ZHAO Dan

Senior Principal Investigator

chezhao@nus.edu.sg

Education
Ph.D. in Chemistry (Inorganic Division), Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA, 12/2010
M.S. in Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 03/2006
B.S. in Polymer Materials and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 06/2003

Work Experience
Associate Professor with Tenure, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Since 07/2018
Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 07/2012-06/2018
Postdoctoral Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA, 11/2010-06/2012

Research Areas

1. Design, synthesize, evaluate, and scale up advanced porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), porous organic polymers (POPs), metal-organic cages (MOCs), and porous organic cages (POCs)
2. Develop membrane materials and modules, including mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), polycrystalline membranes (PCMs), thin-film composite membranes (TFMs), and two-dimensional-materials-based membranes (2DMs)
3. Gas storage and separation for clean energy and environmental sustainability, including H2 storage, H2 purification, CO2 capture, dehumidification, biogas upgrading, natural gas sweetening, and light hydrocarbon separation
4. Liquid separation for process intensification and value-added products, including organic solvent recovery, organic solvent nanofiltration, and separation of hydrocarbon liquids
5. Chemical sensing for health and environmental monitoring, including fluorescent chemosensors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and sensor arrays

Honor & Award
Clarivate Analytics’ Highly Cited Researcher in 2019 and 2020 (Cross-Field)
Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (JSCC) International Award for Creative Work, 04/2023
NRF Investigatorship, 11/2022
Dean’s Chair, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 01/2021-12/2023
Young Researcher Award, National University of Singapore, 05/2018
Engineering Young Researcher Award, National University of Singapore, 11/2017
Outstanding Young Faculty Award, AIChE Singapore Local Section 05/2017

Representative Publications

[1] Shi, X. S.; Li, H.; Chen, T.; Duan, Y. D.; Shi, D. C.; Kang, C. J.; Zhang, Z. Q.; Zhao, D.* Selective liquid-phase molecular sieving via thin metal–organic framework membranes with topological defects. Nat. Chem. Eng. 2024, 1, 483-493.

[2] Chen, T.; Li, H.; Shi, X. S.; Imbrogno, J.; Zhao, D.* Robust homochiral polycrystalline metal–organic framework membranes for high-performance enantioselective separation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 14433-14438.
[3] Shi, X. S.; Zhao, D.* Mastering the mass production of metal–organic framework membranes. Nat. Water 2024, 2, 106-107.
[4] Yang, Z. Q.; Zhao, D.* Ultrathin membranes to sieve gases. Science 2023, 381, 1288-1289.
[5] Shi, D. C.; Li, H.; Yu, X.; Zhang, Z. Q.; Yuan, Y. D.; Fan, W. D.; Yuan, H. Y.; Ying, Y. P.; Yang, H.; Shang, C. N.; Imbrogno, J.; Zhao, D.* Intercrystalline channels at subnanometer scale for precise molecular nanofiltration. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 15848-15858.
[6] Kang, C. J.; Zhang, Z. Q.; Kusaka, S.; Negita, K.; Usadi, A. K.; Calabro, D. C.; Baugh, L. S.; Wang, Y. X.; Zou, X. D.; Huang, Z. H.*; Matsuda, R.*; Zhao, D.* Covalent organic framework atropisomers with multiple gas-triggered structural flexibilities. Nat. Mater. 2023, 22, 636-643.
[7] Kang, C. J.; Zhang, Z. Q.; Xi, S. B.; Li, H.; Usadi, A. K.; Calabro, D. C.; Baugh, L. S.; Wang, Y. X.; Zhao, D.* Insertion of CO2 in metal ion-doped two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2023, 120, e2217081120.
[8] Li, H.; Dilipkumar, A.; Abubakar, S.; Zhao, D.* Covalent organic frameworks for CO2 capture: from laboratory curiosity to industry implementation. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2023, 52, 6294-6329.
[9] Zhang, Z. Q.; Peh, S. B.; Kang, C. J.; Yu, K. X.; Zhao, D.* Efficient splitting of alkane isomers by a bismuth-based metal-organic framework with auxetic reentrant pore structures. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202211808. (Inside Back Cover, Hot Paper)
[10] Kang, C. J.; Zhang, Z. Q.; Usadi, A. K.; Calabro, D. C.; Baugh, L. S.; Chai, K. G.; Wang, Y. X.; Zhao, D.* Tunable interlayer shifting in two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks triggered by CO2 sorption. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 20363-20371.