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Dr. Liang Yu  (于良)


Associate Professor

State Key Laboratory of Catalysis

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Zhongshan Road 457, Dalian 116023, China

Tel.: +86-411-84379317

E-mail: lyu@dicp.ac.cn


Education Background

2006 – 2012  Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS

2010 – 2011  Visiting student, Queen’s University Belfast, U. K.

2001 – 2005  B.S. in Applied Chemistry, Shandong Normal University


Working Experiences

2018 to Present  Associate Professor, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, China

2017 – 2018  Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia Tech, USA

2015 – 2017  Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, USA

2014 – 2015  Postdoctoral Fellow, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA; iChEM Fellow, Xiamen University, China 

2013 – 2014  Assistant Researcher, State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, China


Research Interests

1. Theoretical modeling of catalytic activation mechanisms, reaction mechanisms, and reaction pathways in heterogeneous

   catalysis, to provide fundamental understandings toward relevant catalytic processes.

2. Modulating the reactivity of two-dimensional materials for catalytic conversion of energy molecules.

3. Development of the r-Scaling method for calculating transition state energies.

4. Machine-learning based simulation theory for catalyst design and screening.


Software and Tools

VASP, Quantum Espresso, Atomic Simulation Environment, Python programming


Publications (#: equal contribution)

50. Yao Song#, Xiao Yang#, Huan Liu#, Suxia Liang, Yafeng Cai, Wenqiang Yang, Kaixin Zhu, Liang Yu*, Xiaoju Cui*, Dehui Deng*.

High-pressure electro-Fenton driving CH4 conversion by O2 at room temperature.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 5834.

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c10825 

49. Jinchang Fan, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Two-dimensional crystal lattice confining atoms for electrocatalysis.

Matter, 2024, 7, 305.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2023.12.016

48. Yan Wei#, Shuang Wang#, Yunlong Zhang, Mingrun Li, Jingting Hu, Yanting Liu, Jian Li, Liang Yu*, Rui Huang*, Dehui Deng*.

Hydrogenation of nitroarenes by onsite-generated surface hydroxyl from water.

ACS Catal., 2023, 13, 15824.

DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c04127

47. Jingting Hu#, Zeyu Wei#, Yunlong Zhang, Rui Huang, Mingchao Zhang, Kang Cheng, Qinghong Zhang, Yutai Qi, Yanan Li, Jun Mao, Junfa Zhu, Lihui Wu, Wu Wen, Shengsheng Yu, Yang Pan, Jiuzhong Yang, Xiangjun Wei, Luozhen Jiang, Rui Si, Liang Yu*, Ye Wang*, Dehui Deng*. 

Edge-rich molybdenum disulfide tailors carbon-chain growth for selective hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to higher alcohols. 

Nat. Commun., 2023, 14, 6808.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42325-z

46. Jinchang Fan, Yunlong Zhang, Wei Liu, Mingrun Li, Yafeng Cai, Qinqin Ji, Zhenchao Zhao, Guangjin Hou, Aowen Li, Wu Zhou, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Ligand-confined two-dimensional rhodium hydride boosts hydrogen evolution.

Matter, 2023, 6, 3877.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2023.09.003

45. Jun Mao#, Huan Liu#, Xiaoju Cui#, Yunlong Zhang, Xiangyu Meng, Yanping Zheng, Mingshu Chen, Yang Pan, Zhenchao Zhao, Guangjin Hou, Jingting Hu, Yanan Li, Guilan Xu, Rui Huang, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Direct conversion of methane by molecular oxygen at room temperature over edge-rich MoS2.

Nat. Catal., 2023, 6, 1052.

DOI: 10.1038/s41929-023-01030-2

44. Rui Huang#, Meihan Xia#, Yunlong Zhang, Chenxi Guan, Yao Wei, Zheng Jiang, Mingrun Li, Baibei Zhao, Xiaohui Hou, Yan Wei, Qiao Chen, Jingting Hu, Xiaoju Cui, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene by water at low temperature on a Au/α-MoC catalyst.

Nat. Catal., 2023, 6, 1005.

