Chemistry
Zheng Huang
Zheng Huang was born in 1979 in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. He is a professor at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Huang received his BSc and Master degrees in Chemistry from Nankai University in 1997 and 2001, respectively, and obtained his PhD degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009.
Prof. Huang’s research interests are organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. His research group has developed several catalytic processes for efficient conversion of low-cost alkanes to value-added chemicals, and for polyethylene degradation to diesel fuel. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals, including Nature, Science, and Nature Chemistry. Huang currently serves as Associate Editor of Science Bulletin. His research was supported by the "1000-Young Talents Program", and the "National Science Fund for Outstanding Young Scholars" (2014). He is the recipient of "Chinese Chemical Society-Evonik Innovation in Chemistry-Distinguished Young Scientist Award", "Chinese Chemical Society-China Homogeneous Catalysis Young Investigator Award", and "Distinguished Young Talent for Innovation in Science and Technology Award" (Shanghai Branch, Chinese Academy of Science).
Exploiting Alkane Resources Efficiently and Cleanly
Alkanes are main constitutes of petroleum and natural gas, but there are very limited processes for converting them to valuable products due to their chemical inertness. Prof. Zheng Huang has designed new organometallic catalysts for transforming light alkanes to high-value olefins and alkylsilanes, including the devise of a series of highly efficient molecular iridium catalyst for alkane dehydrogenation and the development of the first catalytic method for the conversion of alkanes into linear alkylsilanes. Moreover, the team led by Prof. Huang has developed a catalytic process for efficient and selective degradation of polyethylene into clean diesel fuels or high-quality waxes under mild conditions. These works demonstrate the potential of organometallic chemistry for application in the field of energy and environment, which will eventually allow us to exploit vast, low-cost alkane resources more directly and cleanly.