Education 2013 − 2016, Postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (Advisor: Peter C. Stair) 2009 – 2012, Postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (Advisors: Galen D. Stucky, Horia Metiu and Eric W. McFarland) 2004 – 2009, Ph.D. in Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Advisors: Buxing Han and Zhimin Liu) 2000 – 2004, B.E. in Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China (Advisor: Qun Xu)

Catalysis is the heart of the chemical industry and energy processing. Among the various types of catalysts, heterogeneous catalysts are the most widely used because of their ease of separation from the reaction mixture. Largely owing to the structural heterogeneities of their complex surfaces, most heterogeneous catalytic systems have not yet been fully understood at the atomic level. In many cases, only a limited portion of the surface species determines the overall catalytic performances. Most techniques employed by researchers either provide statistically limited information such as microscopy, or sample-averaged information such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy. From this point of view, site-specific techniques that are capable of providing statistically sufficient information on site identification and quantification as well as the activity evaluation of specific sites are essential. Our research focuses on 1) developing model catalysts to minimize the structural heterogeneities; 2) developing site-specific spectroscopies to distinguish the structures and discriminate the catalytic performance of different sites. The candidate reactions include natural gas conversions (OCM, POM), COx/NOx conversions, selective hydrogenations, metathesis, etc.

Zhai, P.(equally contributed); Aireddy, D.R.(equally contributed); Berko, M.B.; Arshadi A.; Zachman, M.J.; Cullen, D.A.; Xu, Y.(*); Ding, K.L.(*) "Anomalous Role of Carbon in Pd-Catalyzed Selective Hydrogenation." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202421351. Lucas, J.; Naveen, N.S.P.; Janik, M.J.; Alexopoulos, K.; Noh, G.; Aireddy, D.R.; Ding, K.L.; Dorman, J.A.(*); Dooley, K.M.(*) "Improved Selectivity and Stability in Methane Dry Reforming by Atomic Layer Deposition on Ni-CeO2–ZrO2/Al2O3 Catalysts." ACS Catal. 2024, 14, 9115–9133. Zhai, P.; Cullen, D.A.; Ding, K.L.(*) "The Role of Surface Chemistry in the Synthesis of Supported CuPd Bimetallic/Intermetallic Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation Reactions." Chem. Eng. J. 2024, 480, 148238. Bai, X.S.; Aireddy, D.R.; Roy, A.; Ding, K.L.(*) "Solvent-Free Depolymerization of Plastic Waste Enabled by Plastic-Catalyst Interfacial Engineering." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202309949. Zhai, P.(equally contributed); Xie, Z.H.(equally contributed); Huang, E.W.(equally contributed); Aireddy, D.R.(equally contributed); Yu, H.R.; Cullen, D.A.; Liu, P.(*); Chen, J.G.(*); Ding, K.L.(*) "CO2-mediated oxidative dehydrogenation of propane enabled by Pt-based bimetallic catalysts." Chem 2023, 9, 3268-3285. Aireddy, D.R.; Roy, A.; Cullen, D.A.; Ding, K.L.(*) "TiOx-supported Na-Mn-W oxides for the oxidative coupling of methane." Catal. Today 2023, 416, 113977. Aurnob, A.K.M.; Ding, K.L.; Kauffman, D.R.; Spivey, J.J.