DOI: 10.1038/s41929-023-01026-y

43. Shiming Chen#, Suxia Liang#, Rui Huang, Mo Zhang, Yao Song, YunlongZhang, Shuo Tao, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Direct electro-conversion of air to nitric acid under mild conditions.

Nat. Synth., 2024, 3, 76.

DOI: 10.1038/s44160-023-00399-z

42. Zifeng Wang#, Yiran Kang#, Jingting Hu, Qinqin Ji, Zhixuan Lu, Guilan Xu, Yutai Qi, Mo Zhang, Wangwang Zhang, Rui Huang, Liang Yu*, Zhong-qun Tian, Dehui Deng*.

Boosting CO2 Hydrogenation to Formate over Edge-Sulfur Vacancies of Molybdenum Disulfide.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2023, 62, e202307086.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.202307086

41. Wenqiang Yang#, Huan Liu#, Yutai Qi, Yifan Li, Yi Cui, Liang Yu*, Xiaoju Cui*, Dehui Deng*.

Boosting C–C coupling to multicarbon products via high-pressure CO electroreduction.

J. Energy Chem., 2023, 85, 102-107.

DOI:10.1016/j.jechem.2023.06.013

40. Jinchang Fan#, Suxia Liang#, Kaixin Zhu, Jun Mao, Xiaoju Cui, Chao Ma, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Boosting room-temperature conversion of methane via confining Cu atoms in ultrathin Ru nanosheets.

Chem Catal., 2022, 2, 2253.

DOI: 10.1016/j.checat.2022.07.025

39. Lei Tang#, Meihan Xia#, Shiyu Cao, Xin Bo, Shengbo Zhang, Yunlong Zhang, Xiao Liu, Lizhi Zhang, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Operando Identification of Active Sites in Co-Cr Oxyhydroxide Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysts.

Nano Energy, 2022, 101, 107562.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107562

38. Lei Tang#, Liang Yu#, Chao Ma, Yao Song, Yunchuan Tu, Yunlong Zhang, Xin Bo, Dehui Deng*.

Three-dimensional CoOOH Nanoframes Confining High-density Mo Single Atoms for Large-current-density Oxygen Evolution.

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 6242.

DOI: 10.1039/d1ta09729f

37. Suheng Wang#, Kelechi Uwakwe#, Liang Yu*, Jinyu Ye, Yuezhou Zhu, Jingting Hu, Ruixue Chen, Zheng Zhang, Zhiyou Zhou, Jianfeng Li, Zhaoxiong Xie, Dehui Deng*.

Highly efficient ethylene production via electrocatalytic hydrogenation of acetylene under mild conditions.

Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 7072.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27372-8

36. Jingting Hu#, Liang Yu#, Jiao Deng, Yong Wang, Kang Cheng, Chao Ma, Qinghong Zhang, Wu Wen, Shengsheng Yu, Yang Pan, Jiuzhong Yang, Hao Ma, Fei Qi, Yongke Wang, Yanping Zheng, Mingshu Chen, Rui Huang, Shuhong Zhang, Zhenchao Zhao, Jun Mao, Xiangyu Meng, Qinqin Ji, Guangjin Hou, Xiuwen Han, Xinhe Bao, Ye Wang*, Dehui Deng*.

Sulphur vacancy-rich MoS2 as a catalyst for the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol.

Nat. Catal., 2021, 4, 242.

DOI: 10.1038/s41929-021-00584-3

35. Kaixin Zhu#, Suxia Liang#, Xiaoju Cui, Rui Huang, Ningbo Wan, Lei Hua, Haiyang Li, Hongyu Chen, Zhenchao Zhao, Guangjin Hou, Mingrun Li, Qike Jiang, Liang Yu*, Dehui Deng*.

Highly efficient conversion of methane to formic acid under mild conditions at ZSM-5-confined Fe-sites.

Nano Energy, 2021, 82, 105718.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105718

34. Yunchuan Tu#, Wei Tang#, Liang Yu#, Zheyi Liu, Yanting Liu, Huicong Xia, Haiwei Zhang, Shiyun Chen, Jia Wu, Xiaoju Cui, Jianan Zhang, Fangjun Wang*, Yangbo Hu*, Dehui Deng*.

Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 by electrochemical oxidation.

