Duan Lele
Tenured Associate professor
Office: E5-323
Center of Artificial Photosynthesis for Solar Fuels and Department of Chemistry
School of Science
The research in our lab covers the development of (i) water splitting catalysts and anion-exchange membranes for anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzer and (ii) surface coordination chemistry on 2D carbon materials, such as graphyne, graphdiyne and N-doped carbon, with a view to green fuels production.
Anion-Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis
Anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis technology employs an anion-exchange membrane as a separator to provide an alkaline interfacial environment between the cathode and anode. As a result, it allows the utilization of cost-efficient electrocatalysts and hardware and it can generate high-quality H2 at a high current level as the proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzer. We focus on the materials design, device fabrication, performance evaluation, system optimization, and mechanistic understanding of the interfacial reactions.
Surface Coordination Chemistry on 2D Carbon Materials
The heterogeneous catalysts usually display attractive properties such as long-term stability and ease in the fabrication of electrodes but it is difficult to tailor their structures. We would like to tackle the challenge by utilizing surface coordination chemistry on 2D carbon materials. Graphyne, graphdiyne, and N-doped carbon materials are used to support and coordinate transition metal atoms and to construct electrocatalysts with well-defined first and second spheres. Small molecule activation and conversion reactions will be examined to evaluate the function of prepared catalysts, with the view to investigate the coordination sphere effects on regulating the reaction mechanism, reaction activity, and product selectivity of heterogeneous catalyst-catalyzed reactions for the production of green fuels and fine chemicals.
Key Publications
1. Liu, H.; Zou, H.; Wang, D.; Wang, C.; Li, F.; Dai, H.; Song, T.; Wang, M.; Ji, Y.; Duan, L.*, Second Sphere Effects Promote Formic Acid Dehydrogenation by a Single-Atom Gold Catalyst Supported on Amino-Substituted Graphdiyne. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202216739. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.202216739)
2. Zou, H.; Zhao, G.; Dai, H.; Dong, H.; Luo, W.; Wang, L.; Lu, Z.; Luo, Y.; Zhang, G.*; Duan, L.* Electronic perturbation of Cu single-atom CO2 reduction catalysts in a molecular way. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, e202217220. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202217220)
3. Rong, W.; Zou, H.; Tan, S.; Hu, E.; Li, F.; Tang, C.; Dai, H.; Wei, S.; Ji, Y.*; Duan, L.* Few-atom copper catalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO to acetate: synergetic catalysis between neighboring Cu atoms. CCS Chem. 2022, doi:10.31635/ccschem.022.202201910. (https://www.chinesechemsoc.org/doi/10.31635/ccschem.022.202201910)
4. Rong, W.; Zou, H.; Zang, W.; Xi, S.; Wei, S.; Long, B.; Hu, J.; Ji, Y.; Duan, L.* Size-dependent activity and selectivity of atomic-level copper nanoclusters during CO/CO2 electroreduction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 466-472. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202011836)
5. Zou, H.; Rong, W.; Wei, S.; Ji, Y.*; Duan, L.* Regulating kinetics and thermodynamics of electrochemical nitrogen reduction with metal single-atom catalysts in a pressurized electrolyser. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2020, 117, 29462-29468. (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2015108117)