We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Tierui Zhang has been appointed Associate Editor of Section “Energy and Catalysis” in Nanomaterials (ISSN: 2079-4991).

Name: Prof. Dr. Tierui Zhang
Affiliation: Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic, Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Interests: chemistry; photocatalysts; cyanogen; graphitic carbon nitride; carbon dioxide; electrocatalysts; chemical reduction
Website: https://people.ucas.edu.cn/~0010912?language=en

Prof. Dr. Tierui Zhang is a distinguished researcher and doctoral supervisor at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the director of the Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society, a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and has been continuously selected as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics from 2018 to 2024. Dr. Zhang received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Jilin University. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research in Germany, Canada, and the United States. At the end of 2009, he returned to China and was appointed at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

He has published over 360 SCI papers in journals such as Nat. Catal., Nat. Commun., Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., and J. Am. Chem. Soc., with more than 40,000 citations and an h-index of 116, and has been granted 59 national invention patents. He is the key project leader of the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s “National Outstanding Youth Science Fund”, Science Fund for Creative Research Groups, Key Project, and International Cooperation and Exchanges, as well as the chief scientist of key special projects under the National Key Research and Development Program of China. Additionally, he is the lead of The Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowship. He has received several awards, including the Special Prize of the Science and Technology Award from the Chinese Society for Imaging Science and Technology (first contributor, 2021) and the Nano Materials Science Awards (2023). He serves as the associate editor of Science Bulletin, Industrial Chemistry & Materials, and Nano Research Energy, and is on the editorial boards of Advanced Energy Materials and Advanced Science. Currently, he holds academic positions as the secretary-general of the Energy Chemistry Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society, chairman of the Photocatalysis Committee of the Chinese Society for Imaging Science and Technology, and vice-chairman of the Photochemistry Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Tierui Zhang, who shared his views of the research area, as well as his vision for the journal with us:

1. From your research experience and publication history, it appears that you have been dedicated to the field of catalysis for nearly two decades. Could you share your journey with us? What do you think are the current research hotspots in photocatalysis and energy catalysis?
Since returning to China in 2009 and joining the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), I began my research in photocatalysis. The predecessor of the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, CAS, was the Institute of Sensitized Chemistry, which is renowned as one of the six major international centers for photochemistry. By combining my expertise in nanomaterial synthesis with the institute’s strengths in photochemistry, I gradually established a distinctive research direction focused on the photochemical conversion of resource small molecules driven by solar energy.
In the coming decade, catalytic reactions driven by renewable energy sources such as photocatalysis will continue to be a key focus in the fields of energy and environmental catalysis. Among these, the characterization and precise control of the surface and interface structures of catalytic materials at the atomic scale, as well as the design and scale-up integration of high-throughput photoreactors, are expected to receive more attention and may become emerging hotspots in catalysis research.

2. What are your expectations and wishes for the “Energy and Catalysis” Section of the Nanomaterials journal?
Nanomaterials, as a professional journal in the field of materials science that has been published for more than ten years, has featured a large number of high-quality original research findings. I hope that the “Energy and Catalysis” Section can fully leverage the radiating and leading role of energy and catalysis within the broader fields of chemistry and materials science. This Section should attract outstanding research teams from around the world, gathering the latest significant achievements in this area.
I will work together with the editorial team to make this Section a breakthrough point for enhancing the journal’s impact, aiming to transform Nanomaterials into a more recognized and prestigious journal in the field of energy and catalysis. Our goal is to elevate Nanomaterials to a leading position in the materials science community, particularly in the areas of energy and catalysis.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Tierui Zhang and wish him every success in the position.