Sci. Bull., 2021, 66, 720.

DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2020.12.025

33. Zheng Zhang#, Liang Yu#, Yunchuan Tu, Ruixue Chen, Lihui Wu, Junfa Zhu, Dehui Deng*.

Unveiling the Active Site of Metal-Free Nitrogen-doped Carbon for Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction.

Cell Rep. Phys. Sci., 2020, 1, 100145.

DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100145

32. Zhilong Zheng#, Liang Yu#, Meng Gao, Xiya Chen, Wu Zhou, Chao Ma, Lihui Wu, Junfa Zhu, Xiangyu Meng, Jingting Hu, Yunchuan Tu, Sisi Wu, Jun Mao, Zhongqun Tian, Dehui Deng*.

Boosting hydrogen evolution on MoS2 via co-confining selenium in surface and cobalt in inner layer.

Nat. Commun., 2020, 11, 3315.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17199-0

31. Liang Yu, Dehui Deng*, Xinhe Bao*.

Chainmail for catalysts.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, 59, 15294.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.202007604

30. Xiangyu Meng, Chao Ma, Luozhen Jiang, Rui Si, Xianguang Meng, Yunchuan Tu, Liang Yu*, Xinhe Bao, Dehui Deng*.

Distance synergy of MoS2-confined Rh atoms for highly efficient hydrogen evolution.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, 59, 10502.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.202003484

29. Yunchuan Tu, Jiao Deng, Chao Ma, Liang Yu*, Xinhe Bao, Dehui Deng*.

Double-layer hybrid chainmail catalyst for high-performance hydrogen evolution.

Nano Energy, 2020, 72, 104700.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.104700

28. Xiaomin Ren, Miao Guo, He Li, Chengbin Li, Liang Yu*, Jian Liu*, and Qihua Yang*.

Microenvironment Engineering of Ruthenium Nanoparticles Incorporated into Silica Nanoreactors for Enhanced Hydrogenations.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2019, 58, 14483.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201908602

27. Xiangyu Meng, Liang Yu, Chao Ma, Bing Nan, Rui Si, Yunchuan Tu, Jiao Deng, Dehui Deng*, Xinhe Bao*.

Three-dimensionally hierarchical MoS2/graphene architecture for high-performance hydrogen evolution reaction.

Nano Energy, 2019, 61, 611.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.04.049

26. Yong Wang, Jun Mao, Xianguang Meng, Liang Yu, Dehui Deng*, Xinhe Bao*.

Catalysis with Two-Dimensional Materials Confining Single Atoms: Concept, Design, and Applications.

Chem. Rev., 2019, 119, 1806.

DOI:10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00501

25. Xiaoju Cui, Hai-Yan Su, Ruixue Chen, Liang Yu, Jinchao Dong, Chao Ma, Suheng Wang, Jianfeng Li, Fan Yang, Jianping Xiao, Mengtao Zhang, Ding Ma, Dehui Deng*, Dong H. Zhang, Zhongqun Tian, Xinhe Bao.

Room-temperature electrochemical water-gas shift reaction for high purity hydrogen production.

Nat. Commun., 2019, 10, 86.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07937-w

24. Yubing Lu, Jiamin Wang, Liang Yu, Libor Kovarik, Xiwen Zhang, Adam S. Hoffman, Alessandro Gallo, Simon R. Bare, Dimosthenis Sokaras, Thomas Kroll, Vanessa Dagle, Hongliang Xin*, Ayman M. Karim*.

Identification of the Active Complex for CO Oxidation over Single-Atom Ir-on-MgAl2O4 Catalysts.

Nat. Catal., 2019, 2, 149. 

DOI: 10.1038/s41929-018-0192-4

23. Zhe Li, Liang Yu, Cory Milligan, Tao Ma, Lin Zhou, Yanran Cui, Zhiyuan Qi, Nicole Libretto, Biao Xu, Junwei Luo, Enzheng Shi, Zhenwei Wu*, Hongliang Xin*, W. Nicholas Delgass, Jeffrey T. Miller*, Yue Wu*.

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides as supports for tuning the chemistry of catalytic nanoparticles.

