Education Ph.D. MIT (2015) B.S. PKU (2010) Awards 2024 JSP Fellowship, Swiss Chemical Society 2024 Society of Polymer Science, Japan, International Leading Young Scientist Lectureship 2023 Chinese Chemical Society Young Chemist Award (中国化学会青年化学奖) 2022 Asian Core Program Lectureship Award (Singapore and Korea) 2022 NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund （国家自然科学基金优秀青年科学基金） 2020 Huang Tingfang/Xinhe Outstanding Young Scholar Award （黄廷方信和杰出青年学者） 2020 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award 2016 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad 2013 Wellington and Irene Loh Fund Fellowship

The Zhu group works at the interface of organometallic chemistry, polymer chemistry and organic materials. Our focus is on developing new catalytic transformations and structure designs that enable the creation of new carbon-chain macromolecules possessing unique material properties. Our approach emphasizes inspiration from mechanistic studies and the use of new research tools driven by data and automation. Current projects include: (1) sp-carbon-rich materials; (2) stimuli-responsive valence isomers; (3) olefin functionalization and polymer upcycling via organocobalt.

Self-Strengthening Tough Elastomers Enabled by Dynamic Bottlebrush Mechanophores Wang, J.-J.+; Zhang+, X.-Y.; Liu, Q.; Wen, J.; Zhu, R.*Author links open overlay panel Preprint: DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-w9fqr Controlled Chain-Growth Polymerization via Propargyl/Allenyl Palladium Intermediates Wang, Z.-L.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel Nat. Commun., 2025, ASAP. Chain-Growth Synthesis of Extensively Cross-Conjugated Polyenes Wang, Z.-Y.; Xu, Y.-Z.; Cui, Z.; Lu, J.-Y.; Zheng Y.-Q.*; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel Nat. Synth., 2025, ASAP. Strong Proquinoidal Acceptor Enables High-Performance Ambipolar Organic Electrochemical Transistors Pan, X.; Ren, Z.; Chen, Y.; Zheng, Y.; Li, P.; Sun, W.; Xu, J.; Chen, J.-P.; Ge, G.-Y.; Li, Q.; Xiong, Z.; Zhang, Z.; Zhu, R.; Zheng, Y.-Q.; Lei, T.* Author links open overlay panel Adv. Mater., 2025. Regioselectgive Condensation Polymerization of Propargylic Electrophiles Enabled by Catalytic Element-Cupration Wang, Z.-L.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, . Mimicking hydrogen-atom-transfer-like reactivity in copper-catalysed olefin hydrofunctionalization Wang, J.-J.; Huang, H.; Sun, H.-L.; Yang, F.; Wen, J.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel Nat. Catal., 2024, . Modifying commodity-relevant unsaturated polymers via Co-catalyzed MHAT Yin, Y.-N.; Zhao, B.-S.; Liu H.-Y.; Sheng, R.-Q.; Ouyang, D.-C.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel Chem, 2024, 10, . Bicyclo[2.2.0]hexene: A Multicyclic Mechanophore with Reactivity Diversified by External Forces Ding, S.-H.; Wang, W.-K.; Germann, A.; Wei Y.-T.; Du, T. -Y.; Meisner, J.*; Zhu, R.*; Liu, Y.* Author links open overlay panel J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 6104-6113. Conjugated [5]Cumulene Polymers Enabled by Condensation polymerization of Propargylic Electrophiles Wang, Z.-Y.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2023, Transcription between human-readable synthetic descriptions and machine-executable instructions: an application of the latest pre-training technology Zeng, Z.+; Nie, Y.-C.+; Ding, N.+; Ding, Q.-J.; Ye, W.