(*) "Low temperature catalytic conversion of CH4, CO2, and C2H4 to value-added C3 oxygenates and olefins via C1-C2 coupling on Pd-Au/CeO2." Appl. Catal. B: Environ. 2023, 322, 122107. Aireddy, D.R.; Yu, H.R.; Cullen, D.A.; Ding, K.L.(*) "Elucidating the Roles of Amorphous Alumina Overcoat in Palladium-Catalyzed Selective Hydrogenation." ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 24290–24298. Aireddy, D.R.; Ding, K.L.(*) "Heterolytic Dissociation of H2 in Heterogeneous Catalysis." ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 4707−4723. Zhang, L.B. (equally contributed); Zhai, P. (equally contributed); Aireddy, D.R.; Ding, K.L.(*) "Encapsulated Metals for Confined Catalysis." RSC Catalysis Book Series 2022, 34, 84-101. Zhai, P.; Zhang, L.B.; Cullen, D.A.; Aireddy, D.R.; Ding, K.L.(*) "Construction of Inverse Metal-Zeolite Interfaces via Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition." ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021, 13, 51759–51766. Zhai, P. (equally contributed); Shi, Y.F. (equally contributed); Wang, Q.X.; Xia, Y.N.(*); Ding, K.L.(*) "Elucidating the Surface Compositions of Pd@PtnL Core-Shell Nanocrystals through Catalytic Reactions and Spectroscopy Probes." Nanoscale 2021, 13, 18498-18506. Abedin, M.A.; Kanitkar, S.; Kumar, N.; Wang, Z.; Ding, K.L.; Hutchings, G.J.; Spivey, J.J.(*) "Probing the Surface Acidity of Supported Aluminum Bromide Catalysts." Catalysts 2020, 10, 869. Willis, D.E.; Taheri, M.M.; Kizilkaya, O.; Leite, T.R.; Zhang, L.B.; Ofoegbuna, T.; Ding, K.L.; Dorman, J.A.; Baxter, J.B.; McPeak, K.M.(*) "Critical Coupling of Visible Light Extends Hot-Electron Lifetimes for H2O2 Synthesis." ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 22778–22788. Zhang, L.B.; Cullen, D.A.; Zhai, P.; Ding, K.L.(*) "Adsorption of Colloidal Metal Nanoparticles via Solvent Engineering." ACS Catal. 2020, 10, 2378-2383. Kanitkar,S.; Carter, J.H.; Hutchings, G.J.; Ding, K.L.; Spivey, J.J.(*) "Low Temperature Direct Conversion of Methane using a Solid Superacid." ChemCatChem 2018, 10, 5019-5024. Ding, K.L.(*); Cullen, D.A.; Zhang, L.B.; Cao, Z.; Roy, A.D.; Ivanov, I.N.; Cao, D.M. "A general synthesis approach for supported bimetallic nanoparticles via surface inorganometallic chemistry." Science 2018, 362, 560-564. Kennedy, R.M.; Crosby, L.A.; Ding, K.L.; Canlas, C.P.; Gulec, A.; Marks, L.D.; Elam, J.W.; Marshall, C.L.; Poeppelmeier, K.R.; Stair, P.C. "Replication of SMSI via ALD: TiO2 Overcoats Increase Pt-Catalyzed Acrolein Hydrogenation Selectivity." Catal. Lett. 2018, 148, 2223-2232. Liu, D.Y.; Wu, B.H.; Mubeen, S.; Ding, K.L.; Zeng, H.M.; Chuong, T.T.; Moskovits, M.; Stucky, G.D. "Microwave‐Assisted Synthesis of Ultrastable Cu@TiO2 Core‐Shell Nanowires with Tunable Diameters via a Redox‐Hydrolysis Synergetic Process." ChemNanoMat 2018, 4, 914-918. Wu, W.Q.; Ding, K.L.; Liu, J.; Drake, T.L.; Stair, P.C.; Weitz, E. "Methanol Oxidation to Formate over ALD Prepared VOx/(Theta)-Al2O3 Catalysts: a Mechanistic Study." J. Phys. Chem. C 2017, 121, 26794–26805. Ding, K.L.; Gulec, A.; Johnson, A.M.; Drake, T.L.; Wu, W.Q.; Lin, Y.Y.; Weitz, E.; Marks, L.D.; Stair, P.C. "Highly efficient activation, regeneration, and active site identification of oxide-based olefin metathesis catalysts." ACS Catal. 