With a strong interest in materials and catalysis, the Lo group has been focussing on the fundamental aspects of zeolitic and MOF materials and their catalytic applications. We employ a new structural methodology in using state-of-the-art synchrotron X-ray facility that can: (i) directly visualised how reactant molecules behave and interact with zeolite catalysts, (ii) elucidated the ammonia desorption processes from zeolites, (iii) revealed the reaction mechanisms of existing industrial catalysis processes, (iv) explained the reaction kinetics of new catalysis reactions, and (v) designed and engineered a novel enzyme-mimic inorganic system.

Lin, Ci, et al. “Regulating the Oxygen Evolution Mechanism through In Situ Reconstruction of Ru-Modified Manganese Oxybromide”. ACS Energy Letters (2025). Zhang, Hao, et al. “Tailoring Cu-based Nanoalloys for Highly Selective Electrochemical Urea Synthesis from CO2 and Nitrate”. ACS Catalysis (2025). Yuan, Peng, et al. “Harnessing Synergistic Cooperation of Neighboring Active Motifs in Heterogeneous Catalysts for Enhanced Catalytic Performance”. Advanced Materials (2025). Li, Yunong, et al. “Investigating Size-Dependent Selectivity in Benzaldehyde Reductive Amination via Precisely Controlled Ni Nanoparticles”. Materials Today Catalysis (2025). Chen, Tianxiang, Li, Yunong, et al. “Unraveling the nuclearity effect of atomically choreographed tri-atom Cu₃ clusters supported on zeolites”. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2025). Li, Guangchao, et al. “Atomic locations and absorbate interactions of Al single and pair sites in H-ZSM-5 zeolite”. Science (2025). Liu, Lingyue, et al. “Exceptional CO2 Hydrogenation to Ethanol via Precise Single-Atom Ir Deposition on Functional P Islands”. Angewandte Chemie (2025). He, Zhe, et al. “High-purity hydrogen production from dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane catalysed by zeolite-encapsulated subnanometer platinum-iron clusters”. Nature Communications (2025). Feng, Yunchao, et al. “Water-promoted oxidative coupling of aromatics with subnanometer palladium clusters confined in zeolites”. Nature Communications (2024) Wun, Ching Kit Tommy, et al. “Investigating synergistic cooperativity of metal-Brønsted acid site pair in MFI-type zeolites by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction” J. Mat. Chem. A (2024). Zhu, Chaofeng, et al. “Boosting the stability of subnanometer Pt catalysts by the presence of framework indium (III) sites in zeolite”. Angewandte Chemie (2024). Zhang, Jinwen, et al. “Confined Cu Single Sites in ZSM‐5 for Photocatalytic Hydroxylation of Benzene to Phenol”. Small (2024). Dou, Xiaomeng, et al. “Structure–Reactivity Relationship of Zeolite-Confined Rh Catalysts for Hydroformylation of Linear α-Olefins”. J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2024). Fu, Guozhang, et al. “Diatomic cobalt–catalyzed cyclization of o-aminobenzyl alcohol with amidine for the synthesis of quinazolines”. Journal of Catalysis (2024) Huang, Jiaming, et al. “19.5% Inverted organic photovoltaic with record long-lifetime via multifunctional interface engineering featuring radical scavenger.” Nature Communications (2024). Liu, Hao, et al. “Modulation of the cobalt species state on zincosilicate to maximize propane dehydrogenation to propylene.” Chinese Journal of Catalysis (2024). Liang, Baihui, et al. “NaOAc-Promoted [3+1+2] Annulation of O-Pivaloyl Oximes, Aldehydes, and 2-Methylbenzothiazole Salts: Synthesis of 1-Azaphenothiazines.” The Journal of Organic Chemistry (2024). Lin, Yuqun, et al. “One-Pot Tandem/Spirocyclization Reaction: Synthesis of Spiro [pyridine-thiazolidine] Ring Derivatives.” The Journal of Organic Chemistry (2024). Chen, Yiqun, et al. “Amphipathic Surfactant on Reconstructed Bismuth Enables Industrial-Level Electroreduction of CO2 to Formate.” ACS Nano (2024). Zhang, Shengpei, et al., “Facile Gram-Scale Synthesis of Size-Tunable MgO Nanosheets Enclosed by (111) Surface with Remarkable Stability and Uniform Host Sites for Atom