Title: Controlled Synthesis of ZeoliteSupported 3dMetal Nanoclusters and Their StructureActivity Relationship

Speaker: Prof. Zihuan Lao

Invited by: Prof. Xuehui Li

Time: November 2, 2026 (Monday), 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Venue: Large Conference Room, 4th Floor, Meeting Room 105 of the Shaw Engineering Building, Wushan Campus

Organizer: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Biography

 Dr. Zihuan Lao is Associate Professor, Associate Head of Department, and President’s Young Scholar in the Department of Chemistry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He obtained his DPhil in Chemistry from the University of Oxford. In the past five years, he has published 30 papers as first or corresponding author in journals including Science, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Angewandte Chemie International Edition. He is the principal investigator of grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Young Researcher Award, and serves on the editorial board of Applied Catalysis A: General.

 His research focuses on zeolite catalysis, atomically precise synthesis of 3dmetal singleatom/nanocluster sites and insitu synchrotron radiation characterizations, with emphasis on catalytic structureactivity relationships targeting CO₂ reduction and carbon resource conversion. His group has realized threedimensional atomic localization of framework aluminum in zeolites via resonant soft Xray diffraction (RSXRD) (Science), and systematically investigated catalytic properties of zeoliteconfined Cu₁/Cu₂/Cu₃@ZSM5 nanoclusters (Journal of the American Chemical Society). He is a recipient of the Young Scientists Fund (Category B) of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 China (TR35 China).

Abstract

 In recent years, supported singleatom and nanocluster catalysts with low nuclearity have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique capability to bridge homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems. Such catalysts can be readily separated after reactions while retaining outstanding catalytic activity. In particular, nanoclusters exhibit distinctive, even superior performance relative to conventional catalysts due to their tunable electronic and geometric structures. Nevertheless, although it is of fundamental importance to decipher the intrinsic correlations among activesite structures, adsorption configurations, catalytic behaviors and reaction energetics, systematic experimental investigations remain highly challenging.

 Based on fundamental principles of coordination chemistry and solidstate chemistry, this work achieves the controlled synthesis of diverse zeolitesupported 3dmetal nanoclusters (e.g., Cu₂, Cu₃, CuFe, CoCu). By combining synchrotronbased Xray absorption spectroscopy, powder Xray diffraction (PXRD), and highangle annular darkfield scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADFSTEM), the structural parameters and crystal configurations of these supported zeolite catalysts are precisely resolved. Furthermore, model reactions including formic acid reforming, direct CC/CX crosscoupling and CO reduction are employed as probes to systematically elucidate the structureactivity relationships of these nanocluster catalysts. This study delivers effective theoretical guidance and experimental evidence for the rational design of highperformance supported nanocluster catalysts.

Announced by School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.