1. Education Background
2003-2008: Ph. D. Degree from Emory University, USA
1999-2003: B. A. Degree from Peking University, China
2. Professional Experience
2014-present: Chair Professor, Shaanxi Normal University, China
2011-2014: Professor, Renmin University of China, China
2009-2011: Dreyfus Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
2008-2009: Postdoctoral Work at Emory University, USA
3. Research Interests
1. Applications of molecular catalysis in the activation of energy-related small molecules.
2. Mechanistic studies of water-splitting reactions, including O–O bond formation and H–H bond formation mechanisms.
3. Research on the heterogenization of molecular catalysts.
4. Representative Publications
1. Liu,T.; Meng,J.; Qin,H.; Sun,N.; Mei,B.; Li,H.; Zhang,X-P.*; Li,J.*; Cao,R.*; Mechanistic Studies of Catalytic O2‑to‑H2O2 Conversion at a Single Cobalt Site; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 26, 22322−22328.
2. Yin,Z.; Zhang,M.; Long,Y.; Lei,H.; Li,X.; Zhang,X.*; Zhang,W.; Apfel,U.; Cao,R.*; Improving Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction over Iron Tetraphenylporphyrin with Triethanolamine as a CO2 Shuttle. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2025, 64, e202500154.
3. Zhao,Q.; Zhang,Q.; Xu,Y.; Han,A.; He,H.; Zheng,H.; Zhang,W.; Lei,H.*; Apfel,U.; Cao,R.*; Improving Active Site Local Proton Transfer in Porous Organic Polymers for Boosted Oxygen Electrocatalysis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2024, 63, e202414104.
4. Peng,X.; Zhang,M.; Qin,H.; Han,J.; Xu,Y.; Li,W.; Zhang,X.*; Zhang,W.; Apfel,U.; Cao,R.*; Switching Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Pathways through Electronic Tuning of Copper Porphyrins. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2024, 63, e202401074.
5. Liu, Y. J.; Han, Y. Z.; Zhang, Z. Y.; Zhang, W.; Lai, W. Z.; Wang, Y.; Cao, R. Low Overpotential Water Oxidation at Neutral pH Catalyzed by a Copper(II) Porphyrin. Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 2613-2622.
6. Wang, N.; Lei, H. T.; Zhang, Z. Y.; Li, J. F.; Zhang, W.; Cao, R. Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution with Gallium Hydride and Ligand-Centered Reduction. Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 2308-2314.
7. Liu, H. F.; Gao, X. Q.; Yao, X. L.; Chen, M. X.; Zhou, G. J.; Qi, J.; Zhao, X. L.; Wang, W. C.; Zhang, W.; Cao, R. Manganese(II) Phosphate Nanosheet Assembly with Native out-of-Plane Mn Centres for Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation. Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 191-197.
8. Liang, Z. Z.; Huang, Z. H.; Yuan, H. T.; Yang, Z. Y.; Zhang, C. C.; Xu, Y.; Zhang, W.; Zheng, H. Q.; Cao, R. Quasi-Single-Crystalline CoO Hexagrams with Abundant Defects for Highly Efficient Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation. Chem. Sci. 2018, 9, 6961-6968.
9. Li, X. L.; Lei, H. T.; Liu, J. Y.; Zhao, X. L.; Ding, S. P.; Zhang, Z. Y.; Tao, X. X.; Zhang, W.; Wang, W. C.; Zheng, X. H., et al. Carbon Nanotubes with Cobalt Corroles for Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution in pH 0-14 Solutions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 15070-15075.
10. Liang, Z. Z.; Fan, X.; Lei, H. T.; Qi, J.; Li, Y. Y.; Gao, J. P.; Huo, M. L.; Yuan, H. T.; Zhang, W.; Lin, H. P., et al. Cobalt-Nitrogen-Doped Helical Carbonaceous Nanotubes as a Class of Efficient Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 13187-13191.
11. Qi, J.; Zhang, W.; Cao, R. Solar-to-Hydrogen Energy Conversion Based on Water Splitting. Adv. Energy Mater. 2018, 8, 1701620.
12. Zhang, W.; Lai, W. Z.; Cao, R. Energy-Related Small Molecule Activation Reactions: Oxygen Reduction and Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution Reactions Catalyzed by Porphyrin- and Corrole-Based Systems. Chem. Rev. 2017, 117, 3717-3797.
13. Wan, S. H.; Qi, J.; Zhang, W.; Wang, W. N.; Zhang, S. K.; Liu, K. Q.; Zheng, H. Q.; Sun, J. L.; Wang, S. Y.; Cao, R. Hierarchical Co(OH)F Superstructure Built by Low-Dimensional Substructures for Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation. Adv. Mater. 2017, 29, 1700286.
14. Han, Y. Z.; Fang, H. Y.; Jing, H. Z.; Sun, H. L.; Lei, H. T.; Lai, W. Z.; Cao, R. Singly Versus Doubly Reduced Nickel Porphyrins for Proton Reduction: Experimental and Theoretical Evidence for a Homolytic Hydrogen-Evolution Reaction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 5457-5462.
15. Wu, Y. Z.; Chen, M. X.; Han, Y. Z.; Luo, H. X.; Su, X. J.; Zhang, M.-T.; Lin, X. H.; Sun, J. L.; Wang, L.; Deng, L., et al. Fast and Simple Preparation of Iron-Based Thin Films as Highly Efficient Water-Oxidation Catalysts in Neutral Aqueous Solution. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 4870-4875.
5. Awards and Honors
l National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars in 2023;
l Young Investigator Awards from the International Society of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines in 2020;
l Fok Ying-Tong Education Foundation Young Teacher Award in 2018;
l Thousand Talents Program in 2011;
l Osborne R. Quayle Award from Emory University, USA, in 2006;
l Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Award, USA, from 2009 to 2011.
6. Academic Services
l Chair of the Editorial Board of ChemSusChem;
l Advisory Board Member and Guest Editor of Chemical Society Reviews (Royal Society of Chemistry);
l Committee Member of the Chemistry Europe Award Fund (European Chemical Society);
l Young Editorial Board Member and Guest Editor of the Chinese Journal of Catalysis;
l Editorial Board Member of Science Bulletin, Chinese Chemical Letters, ChemPhysChem and Journal of Electrochemistry.
