Chengliang Mao

Associate Professor

Office: ESE833; Email: chengliang.mao@sjtu.edu.cn

About Chengliang

Chengliang Mao begun his independent career at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University as an associate professor (2024), after a FA&S PDF at University of Toronto. He is known for the pioneer work in photothermal catalytic N₂ reduction and urea synthesis, and the discovery and application of "photothermal local heating induced nonequilibrium chemisty".

Areas of Interest

Next-generation environmental solutions will turn waste CO₂ and plastics into value-added fuels, fine chemicals, fertilizers, and daily materials, revolutionizing the century-old linear paradigm of “fossil energy à product à waste” by transitioning to a circular economy. The underpinnings of such solutions are the development of novel green environmental chemistry pathways, environmental functional materials, and their integration and upscaling to high technology readiness levels for practical applications. Mao Lab will leverage the cutting-edge carbon-zero/negative photothermal catalysis, the versatility of material chemistry, and advanced opto-chemical-thermal engineering for plastic recycling, biomass valorization, N₂ and CO₂ reduction, and H₂ production to address most daunting challenges in sustainability and environmental-energy-food securities.

Applications for master's, doctoral, visiting, and postdoctoral programs are warmly welcomed.

Selected Publications (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_5Lye9UAAAAJ&hl=en)

1. Y. Shi, H. Li*, X. Liu, X. Zhang, G. Zhan, J. Cheng, J. Wang, C. Mao*, L. Zhang*. Green energy-driven ammonia production for sustainable development goals. Chem, 2024, 10, 2636-2650.

2. C. Mao, J. Byun, H. W. MacLeod, C. T. Maravelias, G. A. Ozin*, Green Urea Production for Sustainable Agriculture, Joule, 2024, 8, 1224-1238.

3. F. Guo; C. Mao*, C. Liang, P. Xing, L. Yu, Y. Shi, S. Cao, F. Wang, X. Liu, Z. Ai, L, Zhang*, Triangle Cl-Ag₁-Cl Sites for Superior Photocatalytic Molecular Oxygen Activation and NO Oxidation of BiOCl. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202314243.

4. C. Mao, J. Wang, Y. Zou, Y. Shi, C. J. Viasus, J. Y. Loh, M. Xia, S. Ji, M. Li, H. Shang, M. Ghoussoub, Y.-F. Xu, J. Ye, Z. Li, N. P. Kherani, L. Zheng*, Y. Liu, L. Zhang*, G. A. Ozin*. Photochemical Acceleration of Ammonia Production by Pt₁-Pt_n-TiN Reduction and N₂ Activation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 13134–13146.

5. Z. Li#, C. Mao #, Q. Pei, P. N. Duchesne, T. He, M. Xia, J. Wang, L. Wang, R. Song, A. A. Jelle, D. M. Meira, Q. Ge, K. K. Ghuman*, L. He, X. Zhang, G. A. Ozin *. Engineered Disorder in CO₂ Photocatalysis. Nat. Commun., 2022, 13, 7205.

6. Z. Zhang, C. Mao*, D. M. Meira, P. N. Duchesne, A. A. Tountas, Z. Li, C. Qiu, S. Tang, R. Song, X. Ding, J. Sun, J. Yu, J. Y. Howe, W. Tu, L. Wang*, G. A. Ozin*, New black indium oxide—tandem photothermal CO₂-H₂ methanol selective catalyst, Nat. Commun., 2022, 13, 1512.

7. M. Xia, C. Mao*, A. Gu, A. A. Tountas, C. Qiu, T. E. Wood, Y. F. Li, U. Ulmer, Y. Xu, C. J. Viasus, J. Ye, C. Qian*, G. A. Ozin*, Solar Urea: Towards a Sustainable Fertilizer Industry, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202110158.

8. Y. Shi#, J. Li#*, C. Mao#, S. Liu, X. Wang, X. Liu, S. Zhao, X. Liu, Y. Huang, L. Zhang*, Van Der Waals gap-rich BiOCl atomic layers realizing efficient, pure-water CO₂-to-CO photocatalysis, Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 5923.

9. C. Mao, J. Wang, Y. Zou, G. Qi, J. Y. Y. Loh, T. Zhang, M. Xia, J. Xu, F. Deng, M. Ghoussoub, N. P. Kherani, L. Wang, H. Shang, M. Li, J. Li, X. Liu, Z. Ai, G. A. Ozin*, J. Zhao, L. Zhang*, Hydrogen Spillover to Oxygen Vacancy of TiO_2–xH_y/Fe: Breaking the Scaling Relationship of Ammonia Synthesis, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2020, 142, 17403-17412.

10. X. Xiong#, C. Mao#, Z. Yang, Q. Zhang, G. I. Waterhouse, L. Gu, T. Zhang, Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction to CO over Ni Single Atoms Supported on Defect‐Rich Zirconia, Adv. Energy Mater., 2020, 10, 2002928.

11. C. Mao, H. Li, H. Gu, J. Wang, Y. Zou, W. Shen, J. Li, S. Liu, J. Zhao, L. Zhang^*, Beyond the thermal equilibrium limit of ammonia synthesis with dual temperature zone catalyst powered by solar light, Chem, 2019, 5, 2702-2717.

12. C. Mao, J. Wang, Y. Zou, H. Li, J. Zhao, L. Zhang^*, Anion (O, N, C and S) vacancies promoted photocatalytic nitrogen fixation, Green Chem., 2019, 21, 2852-2867. (Invited Review).

13. C. Mao, L. Yu, J. Li, J. Zhao, L. Zhang^*, Energy-confined solar thermal ammonia synthesis with K/Ru/TiO_2-xH_x, Appl. Catal. B Environ., 2018, 224, 612-620.

14. C. Mao, H. Cheng, H. Tian, H. Li, W.-J. Xiao., H. Xu., J. Zhao, L. Zhang^*,Visible light driven selective oxidation of amines to imines with BiOCl: Does oxygen vacancy concentration matter?, Appl. Catal. B Environ., 2018, 228, 87-96.