaleh Emdadi, Yiqing Wu, and Guanghui Zhu’s paper on "Dual Template Synthesis of Meso-/microporous MFI Zeolite Nanosheet Assemblies with Tailored Activity in Catalytic Reactions" is the most read articles in Chemistry of Materials.



Yiqing and Will win NSF Travel Award (February, 2014)

leafleafYiqing Wu and William Gibbons have received travel grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to attend the Short Course and Workshop on Shale-Gas Monetization , to be held March 26-28 in Montgomery, Texas. Check here for details.



Welcome new group members (February, 2014)

leafleafSu Cheun Oh, Mann Sakbodin, and Will Gibson joined the group.

Su obtained her B. S. degree in Chemical Engineering from UMD and joined the group as a Ph. D. student.

Mann obtained his B. S. and M. S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University with Professor Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos. He joined the group as a Ph. D. student after a few years indurstiral experience.



Laleh, Yiqing and Guanghui's paper published in Chemistry of Materials (January, 2014)

leafLaleh Emdadi, Yiqing Wu, and Guanghui Zhu’s paper on "Dual Template Synthesis of Meso-/microporous MFI Zeolite Nanosheet Assemblies with Tailored Activity in Catalytic Reactions" is published in Chemistry of Materials. Congratulations.





Yiqing and Laleh's paper published in Applied Catalysis A (November, 2013)

leafYiqing Wu and Laleh Emdadi’s paper on "Textural and Catalytic Properties of Mo Loaded Hierarchical Meso-/microporous Lamellar MFI and MWW Zeolites for Direct Methane Conversion" is published in Applied Catalysis A: General. Congratulations.





Baoyu Liu joined the group as a visiting graduate student (October, 2013)

leaf Baoyu is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at the South China University of Technology. His research interest includes synthesis, simulation and catalytic characterization of microporous and mesoporous molecular sieve materials. Welcome!



We moved to the newly renovated lab (September, 2013)

leafOur laboratory consists of 1100 sq. ft of newly-renovated space on the 2nd floor of Building 090 (room #2223 and #2227) at the UMD main campus. This space includes a catalyst synthesis lab (2227) and a catalysis lab (2223). Click on the picture on the left to view the lab layout.




Laleh Won Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Award (July, 2013)

leafLaleh Emdadi has received the Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Award Award from the University of Maryland Graduate School. Laleh will use this award to support her trip to the 2013 Gordon Research Conference-Nanoporous Materials & Their Applications, to be held in Holderness, NH in August 2013, where she is scheduled to present her research on "Dual Template Synthesis of Meso-/microporous Zeolite Catalysts". Congratulations to Laleh!


Laleh won the "TA of the Year" award in ChBE. (February, 2013)

leaf Laleh Emdadi did her TA assignment for the ChBE101 course in the year of 2011-2012. Her wonderful TA work was recognized by the students in class and the department faculty. She won the "TA of the Year" Award in ChBE for 2011-2012 school year. Congratulations to Laleh!



Su Cheun Oh won ASPIRE Award (February, 2013)

leaf Su won A scholars Program for Indurstry-Oriented Research on Engineering (ASPIRE) Award to support her research on "Synthesis and characterization of mesopourous zeolite catalysts." Congratulations to Su!




Map's article on her internship expereince in our group (January, 2013)

leafMap reported her summer intership experience in our group on the News Paper of Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She wrote "It has been a great experience for me. I learned a lot from there and after I completed this internship, I have a strong intention to apply the knowledge I got to my work, project and future career with the hope that it can help drive the future of science and technology in Thailand to be even better." The full story can be found here.


Guanghui Zhu Joined the group as a Master student (January, 2013)

leafGuanghui obatiend his BS degree from Shanghai Jiaotong University in China. He joined our group for his MS study starting from this Januray. He is co-advised by Dr. Choi and works on the project of "Micro-reactor design for efficient energy conversion". Welcome!



Yao (Jason) He Joined the group as a visiting graduate student (January, 2013)

leaf Jason obtained his BE and MS degrees from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, respectively, both in Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is currently a PhD candidate in Engineering Thermal Physics at the South China University of Technology. He joined our group to work on the project of "Heterogeneous Conversion of Biomass Renewables". Welcome!


Yiqing received the first place award of the Catalysis Club of Philadelphia’s Annual Student Poster Contest. Congratulations! (October, 2012)

leafYiqing, Laleh, and Tery attended the Catalysis Club of Philadelphia’s Annual Student Poster Contest. Yiqing presented his poster, "Catalytic Characterization of Hierarchical Meso-/microporous MFI and MWW Zeolites", and was one of the four first place winners. The award was voted by the Catalysis Club of Philadelphia’s members and guests for the top 10 participants in the first round, and then was selected by a panel of industrial judges for the top five posters in the second round. The prize inlcudes a $100 check and an invitation to present his work at the monthly Catalysis Club meeting.

The Catalysis Club of Philadelphia was founded in 1949 to promote the advancement of knowledge of the science of catalysis. The Club is a nonprofit organization serving members in the Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware area. The club is currently sponsored by Air Products, Zeolyst, The PQ Corporation, Du Pont, Arkema, and Johnson Matthey Catalysis.


Tery and Helen Joined the group (Aug. 2012)

leaf Tery obatiend his Master degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He is working on the project "Hybrid Inorganic-Organic Mesoporous Zeolites".

Helen is a rising senior in the rigorous Science and Technology Program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD. She hopes to gain research experience in order to enhance her scientific education and future career. She is working on the project "Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous zeolites" with Laleh.


Map went back to Thailand (July, 2012)

leafMap finished her summer intern and returned to Thailand. She did a great job in the group. Good luck to her future study.




Dr. Liu Awarded the ACS Petroleum Research Fund (PRF). (July, 2012)

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Dr. Liu Awarded the ACS Petroleum Research Fund (PRF). Full story here. (July, 2012)

 


Science reported Self-Pillared Zeolite Nanosheets. (June, 2012)

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Synthesis of Self-Pillared Zeolite Nanosheets by Repetitive Branching" is published in Science. See more details here , and see the report on Science Daily and DOE Discovery & Innovation.


Tom won ASPIRE Award (May, 2012)

leafThomas Hoff won A scholars Program for Indurstry-Oriented Research on Engineering (ASPIRE) Award to support his summer research on "Hydrolysis of Biomass over Heterogeneous Zeolite Catalysts." Congratulations to Tom!



Map Joined the group (May, 2012)

leafPimmolpong Sriyapai (Map), a junior student from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, joined our group to start her summer research on "Nano-Engineering Zeolite Films on Proton Conducting Membranes" Welcome!




Dr. Liu visited Grace (March, 2012)
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Dr. Liu was invited to visit W. R. Grace & Co. and to give a seminar on synthesis and characterization of micro/mesoporous zeolite catalysts.



Welcome Yiqing and Laleh! (March, 2012)

Yiqing and Laleh joined the group to start their PhD studies, Welcome! (March, 2012)


Dr. Liu Joined UMD (Janary, 2012)

leafDr. Liu joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UMD in Jan. 1st. 2012.




Welcome to join our group. (September, 2011)

leafWe always look for outstanding undergraduates, MS, PhD graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows to join our team.


 


Most read article in ACS Catalysis. (Janary, 2011)
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Dongxia's paper appears in the first issue of ACS Catalysis, and it is one of the most read articles.