Education

• Postdoctoral, Northwestern University
• Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
• M.S., Lanzhou University
• B.S., Lanzhou University

Research Interests

Materials Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Catalysis, Photocatalysis

Current Research

The Zhang Lab applies inorganic and organic synthetic and physical techniques to prepare and characterize new nanoporous materials such as MOFs and POPs, as well as novel organic fluorophores with interesting structural, chemical, and optoelectronic profiles. Current research goals are focused on the applications of these molecular materials in photoredox catalysis, chemical catalysis, as well as clean energy storage.

Figure 1

Students in the Zhang lab make new molecules and materials using organic and inorganic synthesis, and study them using a wide range of techniques – NMR, mass spectrometry, IR/Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis/fluorescence spectroscopy, EPR, electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis, X-ray crystallography, X-ray powder diffraction, gas adsorption, calorimetry, electrochemistry (cyclic voltammetry), etc. Students will learn to take multiple approaches to ask and answer scientific questions.

For more information, please visit the Zhang Research Group Homepage

Selected Publications

(1) Zhang, X.; Zhang, X.; Johnson, J. A.; Chen, Y.-S.; Zhang, J.* Highly porous zirconium metal-organic frameworks with β-UH₃-like topology based on elongated tetrahedral linkers. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2016, 138, 8380. [link]

(https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.6b04608)

(2) Luo, J.; Zhang, J.* Donor-acceptor fluorophores for visible-light promoted organic synthesis: photoredox/Ni dual catalytic C(sp³)-C(sp²) cross-coupling. ACS Catalysis, 2016, 6, 873. [link]

(https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscatal.5b02204)

(3) Luo, J.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, J.* A carbazolic porous organic framework as an efficient, metal-free visible-light photocatalyst for organic synthesis. ACS Catalysis, 2015, 5, 2250. [link]

(https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscatal.5b00025)

(4) Johnson, J. A.; Luo, J.; Zhang, X.; Chen, Y.-S.; Morton, M. D.; Echeverría E.; Torres E. F.; Zhang, J.* Porphyrin-metalation-mediated tuning of photoredox catalytic properties in metal-organic frameworks. ACS Catalysis, 2015, 5, 5283. [link]

(https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscatal.5b00941)

(5) Johnson, J. A.; Zhang X.; Reeson, T. C.; Chen, Y. S.; Zhang, J.* Facile control of the charge density and photocatalytic activity of an anionic indium porphyrin framework via in situ metalation. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2014, 136, 15881. [Link]

(6) Zhang, X.; Lu, J.; Zhang, J.* Porosity enhancement of carbazolic porous organic frameworks using dendritic building blocks for gas storage and separation. Chemistry of Materials 2014, 26, 4023. [Link]

(7) Lu, J. and Zhang, J.* Azo-linked nanoporous polymeric organic frameworks: impact of synthetic methods on selective CO₂ capture. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014, 2, 13831. [Link]