Nat. Commun., 2018, 9, 5258.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07502-5

22. Liang Yu, Laia Vilella, Frank Abild-Pedersen*.

Generic Approach to Access Barriers in Dehydrogenation Reactions.

Communications Chemistry, 2018, 1, 2.

DOI: 10.1038/s42004-017-0001-z

21. Jun Wang, Liang Yu, Lin Hu, Gang Chen, Hongliang Xin*, Xiaofeng Feng*.

Ambient Ammonia Synthesis Via Palladium-Catalyzed Electrohydrogenation of Dinitrogen at Low Overpotential.

Nat. Commun., 2018, 9, 1795.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04213-9

20. Yun Liu, Fan Yang*, Yi Zhang, Jianping Xiao, Liang Yu, Qingfei Liu, Yanxiao Ning, Zhiwen Zhou, Hao Chen, Wugen Huang, Ping Liu, Xinhe Bao*.

Enhanced Oxidation Resistance of Active Nanostructures Via Dynamic Size Effect.

Nat. Commun., 2017, 8, 14459.

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14459

19. Yun Liu, Yanxiao Ning, Liang Yu, Zhiwen Zhou, Qingfei Liu, Yi Zhang, Hao Chen, Jianping Xiao, Ping Liu, Fan Yang*, Xinhe Bao*.

Structure and Electronic Properties of Interface-Confined Oxide Nanostructures.

ACS Nano, 2017, 11, 11449-11458.

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b06164

18. J. LaRue, O. Krejčí, Liang Yu, M. Beye, M. L. Ng, H. Öberg, H. Xin, G. Mercurio, S. Moeller, J. J. Turner, D. Nordlund, R. Coffee, M. P. Minitti, W. Wurth, L. G. M. Pettersson, H. Öström, A. Nilsson, F. Abild-Pedersen, H. Ogasawara*.

Real-Time Elucidation of Catalytic Pathways in Co Hydrogenation on Ru.

J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2017, 8, 3820-3825.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b01549

17. Xiaoqi Chen#, Liang Yu#, Suheng Wang, Dehui Deng*, Xinhe Bao*.

Highly Active and Stable Single Iron Site Confined in Graphene Nanosheets for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Nano Energy, 2017, 32, 353-358.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.12.056

16. Liang Yu, Frank Abild-Pedersen*.

Bond Order Conservation Strategies in Catalysis Applied to the NH3 Decomposition Reaction.

ACS Catal., 2016, 7, 864-871.

DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.6b03129

15. Liang Yu, Yun Liu, Fan Yang, Jaime Evans, José A Rodriguez*, Ping Liu*.

CO Oxidation on Gold-Supported Iron Oxides: New Insights into Strong Oxide–Metal Interactions.

J. Phys. Chem. C, 2015, 119, 16614-16622.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b03315

14. Yanxiao Ning, Mingming Wei, Liang Yu, Fan Yang, Rui Chang, Zhi Liu, Qiang Fu*, Xinhe Bao*.

Nature of Interface Confinement Effect in Oxide/Metal Catalysts.

J. Phys. Chem. C, 2015, 119, 27556-27561.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b09498

13. Dehui Deng#*, Xiaoqi Chen#, Liang Yu, Xing Wu, Qingfei Liu, Yun Liu, Huaixin Yang, Huanfang Tian, Yongfeng Hu, Peipei Du, Rui Si, Junhu Wang, Xiaoju Cui, Haobo Li, Jianping Xiao, Tao Xu, Jiao Deng, Fan Yang, Paul N. Duchesne, Peng Zhang, Jigang Zhou, Litao Sun, Jianqi Li, Xiulian Pan, Xinhe Bao*.

A Single Iron Site Confined in a Graphene Matrix for the Catalytic Oxidation of Benzene at Room Temperature.

Sci. Adv., 2015, 1, e1500462.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500462

12. Xiaoqi Chen, Jianping Xiao, Jian Wang, Dehui Deng*, Yongfeng Hu, Jigang Zhou, Liang Yu, Thomas Heine, Xiulian Pan, Xinhe  Bao*.

Visualizing Electronic Interactions between Iron and Carbon by X-Ray Chemical Imaging and Spectroscopy.

Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 3262-3267.

DOI: 10.1039/C5SC00353A

11. Xingyun Li, Xiulian Pan*, Liang Yu, Pengju Ren, Xing Wu, Litao Sun, Feng Jiao, Xinhe Bao*.

Silicon Carbide-Derived Carbon Nanocomposite as a Substitute for Mercury in the Catalytic Hydrochlorination of Acetylene.

Nat. Commun., 2014, 5, 3688.

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4688

10. Xiaoguang Guo, Guangzong Fang, Gang Li, Hao Ma, Hongjun Fan, Liang Yu, Chao Ma, Xing Wu, Dehui Deng, Mingming Wei, Dali Tan, Rui Si, Shuo Zhang, Jianqi Li, Litao Sun, Zichao Tang, Xiulian Pan, Xinhe Bao*.

Direct, Nonoxidative Conversion of Methane to Ethylene, Aromatics, and Hydrogen.

Science, 2014, 344, 616-619.

DOI: 10.1126/science.1253150

9. Jiao Deng#, Pengju Ren#, Dehui Deng*, Liang Yu, Fan Yang, Xinhe Bao*.

Highly Active and Durable Non-Precious-Metal Catalysts Encapsulated in Carbon Nanotubes for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Energy Environ. Sci., 2014, 7, 1919-1923.

DOI: 10.1039/C4EE00370E

8. Fan Zhang, Xiulian Pan*, Yongfeng Hu, Liang Yu, Xiaoqi Chen, Peng Jiang, Hongbo Zhang, Shibin Deng, Jin Zhang, Trudy B. Bolin, Shuo Zhang, Yuying Huang, Xinhe Bao*.

Tuning the Redox Activity of Encapsulated Metal Clusters Via the Metallic and Semiconducting Character of Carbon Nanotubes.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2013, 110, 14861-14866.

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1306784110

7. Jiao Deng#, Liang Yu#, Dehui Deng*, Xiaoqi Chen, Fan Yang, Xinhe Bao*.

Highly Active Reduction of Oxygen on a FeCo Alloy Catalyst Encapsulated in Pod-like Carbon Nanotubes with Fewer Walls.

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, 1, 14868-14873.

DOI: 10.1039/C3TA13759G

6. Dehui Deng, Liang Yu, Xiaoqi Chen, Guoxiong Wang, Li Jin, Xiulian Pan*, Jiao Deng, Gongquan Sun, Xinhe Bao*.

Iron Encapsulated within Pod‐like Carbon Nanotubes for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2013, 52, 371-375.

DOI: 10.1002/ange.201204958

5. Liang Yu, Wei-Xue Li*, Xiulian Pan*, Xinhe Bao.

In-and out-Dependent Interactions of Iron with Carbon Nanotubes.

J. Phys. Chem. C, 2012, 116, 16461-16466.

DOI: 10.1021/jp302311r

4. Rentao Mu, Qiang Fu*, Li Jin, Liang Yu, Guangzong Fang, Dali Tan, Xinhe Bao*.

Visualizing Chemical Reactions Confined under Graphene.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2012, 51, 4856-4859.

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201200413

3. Liang Yu, Xiulian Pan, Xiaoming Cao, P Hu*, Xinhe Bao*.

Oxygen Reduction Reaction Mechanism on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene: A Density Functional Theory Study.

J. Catal., 2011, 282, 183-190.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2011.06.015

2. Dehui Deng#, Liang Yu#, Xiulian Pan*, Shuang Wang, Xiaoqi Chen, P Hu, Lixian Sun, Xinhe Bao*.

Size Effect of Graphene on Electrocatalytic Activation of Oxygen.

Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 10016-10018.

DOI: 10.1039/C1CC13033A

1. Dehui Deng, Xiulian Pan*, Liang Yu, Yi Cui, Yeping Jiang, Jing Qi, Wei-Xue Li, Qiang Fu, Xucun Ma, Qikun Xue, Gongquan Sun, Xinhe Bao*.

Toward N-Doped Graphene Via Solvothermal Synthesis.

Chem. Mater., 2011, 23, 1188-1193.

DOI: 10.1021/cm102666r