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The Zhang group is an inorganic/materials chemistry

group. We focus on the design and development of

advanced functional materials for the applications in

catalysis and sensing. The goal for the catalysis projects is

to develop catalysts that could catalyze small molecule

transformations more efficiently under mild reaction

conditions with low-cost. The goal for the sensing project is

to design luminescent materials that are capable of

sensing toxic and explosive dangerous materials under

harsh conditions.

The catalysis project consists of three sub-projects: 1)

Single-atom catalysis, where atomically dispersed

transition metal species, such as Ru, Pd, Pt, Cu, are

supported by metal oxide support forming a solid solution.

The single-atom species are very efficient catalysts which

could catalyze organic reactions under very mild reaction

conditions.1 2) 2D material supported nanoparticles, where

stable two-dimensional materials, such as zirconium

phosphate (ZrP) are used as the support for transition

metal nanoparticles, such as Ru, Pd, and Pt. The 2D

materials enables the supported catalysts with unique

morphologies which enhanced the selectivity of the

catalyst in catalytic hydrogenation reactions.2 3) Metal–

organic Framework (MOF) based catalysts. In this project,

we have successfully developed a facile method to

synthesize MOF materials that possess hierarchical

pores.3 The formation of the hierarchical pores not only

provides assorted pore sizes for substrates to shuttle in

and out, but also creates coordination unsaturated metal

sites, which serve as the catalytic active centers. These

Lewis acid catalysts are very promising materials in the

catalytic transformation of small molecules. The MOF

materials are found to be very efficient catalysts in the

oxidative desulfurization of fuels.4-6

In the sensing project, we mainly focus on the

development of tetraphenylethene (TPE) based small

molecules and polymeric materials. TPE based molecules

are known for their aggregation induced emission

behavior, which have been widely used in bioimaging and

other applications. We have successfully developed TPE

based small molecules for explosives sensing,7 and TPE

based MOFs for the sensing of common solvents.8

Introduction

Selected Publications1. “Atomically dispersed palladium catalyses Suzuki–Miyaura reactions under phosphine-free

conditions” Guodong Ding, Leiduan Hao, Haiping Xu, Liguang Wang, Jian Chen, Tao Li*,Xinman Tu* & Qiang Zhang*, Comm. Chem., 2020, 3, Article number: 43.

2. “Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Zirconium Phosphate Nanoplatelets Supported Ru-Anadem Nano-structures and Their Catalytic Study for the Hydrogenation of Acetophenone”Li, Xiaoyu; Ding, Guodong; Thompson, Brena; Hao, Leiduan; Deming, Derek; Heiden,Zachariah; Zhang, Qiang* ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2020, 12, 27, 30670–30679.

3. “Hierarchically porous UiO-66: Facile synthesis, characterization and application” LeiduanHao, Xiaoyu Li, Matthew J. Hurlock, Xin-Man Tu and Qiang Zhang Chem. Comm. 2018, 54,11817-11820.

4. “Zr-based MOFs for oxidative desulfurization: What matters?” Leiduan Hao, Sebastian AStoian Lydia, R. Weddle and Qiang Zhang*, Green Chem., 2020, 22, 6351-6356.

5. “Metal–Organic Frameworks Towards Desulfurization of Fuels” Hao, L.; Hurlock, M. J.; Ding,G. Zhang, Q.* Topics Curr. Chem. 2020, 378:17

6. “Efficient Oxidative Desulfurization Using a Mesoporous Zr-based MOF” Leiduan Hao,Matthew J. Hurlock, Xiaoyu Li, Guodong Ding, Kyle W. Kriegsman, Xiaofeng Guo, QiangZhang, Catal. Today, 2020, 350, 64-70.

7. “Molecular Association Induced Emission Shifts for E/Z Isomers and Selective Sensing ofNitroaromatic Explosives” Matthew J. Hurlock, Yuwei Kan, Thibaut Lécrivain, Joseph L.Lapka, Kenneth L. Nash and Qiang Zhang Cryst. Growth Des. 2018, 18 (10), pp 6197–6203.