-T.; Yang, C.; Sun, M.; E, W.; Zhu, R.*; Liu, Z.* Author links open overlay panel Chem. Sci., 2023, Advances in Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Synthesis of Alkyne Polymers Sun, H.-L.; Wang Z.-Y.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel Acta Polymerica Sinica, 2023. 54(6), 745-760. Aldehydes as O-Nucleophiles in Cobalt Hydride Hydrogen Atom Transfer Catalysis: Overriding the Innate Somophilicity Nie, Y.-C.+; Yang, F.+; Li, Y.-H.; Zhu, R.*Author links open overlay panel Org. Lett., 2023. 25, 889-894. Alkyne Polymers from Stable Butatriene Homologues: Controlled Radical Polymerization of Vinylidenecyclopropanes Wu, B.; Ding, Q.-J.; Wang, Z.-L.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2023, 145, 2045-2051. Copper-Catalyzed C(3+1) Copolymerization of Propargyl Carbonates and Aryldiazomethanes Su, H.-Z.; Wu, B.; Wang, J.; Zhu, R.* Author links open overlay panel Giant, 2023. 13, 100139. Synthesis of Polydiynes via an Unexpected Dimerization/Polymerization Sequence of C3 Propargylic Electrophiles Sun, H.-L.+; Wu, B.+; Liu, D.-Q.; Yu, Z.-D.; Wang, J.-J.; Liu, Q.; Liu, X.; Niu, D.; Dou, J.-H.; Zhu, R.* (+Equal contribution.)Author links open overlay panel J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 144, 8807-8817. Copper-Catalyzed Formal Dehydration Polymerization of Propargylic Alcohols via Cumulene Intermediates Wu, B.; Su, H.-Z.; Wang, Z.-Y.; Yu, Z.-D.; Sun, H.-L.; Yang, F.; Dou, J.-H.; Zhu, R.*Author links open overlay panel J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 144, 4315-4320. Efficient O-deallylation triggered by cobalt hydride-catalyzed oxidative hydrofunctionalization Yin, Y.-N.+; Liu, H.-Y.+; Ouyang, D.-C.; Zhang, Q.; Zhu, R.* (+Equal contribution.)Author links open overlay panel Green Synth. Catal., 2022, 4, 64-66. Electrocatalytic Oxidative Hydrofunctionalization Reactions of Alkenes via Co(ll/lll/lV) Cycle Yang, F.; Nie, Y.-C.; Liu, H.-Y.; Zhang, L.; Mo, F.-Y.; Zhu, R.* ACS Catal., 2022, 12, 2132-2137. Dioxygen-promoted cobalt-catalyzed oxidative hydroamination using unactivated alkenes and free amines Ye, W.-T.; Zhu, R.* Chem. Catalysis, 2022, 345-357. Bicyclo[2.2.0]hexene derivatives as a proaromatic platform for group transfer and chemical sensing Wu, B.; Wang, J.-N.; Liu, X.-C.; Zhu, R.* Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 3680. Highly chemoselective synthesis of hindered amides via cobalt-catalyzed intermolecular oxidative hydroamidation Yin, Y.-N.; Ding R.-Q.; Ouyang, D.-C.; Zhang Q.; Zhu, R.* Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 2552. Recent advances in CoSalen-catalyzed radical reactions Yin, Y.-N.; Ouyang, D.-C.; Wang, J.-J; Zhu, R.* Sci. Sin. Chim., 2020, 50, 1217. Dual Cobalt and Photoredox Catalysis Enabled Intermolecular Oxidative Hydrofunctionalization Sun, H.-L.; Yang, F.; Ye, W.-T.; Wang, J.-J.; Zhu, R.* ACS Catal., 2020, 10, 4983. Radical Philicity Inversion in Co- and Fe-Catalyzed Hydrogen-Atom-Transfer-Initiated Cyclizations of Unsaturated Acylsilanes Wu, B.; Zhu, R.* ACS Catal., 2020, 10, 510. Emerging Catalyst Control in Cobalt-Catalyzed Oxidative Hydrofunctionalization Reactions Zhu, R.*Synlett, 2019, 30, 2015. Cobalt-Catalyzed Intermolecular Hydrofunctionalization of Alkenes: Evidence for a Bimetallic Pathway Zhou, X.-L.+; Yang, F.+; Sun, H.-L.; Yin, Y.-N.; Ye, W.-T.; Zhu, R.* J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019, 141, 7250.