Nagoya University · Energy
Professor Yingji Zhao's research lab specializes in the design and synthesis of advanced functional materials, particularly metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), for sustainable energy conversion and environmental remediation. The lab focuses on developing tailored electrocatalysts—such as single-atom and hierarchical nanostructures—for critical reactions including CO₂ reduction, oxygen evolution, and hydrogen evolution, with an emphasis on enhancing activity, selectivity, and stability. Innovative strategies like soft-template assembly, crystal engineering, and defect modulation are employed to control porosity, morphology, and active site accessibility in porous materials. The lab also explores the integration of transition metal phosphides, doped carbons, and rare-earth-doped MOFs for next-generation energy applications.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to valuable chemicals is a sustainable technology that can achieve a carbon-neutral energy cycle in the environment. Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub> RR) processes using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), featuring atomically dispersed active sites, large surface area, high porosity, controllable morphology, and remarkable tunability, have attracted considerable research attention. Well-defined MOFs can be constructed to
Currently, designing and developing high-performance, cost-effective yet stable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a challenging task owing to the existing high overpotential and sluggish OER kinetics. Herein, we successfully fabricated a hierarchical necklace-like nanohybrid via assembling Ni-Co mixed metal phosphides/carbon (NiCoP/C) hollow nanocages and nanosheets with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). It was revealed that Ni-Co-layered double hydroxide/carbon hollow nanocages and
Developing a reliable method for constructing mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with single-crystalline forms remains a challenging task despite numerous efforts. This study presents a solvent-mediated assembly method for fabricating zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) single-crystal nanoparticles with a well-defined micro-mesoporous structure using polystyrene-<i>block</i>-poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymer micelles as a soft-template. The precise control of particle sizes, rangin
The interlayer stacking modes of 2D covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) directly influence their structural features, ultimately determining their functional output. However, controllably modulating the interlayer stacking structure in traditional 2D metal-free COFs, based on the same building blocks, remains challenging. Here, two trinuclear copper organic frameworks are synthesized successfully with different interlayer stacking structures: eclipsed AA stacking in Cu<sub>3</sub>-PA-COF-AA and s
Although hollow carbon structures have been extensively studied in recent years, their interior surfaces are not fully utilized due to the lack of fluent porous channels in the closed shell walls. This study presents a tailored design of open-mouthed particles hollow cobalt/nitrogen-doped carbon with mesoporous shells (OMH-Co/NC), which exhibits sufficient accessibility and electroactivity on both the inner and outer surfaces. By leveraging the self-conglobation effect of metal sulfate in methan
Designing 2D mesoporous metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets to overcome the limitations of bulk MOF counterparts, with a focus on enabling smooth mass transport, presents an attractive yet challenging endeavor. Here, a novel bottom-up interface-directed co-assembly method is presented for the synthesis of ultrathin 2D mesoporous UiO-66(Ce) nanosheets. The method utilizes an interface-directed co-assembly of amphiphilic perfluorooctanoic acid-induced lipid bilayers and spherical micelles fro
Ordered pore engineering of metal-organic framework (MOF)-based catalysts by soft-template strategies can facilitate the mass transfer of reactants during heterogeneous electrocatalysis. Besides, the abundant open coordination sites generated by the removal of surfactants also open up a new avenue for incorporating active moieties within the framework; however, such studies are still limited. Herein, a mesoporous cerium-based MOF, MUiO-66(Ce), is synthesized by introducing a pluronic triblock co
The thin films of nanoporous materials, including zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and mesoporous materials, are promising for applications in electrodes, separations, catalysis, and sensing. While microporous materials offer high surface areas that expose numerous active sites, their limited diffusion pathways for reactants and products constrain performance. Hierarchically structured mesoporous-microporous materials offer an ideal solution by combining extensive surface areas with en
The high demand for enhanced electrochemical performance can be effectively addressed by optimizing the pore structure to increase specific surface area and the exposure of active sites. In this study, we present a novel approach to synthesize a series of MOF-derived carbon materials, Co@MNCs, featuring a mesoporous hollow structure. Due to their hierarchically porous architecture and the incorporation of Co and N atoms, the synthesized catalysts achieve a high specific surface area and improved
Developing a reliable method for constructing mesoporous metal–organic framework (MOF) with single-crystalline form remains a challenging task despite numerous efforts. This study presents a solvent-mediated assembly method for fabricating zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIFs) single-crystal nanoparticles with well-defined micro-mesoporous structure using polystyrene-block-polyethylene oxide diblock copolymer micelles as a soft-template. The precise control of particle sizes, ranging from 85 nm
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