Zhongyao Zhang（张忠尧）
Research Associate Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology
Email: uiuczzy@ecust.edu.cn
Biography
Zhongyao Zhang was born in 1994 in Hebei, China. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University, China, in 2016, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA, in 2022. Prof. David Flaherty (currently at Georgia Tech) supervised his doctoral research. From 2022 to 2023, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Prof. Enrique Iglesia. He returned to China in 2024 and joined Shenzhen University as a research associate. Since July 2025, he has been a faculty member in the School of Chemical Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST).
Education
2012.09 ~ 2016.07
Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University, for B.E.
2016.08 ~ 2022.05
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA, for PhD
Work Experience
2022.03 ~ 2023.12
Postdoc, University of California, Berkeley, USA
2024.01 ~ 2025.06
Research associate, Shenzhen University
2025.07 ~ present
Research Associate Professor, East China University of Science and Technology
Research Interests
Reaction Kinetics
The use of microkinetic modeling and related tools to map complex reaction networks, identify key intermediates and rate-determining steps, and elucidate the enthalpic and entropic influences on transition states.
Energy Storage and Conversion
Catalytic processes (e.g., dehydrogenation, aldol condensation, oxygen reduction, hydrogen evolution) for energy conversion and low-carbon technologies, employing reaction kinetics, in situ spectroscopy, and theoretical simulations.
Editorial Boards
Junior Editorial Board Members
Chinese Chemical Letters
Selected Awards
Graduate fellowship of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Selected Publications
1. Zhongyao Zhang*, Wenshuo Hu*, Experimental and kinetic treatments of reaction rates influenced by deactivation during alkane dehydrogenation on dispersed metal nanoparticles, Mol. Catal. 2026, 589, 115606 (invited perspective).
2. Zhongyao Zhang, Sai Chen, Trenton Otto, and Enrique Iglesia*, Elementary Steps, Site 9. Requirements, and Support Effects in Methylcyclohexane Dehydrogenation Reactions on Dispersed Pd Nanoparticles,ACS Catal. 2025, 15, 676.
3. Zhongyao Zhang, Matthew A. Jacobson, and David W. Flaherty*, Titanosilicate Topology Governs Aldol Condensation Product Distributions and Reaction Networks, J. Catal. 2025, 446, 116072.
4. Zhongyao Zhang†, Feiting Zhang†, Zhongxin Song*, and Lei Zhang*, Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Pyridinic Nitrogen Functionalized Carbon: Active Site Quantification and Effects of Lewis Basicity,ACS Catal. 2025, 15, 296.
5. Sai Chen†, Zhongyao Zhang†, Trenton Otto, Enrique Iglesia*, Elementary steps and bifunctional scavenging pathways in methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation reactions on dispersed Pt nanoparticles, J. Catal. 2025, 452,116072.
6. Zhongyao Zhang†, Claudia E. Berdugo-Diaz†, Daniel T. Bregante, Hongbo Zhang, and David W. Flaherty*, Aldol Condensation and Esterification over Ti-Substituted *BEA Zeolite: Mechanisms and Effects of Pore Hydrophobicity, ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 1481.
7. Zhongyao Zhang, Jennifer Wilson, Brian Kitt, David Flaherty*, Effects of Oxygen Plasma Treatments on Surface Functional Groups and Shear Strength of Carbon Fiber Composites, ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2021, 3, 986.
8. Zhongyao Zhang and David W. Flaherty*, Modified Potentiometric Titration Method to Distinguish and Quantify Oxygenated Functional Groups on Carbon Materials by pKa and Chemical Reactivity, Carbon 2020, 166, 436.
9. Ke Shi, Shouying Huang, Zhongyao Zhang, Shengping Wang, Xinbin Ma, Novel fabrication of copper oxides on AC and its enhanced catalytic performance on oxidative carbonylation of methanol, Chin. Chem. Lett. 2017, 28, 70.
Contacts
For inquiries related to research collaborations, student supervision, or other academic interests, please reach out using the contact details provided above.