The Jiao Research Group is committed to advancing electrochemical technologies to tackle critical global challenges in energy storage, chemical manufacturing, and sustainable food production. Our current efforts are centered on transforming carbon utilization by designing and engineering high-performance CO2 and CO electrolysis systems that exceed the efficiency and capabilities of traditional fossil-based technologies. Through innovative reactor development and interface optimization, we continually push the boundaries of electrochemical performance. Our long-term goal is to combat climate change through clean, sustainable, and eco-friendly solutions, ultimately contributing to a greener and more responsible future.

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Outlined below are four key research directions currently driving our efforts.

Electro-agriculture combines CO2 electrolysis with biological systems to enhance food production efficiency. Adopting electro-agriculture could reduce agricultural land use substantially. It bypasses traditional photosynthesis, enabling food cultivation in non-arable areas such as urban centers, arid deserts, and even outer space environments. We are developing new strategies that improve energy efficiency by an order of magnitude compared to photosynthesis, along with essential guidance for developing electro-ag focused on staple crops, to maximize benefits for regions facing food insecurity. This innovative approach to agriculture holds significant promise in reducing environmental impacts, stabilizing food prices, and addressing the global food crisis.

Non-fossil-based chemical and food production, utilizing resources such as CO2 and H2O, is critical for advancing sustainable and eco-friendly chemical sector. In our laboratory, we investigate innovative chemistry and cutting-edge catalysts for two essential half-reactions: water oxidation and CO2 reduction. Our ultimate objective is to integrate both reactions within a fully operational device, enabling the cost-effective and efficient production of green chemicals. In collaboration with experts across various disciplines, we are able to overcome technical challenges unaddressable by traditional methods.

Process and reactor design are important topics of chemical engineering because they often dominate the overall performance of electrochemical systems. In our laboratory, we not only perform fundamental research on novel catalysts but also design new reaction process and electrochemical reactors for advanced applications. Recent research efforts include prototype development, process engineering and system integration.

Heterogeneous catalysis at the solid/liquid/vapor interface plays an important role in many energy applications, and the ability to observe dynamic structural changes of working catalysts under reaction conditions is invaluable. Such information provides important insights for us to understand key promotion and poisoning phenomena, and allows for tailoring the design of next-generation catalysts. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Infrared spectroscopy are powerful tools to probe local chemical environment and oxidation state of catalyst under working conditions.