Dispersion.” Chemistry of Materials (2024). Guo, Jun, et al., “Visible light-mediated intermolecular crossed [2+2] cycloadditions using a MOF-supported copper triplet photosensitizer.” Nature Catalysis (2024). Shi, Jianyi, “In Situ Activation of Azaarenes and Terminal Alkynes to Construct Bridged Polycyclic Compounds Containing Isoquinolinones.” Organic Letters (2024). Liu, Hao, et al. “Isolated Pt Species Anchored by Hierarchical-like Heteroatomic Fe-Silicalite-1 Catalyze Propane Dehydrogenation near the Thermodynamic Limit.” ACS Catalysis (2023). Tian, Linyuan, et al. “Facet-dependent peroxo species regulate product distribution and H 2 O 2 utilization in CeO 2-catalyzed aniline oxidation.“ Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2023). Zhang, Hao, et al. “Optimizing Cu+-Cu0 synergy by operando tracking of Cu2O nanocatalysts during the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction.” Nano Energy (2023). Tian, Linyuan, et al. “Facet-dependent Peroxo Species Regulate Product Distribution and H2O2 Utilization in CeO2-catalyzed Aniline Oxidation.” Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2023). Xue, Qi, et al. “Controlled synthesis of Cu, Fe dual-atom catalysts restrained on metal-organic frameworks for efficient O 2 activation.” Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2023). Jia, Guangri, et al. “Size Effects of Highly Dispersed Bismuth Nanoparticles on Electrocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid.” Journal of the American Chemical Society (2023). Zhou, Rui, et al. “An advanced organic cathode for non-aqueous and aqueous calcium-based dual ion batteries.” Journal of Power Sources 569 (2023): 232995. Chen, Tianxiang, et al. “Cu–Co Dual-Atom Catalysts Supported on Hierarchical USY Zeolites for an Efficient Cross-Dehydrogenative C (sp2)–N Coupling Reaction.” Journal of the American Chemical Society (2023). Liu, Hao, et al. “Isolated Pt Species Anchored by Hierarchical-like Heteroatomic Fe-Silicalite-1 Catalyze Propane Dehydrogenation near the Thermodynamic Limit.” ACS Catalysis 13.5 (2023): 2928-2936. Ying, Bixian, et al. “Monitoring the Formation of Nickel-Poor and Nickel-Rich Oxide Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Synchrotron Radiation.” Chemistry of Materials 35.4 (2023): 1514-1526. Zhang, Hao, et al. “Recent advances in the operando structural and interface characterisation of electrocatalysts.” Current Opinion in Electrochemistry (2023): 101215. Li, Zehao, et al. “Improved H 2 O 2 photogeneration on Rb-doped-polymeric carbon nitride via enhanced O 2 adsorption.” Journal of Materials Chemistry A 11.11 (2023): 5925-5936. Li, Wenjie, et al. “Lowering C− C coupling barriers for efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction to C2H4 by jointly engineering single Bi atoms and oxygen vacancies on CuO.” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 318 (2022): 121823. You, Huilin, et al. “Accelerated pyro-catalytic hydrogen production enabled by plasmonic local heating of Au on pyroelectric BaTiO3 nanoparticles.” Nature Communications 13.1 (2022): 6144. Wun, Ching Kit Tommy, et al. “Atomically dispersed 3d metal bimetallic dual-atom catalysts and classification of the structural descriptors.” Chem Catalysis 2.9 (2022): 2346-2363. Xie, Yi, et al. “High carbon utilization in CO2 reduction to multi-carbon products in acidic media.” Nature Catalysis 5.6 (2022): 564-570. da Silva, Marcos AR, et al. “Sustainable oxidation catalysis supported by light: Fe-poly (heptazine imide) as a heterogeneous single-atom photocatalyst.” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 304 (2022): 120965. Chu, Senlin, et al. “Single atom and defect engineering of CuO for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to C2H4.” SmartMat 3.1 (2022): 194-205. Lu, Yuanhui, et al. “Copper dual-atom catalyst mediated C3–H amination of indoles at room temperature.” Catalysis Science & Technology 12.17 (2022): 5390-5396. Tianxiang, Chen, et al. “Atomically precise bimetallic metal ensembles with tailorable synergistic effects” Cell Reports Physical Sciences. 