The  Zhou Research Group

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) have been a concern due to their robust nature and hydrophilic head group, making it soluble in water and causing bioaccumulation in marine life alongside permeation into drinking water. In order to more effectively remove these molecules from the ecosystem, MOFs have been touted as a key candidate. Notably, recent research from the Zhou group explored the adsorption mechanisms of two different types of MOFs, including crystallograp

Porous polymer networks (PPNs) and porous graphitic carbons (PGC) are special classes of porous materials that are developed from readily available monomers. Through rational design, their pore sizes can be precisely engineered to meet specific applications such as gas capture and separation, catalysis, drug delivery, lithium recovery, critical mineral recovery, and more. Our PPNs and PGC research subgroup involves the fabrication/synthesis of advanced and robust PPNs and PGC

The Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key process in electrochemical energy conversion systems, including fuel cells and metal–air batteries. However, its intrinsically sluggish kinetics and complex reaction pathways significantly limit device efficiency and practical deployment. To address these challenges, Zhou group focuses on developing efficient, stable, and tunable ORR catalytic systems, with an emphasis on understanding the structure–property relationships and react

Critical minerals and materials, including rare earth elements, are crucial resources for energy, electronics, and security applications. However, the United States currently relies on foreign nations for the mining, processing, and refining of these resources, causing supply chain vulnerabilities. In order to address this, the Zhou group is developing novel porous materials and post-synthetic methods for the selective capture and release of targeted critical minerals. By int

The Carbon Utilization Redesign for Biomanufacturing (CURB) Engineering Research Center (ERC) is an NSF-funded center started in 2024. The goal of CURB is to use CO 2 as a feedstock by utilizing bio-manufacturing through various pathways, including both cell-based and cell-free conversions. Within the CURB center, the Zhou group is focused on developing advanced MOFs for CO₂ capture and electrochemical reduction (CO₂RR), as well as enabling substrate channeling through enzym

This project aims to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-guided approaches to identify porous materials suitable for lithium isotope separation, a key challenge for future nuclear energy technologies. By integrating data-driven modeling with experimental and computational studies, this works seeks to understand how nanoscale confinement influences isotope-selective lithium ion transport. Rather than designing entirely new materials, this work focuse