2016, 6, 5740-5746. Ding, K.L.; Gulec, A.; Johnson, A.M.; Schweitzer, N.M.; Stucky, G.D.; Marks, L.D.; Stair, P.C. "Identification of active sites in CO oxidation and water-gas shift over supported Pt catalysts." Science 2015, 350, 189-192. Ding, K.L.; Corma, A.; Maciá-Agulló, J.A.; Hu, J.G.; Krämer, S.; Stair, P.C.; Stucky, G.D. "Constructing Hierarchical Porous Zeolites via Kinetic Regulation." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 11238-11241. Lin, Y.Y.; Wu, Z.L.; Wen J.G.; Ding, K.L.; Yang, X.Y.; Poeppelmeier, K.R.; Marks, L.D. "Adhesion and Atomic Structures of Gold on Ceria Nanostructures: The Role of Surface Structure and Oxidation State of Ceria Supports." Nano Lett. 2015, 15, 5375-5381. Ding, K.L.; Lu, H.; Zhang, Y.C.; Sneaker, M.L.; Liu, D.Y.; Maciá-Agulló, J.A.; Stucky, G.D. "Microwave Synthesis of Microstructured and Nanostructured Metal Chalcogenides from Elemental Precursors in Phosphonium Ionic Liquids." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 15465-15468. Ding, K.L.; Metiu, H.; Stucky, G.D. "The Selective High-Yield Conversion of Methane Using Iodine-Catalyzed Methane Bromination." ACS Catal. 2013, 3, 474-477. Ding, K.L.; Metiu, H.; Stucky, G.D. "Interplay Between Bromine and Iodine in Oxidative Dehydrogenation." ChemCatChem 2013, 5, 1906-1910. Ding, K.L.; Zhang, A.H.; Stucky, G.D. "Iodine Catalyzed Propane Oxidative Dehydrogenation Using Dibromomethane as an Oxidant." ACS Catal. 2012, 2, 1049-1056. Ding, K.L.; Derk, A.R.; Zhang, A.H.; Hu, Z.P.; Stoimenov, P.; Stucky, G.D.; Metiu, H.; McFarland, E.W. "Hydrodebromination and Oligomerization of Dibromomethane." ACS Catal. 2012, 2, 479-486. Zhang, F.; Shi, Q.H.; Zhang, Y.C.; Shi, Y.F.; Ding, K.L.; Zhao, D.Y.; Stucky, G.D. "Fluorescence Upconversion Microbarcodes for Multiplexed Biological Detection: Nucleic Acid Encoding." Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 3775. Zhang, F.; Haushalter, R.C.; Haushalter, R.W.; Shi, Y.F.; Zhang, Y.C.; Ding, K.L.; Zhao, D.Y.; Stucky, G.D. "Rare-Earth Upconverting Nanobarcodes for Multiplexed Biological Detection." Small 2011, 7, 1972-1976. Zhang, Y.C.; Wang, H.; Kraemer, S.; Shi, Y.F.; Zhang, F.; Snedaker, M.; Ding, K.L.; Moskovits, M.; Snyder, G.J.; Stucky, G.D. "Surfactant-Free Synthesis of Bi2Te3-Te Micro-Nano Heterostructure with Enhanced Thermoelectric Figure of Merit." ACS Nano 2011, 5, 3158-3165. An, G.M.; Sun, Z.Y.; Zhang, Y.; Ding, K.L.; Xie Y.; Tao, R.T.; Zhang, H.Y.; Liu, Z.M. "CO2-Mediated Synthesis of ZnO Nanorods and Their Application in Sensing Ethanol Vapor." J. Nanosci. Nanotechno. 2011, 11, 1252-1258. Tao, R.T.; Xie, Y.; An, G.M.; Ding, K.L.; Zhang, H.Y.; Sun, Z.Y.; Liu, Z.M. "Arginine-mediated synthesis of highly efficient catalysts for transfer hydrogenations of ketones." J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 2010, 351, 501-506. Xie, Y.; Ding, K.L.; Liu, Z.M.; Li, J.J.; An, G.M.; Tao, R.T.; Sun, Z.Y.; Yang, Z.Z. "The Immobilization of Glycidyl-Group-Containing Ionic Liquids and Its Application in CO2 Cycloaddition Reactions." Chem. Eur. J. 2010, 16, 6687-6692. Zhou, X.S.; Wu, T.B.; Ding, K.L.; Hu, B.J.; Hou, M.Q.; Han, B.X. "Dispersion of graphene sheets in ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] stabilized by an ionic liquid polymer." Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, 386-388. Hu, B.J.; Wu, T.B.; Ding, K.L.; Zhou, X.S.; Jiang, T.; Han, B.X. "Seeding Growth of Pd/Au Bimetallic Nanoparticles on Highly Cross-Linked Polymer Microspheres with Ionic Liquid and Solvent-Free Hydrogenation." J. Phys. Chem. C 2010, 114, 3396-3400. Hu, B.J.; Ding, K.L.; Wu, T.B.; Zhou, X.S.; Fan, H.L.; Jiang, T.; Wang, Q.; Han, B.X. "Shape controlled synthesis of palladium nanocrystals by combination of oleylamine and alkylammonium alkylcarbamate and their catalytic activity." Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, 8552-8554. Ding, K.L.; Miao, Z.J.; Hu, B.J.; An, G.M.; Sun, Z.Y.; Han, B.X.; Liu, Z.M. "Study on the Anatase to Rutile Phase Transformation and Controlled Synthesis of Rutile Nanocrystals with the Assistance of Ionic Liquid." Langmuir 2010, 26, 10294-10302. Ding, K.L.; Miao, Z.J.; Hu, B.J.; An, G.M.; Sun, Z.Y.; Han, B.X.; Liu, Z.M. "Shape and Size Controlled Synthesis of Anatase Nanocrystals with the Assistance of Ionic Liquid." Langmuir 2010, 26, 5129-5134. Feng, J.; An, G.M.; Chen, B.H.; Li, Y.X.; Ding, K.L.; Xie, Y.; Liu, Z.M. "Post-Synthesis of Ti-SBA-15 in Supercritical CO2-Ethanol Solution." Clean-Soil Air Water 2009, 37, 527-533. Zhang, H.Y.; Xie, Y.; Liu, Z.M.; Tao, R.T.; Sun, Z.Y.; Ding, K.L.; An, G.M. "p-Aminophenylacetic acid-mediated synthesis of monodispersed titanium oxide hybrid microspheres in ethanol solution." J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 2009, 338, 468-473. Tao, R.T.; Miao, S.D.; Liu, Z.M.; Xie, Y.; Han, B.X.; An, G.M.; Ding, K.L. "Pd nanoparticles immobilized on sepiolite by ionic liquids: efficient catalysts for hydrogenation of alkenes and Heck reactions." Green Chem. 2009, 11, 96-101. Miao, S.D.; Liu, Z.M.; Miao, Z.J.; Han, B.X.; Ding, K.L.; An, G.M.; Xie, Y. "Ionic liquid-mediated synthesis of crystalline CeO2 mesoporous films and their application in aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol." Micro. Meso. Mater. 2009, 117, 386-390. Xie, Y.; Ding, K.L.; Liu, Z.M.; Tao, R.T.; Sun, Z.Y.; Zhang, H.Y.; An, G.M. "The In Situ Controllable Loading of Ultrafine Noble Metal Particles on Titania." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 6648-6649. Zhou, X.S.; Wu, T.B.; Ding, K.L.; Hu, B.J.; Hou, M.Q.; Han, B.X. "The dispersion of carbon nanotubes in water with the aid of very small amounts of ionic liquid." Chem. Commun. 2009, 1897-1899. Ding, K.L.; Hu, B.J.; Xie, Y.; An, G.M.; Tao, R.T.; Zhang, H.Y.; Liu, Z.M. "A simple route to coat mesoporous SiO2 layer on carbon nanotubes." J. Mater. Chem. 2009, 19, 3725-3731. An, G.M.; Yu, P.; Xiao, M.J.; Liu, Z.M.; Miao, Z.J.; Ding, K.L.; Mao, L.Q. "Low-temperature synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles loaded on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and their application in electrochemical capacitors." Nanotechnology 2008, 19, 275709. Xie, Y.; Zhang, C.L.; Miao, S.D.; Liu, Z.M.; Ding, K.L.; Miao, Z.J.; An, G.M.; Yang, Z.Z. "One-pot synthesis of ZnS/polymer composites in supercritical CO2-ethanol solution and their applications in degradation of dyes." J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 2008, 318, 110-115. Ma, X.M.; Jiang, T.; Han, B.X.; Zhang, J.C.; Miao, S.D.; Ding, K.L.; An, G.M.; Xie, Y.; Zhou, Y.X.; Zhu, A.L. "Palladium nanoparticles in polyethylene glycols: Efficient and recyclable catalyst system for hydrogenation of olefins." Catal. Commun. 