2022, 3(4), 100850. Xue, Qi, et al. “Controlled Synthesis of bi- and tri-nuclear Cu-oxo Nanoclusters on Metal-organic Frameworks and the Structure-reactivity Correlations” Chemical Science. Advanced article. Zhao, Zhenqing, et al. “Engineering Vacancy and Hydrophobicity of Two-Dimensional TaTe2 for Efficient and Stable Electrocatalytic N2 Reduction.” The Innovation. Liu, Qiong, et al. “Boosted CO desorption behaviors induced by spatial dyadic heterostructure in polymeric carbon nitride for efficient photocatalytic CO2 conversion.” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 295 (2021): 120289. Duan, Xinping, et al. “Intercalating Lithium into Lattice of Silver Nanoparticles boosts Catalytic Hydrogenation of Carbon-Oxygen Bond.” Chemical Science 12 (2021): 8791-8802 Xue, Qi, et al. “Guest-Anion-Induced Rotation-Restricted Emission in UiO-66-NH2 and Advanced Structure Elucidation” Chemistry of Materials 33.13 (2021): 5422-5429. Chen, Tianxiang, Lin Ye, and Benedict Tsz Woon Lo. “Designing the Electronic and Geometric Structures of Single‐Atom and Nanocluster Catalysts.” Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2021). Xue, Qi, et al. “Recent Advances in the Engineering of Single-Atom Catalysts Through Metal–Organic Frameworks.” Topics in Current Chemistry 379.2 (2021): 1-22. DOI: 10.1007/s41061-021-00324-y Xue, Qi, et al. “A rational study on the geometric and electronic properties of single-atom catalysts for enhanced catalytic performance.” Nanoscale 12.45 (2020): 23206-23212. DOI: 10.1039/D0NR06006B Lin, Wei-Che, et al. “Cooperative catalytically active sites for methanol activation by single metal ion-doped H-ZSM-5.” Chemical Science (2020). DOI: 10.1039/D0SC04058D Yang, Lianghao, et al. “Single yttrium sites on carbon-coated TiO 2 for efficient electrocatalytic N 2 reduction.” Chemical Communications 56.74 (2020): 10910-10913. DOI: 10.1039/D0CC01136C Zhang, Jieru, et al. “Chemical State Tuning of Surface Ce Species on Pristine CeO2 with 2400% Boosting in Peroxidase-like Activity for Glucose Detection.” Chemical Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1039/D0CC02351E Zhai, Lingling, et al. “In Situ Phase Transformation on Nickel-Based Selenides for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Medium.” ACS Energy Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.0c01385 Zhang, Jieru, et al. “Chemical State Tuning of Surface Ce Species on Pristine CeO2 with 2400% Boosting in Peroxidase-like Activity for Glucose Detection.” Chemical Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1039/D0CC02351E Chen, T., Xue, Q., Leung, K.C., Lo, B.T.W. “Recent advances of precise Cu nanoclusters in microporous materials.” Chemistry – An Asian Journal (Invited) (2020) DOI: 10.1002/asia.202000331 Yang, Benyong, et al. “Efficient TiO2-nanobelt-supported Ir catalysts for FCC-generated NOx and CO remediation.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.9b06656 Boles, S., et al. “In Situ Formation of Aluminum-Silicon-Lithium Active Materials in Aluminum Matrices for Lithium-Ion Batteries” Journal of Material Chemistry: A (2020) 2020, 8, 4877-4888 Chen, T., Wun, C.K.T., Day, S., Tang, C.C., Lo, B.T.W. “Enantiospecificity in achiral zeolites for asymmetric catalysis.” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (Invited) (2020) DOI: 10.1039/D0CP00262C Advanced Article Chen, T., Huang, B., Day, S., Tang, C. C., Tsang, S. C. E., Wong, K. Y., & Lo, T. W. B. “Differential adsorption of L‐and D‐lysine on achiral MFI zeolites as determined by synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis.” Angewandte Chemie 132(3) 2020, 1109-1113. Benedict T.W. Lo, Wei-Che Lin, Molly Meng Jung Li, Sarah Day, Chiu Tang, S. C. Edman Tsang “Evaluation of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites in H-ZSM-5 and H-USY with or without metal modification using probe molecule-synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction.” Applied Catalysis A: General (2020), 596, 117528.