Research Experience
- 2020/9 Professor，College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University
- 2019 – 2020 Centennial Development Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware
- 2013 – 2019 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware
- 2011 – 2013 Postdoctoral researcher, Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
- 2011 Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University
- 2007 M.S. in Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Fudan University
- 2004 B.S. in Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Fudan University
Awards
- I&EC 2018 Class of Influential Researchers 2018
- US National Science Foundation CAREER Award 2017
- US Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award 2016
- ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award 2015
- University of Delaware Research Foundation Award 2015
Research Interests
The overarching goal of research of Xu lab is to develop efficient and selective heterogeneous thermo- and electro-catalytic materials and processes to enable the production of renewable energy and chemicals. Intellectually, we are curious about the how surface mediated processes enable the thermo- and electro-catalytic transformations on the molecular level. We employ and in many cases develop in-situ/operando spectroscopic techniques, in conjunction with kinetic investigations, to achieve mechanistic understanding. We are also interested in the design, synthesis and characterization of catalytic materials with unique architectures. Below are several directions that we are actively pursuing.
- Catalyst design in renewable energy and green chemistry;
- Mechanistic investigations of catalytic reactions at the gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces;
- Novel space and time resolved in-situ/operando techniques for interfacial studies.
Selected Publications
- Y. Zhao, X. Chang, A. Malkani, X. Yang, L. Thompson*, F. Jiao*, B. Xu*, “Speciation of Cu Surfaces During the Electrochemical CO Reduction Reaction”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 142, 2020, 9735 (Cover Story).
- X. Chang, A. Malkani, X. Yang, B. Xu*, “Mechanistic Insights into Electroreductive C-C Coupling between CO and Acetaldehyde into Multi-Carbon Products”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 142, 2020, 2975.
- N. Gould, S. Li, H. Cho, H. Landfield, S. Caratzoulas, D. Vlachos, P. Bai*, B. Xu*, “Understanding Solvent Effects on Adsorption and Protonation in Porous Catalysts”, Nat. Commun., 11, 2020, 1060.
- J. Li, D. Wu, A. Malkani, M. Cheng, B. Xu*, Q. Lu*, “Hydroxide Is Not A Promoter of C2 Product Formation in Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 on Copper”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 132, 2020, 4494 (Cover Story).
- C. Brady, M. Davis*, B. Xu*, “Integration of Thermochemical Water Splitting with CO2 Direct Air Capture”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 116, 2019, 25001.
- X. Yang, J. Nash, N. Oliveira, Y. Yan*, and B. Xu*, “Understanding the pH Dependence of Underpotential Deposited Hydrogen on Platinum”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2019, 58, 17718 (Cover Story).
- H. Zhang, X. Chang, J. Chen, W. Goddard III, B. Xu*, M Cheng* and Q. Lu*, “Computational and experimental demonstrations of one-pot tandem catalysis for electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction to methane”, Nat. Commun., 10, 2019, 3310.
- J. Wang, Y. Zhao, B. Setzler, S. Rojas-Carbonell, C. Yehuda, A. Amel, M. Page, L. Wang, K. Hu, L. Shi, S. Gottesfeld, B. Xu*, Y. Yan*, “Poly(aryl piperidinium) Membranes and Ionomers for Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells”, Nat. Energy, 4, 2019, 392.
- H. Cho, D. Kim, J. Li, D. Su, B. Xu*, “Zeolite Encapsulated Pt Nanoparticles for Tandem Catalysis”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 140, 2018, 13514.
- X. Yang, J. Nash, J. Anibal, M. Dunwell, S. Kattel, E. Stavitski, K. Attenkofer, J. Chen*, Y. Yan*, B. Xu*, “Mechanistic Insights into Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction on Vanadium Nitride Nanoparticles”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 140, 2018, 13387.
