The overall theme of our group is to use our expertise in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, photochemistry, and electrochemistry to address two frontier challenges: Sustainability and Health.
Currently, we are interested in the following directions:
1: Electrochemistry. We are interested in developing and understanding both homogeneous and heterogeneous electrocatalytic systems for electricity-driven conversion of small inorganic molecules and organic compounds, with a particular emphasis on biomass valorization, asymmetric transformation, and deuteration reactions.
Selected publications:
(1) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2015, 54, 6251-6254.
(2) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2016, 55, 9913-9917.
(3) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2016, 138, 13639-13646.
(4) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 12283-12290.
(5) Chem, 2018, 4, 637-649.
(6) Accounts of Chemical Research, 2018, 51, 1571-1580.
(7) Nature Communications, 2018, 9, 4531.
(8) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2019, 58, 10644-10649.
(9) Nature Communications, 2021, 12, 1868.
(10) Nature Communications, 2023, 14, 525.
(11) Advanced Materials, 2023, 2210703.
(12) Nature Catalysis, 2023, 6, 224-233.
(13) Accounts of Chemical Research, 2023, 56, 1421-1432.
(14) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2024, 63, e202314708.
(15) JACS Au, 2024, 2, 328-343.
(16) Chemical Reviews, 2024, 124, 3694-3812.
(17) Nature Communications, 2025, 16, 4850.
(18) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 28015-28023.
(19) Chemical Science, 2026, 17, 1039-1050.
(20) Nature Chemistry, 2026, in press.
2: Photochemistry. Our group has a long-standing interest in light-driven organic reactions using semiconductors and molecular photosensitizers as the photocatalysts. A strong motivation is to develop novel photocatalytic systems active under deep red and near infrared light irradiation.
Selected publications:
(1) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 15584-15587.
(2) ACS Catalysis, 2019, 9, 11341-11349.
(3) ACS Catalysis, 2020, 10, 9346-9355.
(4) Advanced Science, 2022, 9, 2103408.
(5) Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 2288.
(6) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2023, 145, 3535-3542.
(7) ACS Catalysis, 2023, 13, 8119-8127.
(8) Advanced Materials, 2024, 36, 2307759.
(9) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 20525-20533.
(10) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026, 148, 32440-32450.
3: Chemical Imaging in Biomedicine. Through collaboration with experts in the UC College of Medicine, we are designing and developing molecular fluorescent probes that exhibit multiple functionalities (e.g., sensing subcellular pH, viscosity, cell viability, etc) and/or are applicable for two-photon microscopy, as well as photoactivable molecules with biomedical applications.
Selected publications:
(1) Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2022, 11, 2102185.
(2) Exploration, 2022, 0210215.
(3) ACS Sensors, 2023, 8, 2068-2078.
(4) Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 2023, 115604.
(5) Chemical Science, 2023, 14, 10236-10248.
(6) ACS Applied Engineering Materials, 2024, 2, 2504.
(7) Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2025, 14, 2403272.
(8) Aggregate, 2025, 6, e70118.
(9) Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2026, 15, e71449.
(10) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026, 148, 33333-33341.
1: Electrochemistry. We are interested in developing and understanding both homogeneous and heterogeneous electrocatalytic systems for electricity-driven conversion of small inorganic molecules and organic compounds, with a particular emphasis on biomass valorization, asymmetric transformation, and deuteration reactions.
Selected publications:
(1) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2015, 54, 6251-6254.
(2) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2016, 55, 9913-9917.
(3) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2016, 138, 13639-13646.
(4) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 12283-12290.
(5) Chem, 2018, 4, 637-649.
(6) Accounts of Chemical Research, 2018, 51, 1571-1580.
(7) Nature Communications, 2018, 9, 4531.
(8) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2019, 58, 10644-10649.
(9) Nature Communications, 2021, 12, 1868.
(10) Nature Communications, 2023, 14, 525.
(11) Advanced Materials, 2023, 2210703.
(12) Nature Catalysis, 2023, 6, 224-233.
(13) Accounts of Chemical Research, 2023, 56, 1421-1432.
(14) Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2024, 63, e202314708.
(15) JACS Au, 2024, 2, 328-343.
(16) Chemical Reviews, 2024, 124, 3694-3812.
(17) Nature Communications, 2025, 16, 4850.
(18) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 28015-28023.
(19) Chemical Science, 2026, 17, 1039-1050.
(20) Nature Chemistry, 2026, in press.
2: Photochemistry. Our group has a long-standing interest in light-driven organic reactions using semiconductors and molecular photosensitizers as the photocatalysts. A strong motivation is to develop novel photocatalytic systems active under deep red and near infrared light irradiation.
Selected publications:
(1) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 15584-15587.
(2) ACS Catalysis, 2019, 9, 11341-11349.
(3) ACS Catalysis, 2020, 10, 9346-9355.
(4) Advanced Science, 2022, 9, 2103408.
(5) Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 2288.
(6) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2023, 145, 3535-3542.
(7) ACS Catalysis, 2023, 13, 8119-8127.
(8) Advanced Materials, 2024, 36, 2307759.
(9) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 20525-20533.
(10) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026, 148, 32440-32450.
3: Chemical Imaging in Biomedicine. Through collaboration with experts in the UC College of Medicine, we are designing and developing molecular fluorescent probes that exhibit multiple functionalities (e.g., sensing subcellular pH, viscosity, cell viability, etc) and/or are applicable for two-photon microscopy, as well as photoactivable molecules with biomedical applications.
Selected publications:
(1) Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2022, 11, 2102185.
(2) Exploration, 2022, 0210215.
(3) ACS Sensors, 2023, 8, 2068-2078.
(4) Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 2023, 115604.
(5) Chemical Science, 2023, 14, 10236-10248.
(6) ACS Applied Engineering Materials, 2024, 2, 2504.
(7) Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2025, 14, 2403272.
(8) Aggregate, 2025, 6, e70118.
(9) Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2026, 15, e71449.
(10) Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026, 148, 33333-33341.