Prof. Zhiyuan ZENG

Prof. Zhiyuan Zeng received his BSc, MPhil and PhD degrees all in Material Science & Engineering from Central South University, Zhejiang University and Nanyang Technological University in 2006, 2008 and 2013, respectively. He continued his postdoc training at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2013-2017). Then he jumped into industry in Silicon Valley working for Applied Materials Inc. As Process Engineer/Senior Process Engineer (2017-2019). Prof. Zeng joined CityU-MSE in 2019. His research interests are using battery intercalation strategy, in-situ liquid phase TEM to investigate TMDs and TMOs, which can be used for energy and environmental applications. He has published 137 SCI papers (93 IF>10) with total citation 21450 + times and H-index 58 (google scholar), 19 Papers were listed as ESI Highly Cited Papers, which include Nat. Mater., Nat. Rev. Chem., Nat. Protoc., Nat. Synth., Nat. Commun., Matter, Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Nano Lett. etc. He has been listed as the Highly Cited Researcher (Top 1%, Clarivate Analytics) in 2023, 2022, 2020 and 2018. He has also been listed as the World's Top 2% Scientists in 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 (by Stanford University). He served as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Chemistry (IF: 5.221) from 2022, Youth Editorial Board for Energy & Environmental Materials (IF: 15.122) from 2021, Early Career Advisory Board for ChemNanoMat (IF: 3.154) from 2021.

Honors/Awards

2024 RGC Young-Collaborative Research Grant (Y-CRF)
2023 Highly Cited Researcher, by Clarivate Analytics
2023 World's Top 2% Scientists in Nanosci. & Nanotechnol., by Stanford University
2022 Highly Cited Researcher, by Clarivate Analytics
2022 World's Top 2% Scientists in Nanosci. & Nanotechnol., by Stanford University
2022 Rising Star Series, by Advanced Materials (IF: 32.09)
2022 Rising Star Series, by Small (IF: 15.15)
2021 Emerging Investigators for Chemical Communications (IF: 6.222)
2021 World's Top 2% Scientists in Nanosci. & Nanotechnol., by Stanford University
2020 Highly Cited Researcher, by Clarivate Analytics
2020 World's Top 2% Scientists in Nanosci. & Nanotechnol., by Stanford University
2020 Emerging Investigators for Journal of Materials Chemistry A (IF: 14.511)
2019 Early Career Scheme award by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong
2018 Highly Cited Researcher, by Clarivate Analytics
2018 Working Smarter in Analytical Techniques, by EAG Laboratories (Silicon Valley) 2014 Secretary, San Francisco Section of The Electrochemical Society, by ECS

Selected Publications

1. Intercalation in 2D materials and in-situ studies, R. Yang†, L. Mei†, Z. Lin†, Y. Fan, J. Lim, J. Guo, Y. Liu, H. S. Shin, D. Voiry, Q. Lu*, J. Li*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Nat. Rev. Chem., 2024, accepted.
2. High-yield production of mono- or few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides nanosheets by electrochemical lithium ion intercalation-based exfoliation method​, R. Yang†, L. Mei†, Q. Zhang†, Y. Fan, H. S. Shin*, D. Voiry*, Z.Y. Zeng*, Nature Protocols, 2022, 17, 358-377.(Web of Science Top 1% Highly Cited Papers) 
3. Fabrication of Liquid Cell for In-Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy of Electrochemical Processes, R. Yang, L. Mei, Y. Fan, Q. Zhang, H. G. Liao, J. Yang, J. Li*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Nature Protocols, 2023, 18, 555-578.
4. Synthesis of atomically thin sheets by the intercalation-based exfoliation of layered materials, R. Yang, Y. Fan, L. Mei, H. S. Shin, D. Voiry, Q. Lu, J. Li*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Nat. Synth. 2023, 2, 101-118.
5. Photocatalysis with atomically thin sheets, R. Yang, Y. Fan, J. Hu, Z. Chen, H. S. Shin, D. Voiry, Q. Wang, Q. Lu*, J. C. Yu*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Chemical Society Reviews, 2023, 52, 7687 - 7706.
6. Framework structure engineering of polymeric carbon nitrides and its recent applications, B. Tian, D. Ho*, J. Qin, J. Hu, Z. Chen, D. Voiry, Q. Wang*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Progress in Materials Science, 2023, 133, 101056.
7. In-Situ TEM Visualization of LiF Nanosheets Formation on the Cathode-Electrolyte Interphase (CEI) in Liquid-Electrolyte Lithium-Ion Batteries, Q. Zhang†, J. Ma†, L. Mei, J. Liu, Z. Li*, J. Li*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Matter, 2022, 5, 1235-1250. (Web of Science Top 1% Highly Cited Papers)
8. Transition Metal Dichalcogenide-Based Functional Membrane: Synthesis, Modification and Water Purification Applications, H. Peng, R. Wang*, L. Mei, Q. Zhang, T. Ying, Z. Qian*, A. B. Farimani,  D. Voiry*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Matter, 2023, 6, 59-96.
9. Simultaneous electrochemical exfoliation and covalent functionalization of MoS₂ membrane for ion sieving, L. Mei, Z. Cao, T. Ying, R. Yang, H. Peng, G. Wang, L. Zheng, Y. Chen, C. Y. Tang, D. Voiry, H. Wang*, A. B. Farimani*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Advanced Materials, 2022, 34, 2201416. (Invited paper for Rising Stars Series)
10. MnO₂-based materials for environmental applications, R. Yang, Y. Fan, R. Ye, Y. Tang, X. Cao*, Z. Yin*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Advanced Materials, 2021, 33, 2004862.(Web of Science Top 1% Highly Cited Papers)
11. 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Photocatalysis, R. Yang, Y. Fan, Y. Zhang, L. Mei, R. Zhu,* J. Qin, J. Hu, Z. Chen, Y. H. Ng, D. Voiry, S. Li, Q. Lu, Q. Wang,* J. C. Yu,* Z. Y. Zeng*, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2023, 62, e202218016.
12. Current progress on methods and technologies for catalytic methane activation at low temperatures, F. Nkinahamira, R. Yang, R. Zhu*, J. Zhang, Z. Ren, S. Sun, H. Xiong*, Z. Y. Zeng*, Adv. Sci., 2023, 10, 2204566.
13. Investigation into the Phase-Activity Relationship of MnO2 Nanomaterials toward Ozone-Assisted Catalytic Oxidation of Toluene, R. Yang, Z. Guo, L. Cai, R. Zhu*, Y. Fan, Y. Zhang, P. Han, W. Zhang, X. Zhu, Q. Zhao, Z. Zhu*, C. K. Chan, Z. Y. Zeng*, Small, 2021, 17, 2103052. (Back Cover)
14. Boosting Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to HCOOH on Ni Single Atom Anchored WTe2 Monolayer, Y. Zhang, R. Yang, H. Li*, and Z. Y. Zeng*, Small, 2022, DOI: 10.1002/smll.202203759. (Invited paper for Rising Stars Series)