2008, 9, 70-74. Miao, Z.J.; Ding, K.L.; Wu, T.B.; Liu, Z.M.; Han, B.X.; An, G.M. Miao, S.D.; Yang, G.Y. "Fabrication of 3D-networks of native starch and their application to produce porous inorganic oxide networks through a supercritical route." Micro. Meso. Mater. 2008, 111, 104-109. Ding, K.L.; Miao, Z.J.; Liu, Z.M.; An, G.M.; Xie, Y.; Tao, R.T.; Han, B.X. "Imidazolium cation mediated synthesis of polystyrene-polyaniline core-shell structures." J. Mater. Chem. 2008, 18, 5406-5411. Miao, S.D.; Liu, Z.M.; Zhang, Z.F.; Han, B.X.; Miao, Z.J.; Ding, K.L.; An, G.M. "Ionic liquid-assisted immobilization of Rh on attapulgite and its application in cyclohexene hydrogenation." J. Phys. Chem. C 2007, 111, 2185-2190. An, G.M.; Na, N.; Zhang, X.R.; Miao, Z.J.; Miao, S.D.; Ding, K.L.; Liu, Z.M. "SnO2/carbon nanotube nanocomposites synthesized in supercritical fluids: highly efficient materials for use as a chemical sensor and as the anode of a lithium-ion battery." Nanotechnology 2007, 18, 435707. An, G.M.; Ma, W.H.; Sun, Z.Y.; Liu, Z.M.; Han, B.X.; Miao, S.D.; Miao, Z.J.; Ding, K.L. "Preparation of titania/carbon nanotube composites using supercritical ethanol and their photocatalytic activity for phenol degradation under visible light irradiation." Carbon 2007, 45, 1795-1801. An, G.M.; Yu, P.; Mao, L.Q.; Sun, Z.Y.; Liu, Z.M.; Miao, S.D.; Miao, Z.J.; Ding, K.L. "Synthesis of PtRu/carbon nanotube composites in supercritical fluid and their application as an electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells." Carbon 2007, 45, 536-542. Miao, Z.J.; Wu, Y.Y.; Zhang, X.R.; Liu, Z.M.; Han, B.X.; Ding, K.L.; An, G.M. "Large-scale production of self-assembled SnO2 nanospheres and their application in high-performance chemiluminescence sensors for hydrogen sulfide gas." J. Mater. Chem. 2007, 17, 1791-1796. Miao, Z.J.; Liu, Z.M.; Ding, K.L.; Han, B.X.; Miao, S.D.; An, G.M. "Controlled fabrication of rare earth fluoride superstructures via a simple template-free route." Nanotechnology 2007, 18, 125605. He, J.L.; Wu, T.B.; Zhang, Z.F.; Ding, K.L.; Han, B.X.; Xie, Y.; Jiang, T.; Liu, Z.M. "Cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxides catalyzed by polyaniline salts." Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 6992-6997. Xie, Y.; Zhang, Z.F.; Jiang, T.; He, J.L.; Han, B.X.; Wu, T.B.; Ding, K.L. "CO2 cycloaddition reactions catalyzed by an ionic liquid grafted onto a highly cross-linked polymer matrix." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 7255-7258. Ding, K.L.; Miao, Z.J.; Liu, Z.M.; Zhang, Z.F.; Han, B.X.; An, G.M.; Miao, S.D.; Xie, Y. "Facile Synthesis of High Quality TiO2 Nanocrystals in Ionic Liquid Via A Microwave-Assisted Process." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 6362-6363. Wang, J.Q.; Zhang, C.L.; Liu, Z.M.; Ding, K.L.; Yang, Z.Z. "A simple and efficient route to prepare inorganic compound/polymer composites in supercritical fluids." Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2006, 27, 787-792. Xu, Q.; Ding, K.L.; He, L.M.;, Li, J.B.; Guo, Y.Q.; Fan, H.J. "A new mechanism about the process of preparing nanoporous silica with activated carbon mold." Mater. Sci. Eng. B 2005, 121, 266-271.