8. “Two Cd-Based Luminescent Coordination Polymers Constructed from a Truncated Linker”Matthew J. Hurlock, Monipak F. Lare, and Qiang Zhang*, Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 4, 2503–2513

9. “Molten NaCl-induced MOF-derived Carbon-polyhedron Decorated Carbon-nanosheet withHigh Defects and High N-doping for Boosting the Removal of Carbamazepine from Water”Chen, D.*; Wang, S.; Zhang, Z.; Quan, H.; Wang, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Hurlock, M. J. and Zhang, Q.*Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020, 7, 1205-1213.

10. “A facile method to introduce iron secondary metal centers into metal–organic frameworks”Derek A. Deming, Matthew J. Hurlock, Xiaoyu Li, Kyle W. Kriegsman, GuodongDing,Xiaofeng Guo, Qiang Zhang*, J. Organomet. Chem. 2019, 897, 114-119.

*Students interested in joining the Zhang group, please contact Dr. Zhang at q.zhang@wsu.edu.

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Washington State University

Qiang (Jack) Zhang

Advanced Functional Materials for Catalysis and Sensing

Student trainingDesign and synthesis of advanced materials for catalysis

Single atom catalysis 2D material supported nanoparticles MOF-based catalysts

Single-atom catalysts aremore active owing to theirsmall sizes. The high surfaceenergy enables them withunique properties in catalysis.We have synthesized ZnO-ZrO2 bimetal oxide supportedPd single atoms, supported bythe TEM analysis as shownbelow. The material couldcatalyze Suzuki Couplingreaction in high efficiency andunder very mild conditions.

Design and synthesis of advanced materials for sending

We have developed a microwave-assisted synthesis of ZrP supportedRu nanoparticles that possess theanadem morphology, as shown in theTEM images below. The catalyst couldcatalyze the hydrogenation reactionof acetophenone to selectivelyproduce 1-cyclohexyl-ethanol. Wehave also used the combined catalystof Ru and Pd to selectively yieldethylcyclohexane.

The microporous Zr-based MOFs are knownfor their high stability, however, themicropores and high crystallinity limitedtheir applications in catalysis. To overcomethis issue, we have introduced mesoporesinto the microporous UiO-66 to create thehierarchically porous material (HP-MOF).The HP-MOF demonstrated very highefficiency in the oxidative desulfurization offuel at room temperature.

of OH radicalsrather than thesuper oxideradical, shownin the image onthe right.

The X-band ESR spectra shows that the highactivity of the HP-MOF is originated fromthe generation

In the development of TPE-based materials, we havesynthesized two small moleculeswith nitrile functional groups.The crystal structures are showin the upper image on the right.Both small molecules arecapable of selectively sensingexplosives. The selectivity ismore than 30 time higher for thehigh explosive molecule, lowerimage.

We have recently designed alow-symmetry TPE basedligand, which could coordinatewith Cd clusters to formpolymeric metal-organicmaterials, upper image. Thetwo new materials bothpossess Cd4 clusters, yet theirluminescent behaviors are verydifferent when submerged intodifferent common solvents,lower image.

Students in the Zhang lab will receive both bench workand research skill trainings. Students will be trained withvarious synthetic skills, such as air-free synthesis usingSchlenk line and Glovebox, hydrothermal andsolvothermal synthesis. Students will also be trained witha line of characterization skills, such as UV-Vis, FTIR,luminescence characterizations, and surface area and poresize determinations. Students will also be able to accessthe university owned facilities, such as electronmicroscopes (SEM, TEM), and the NMR center. Thestudents in the Zhang group will be exclusive trained withX-ray techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction andSingle-Crystal X-ray technique for the structuralcharacterizations of small molecules and crystallinematerials.Students will also be trained with reading, writing andpresentation skills through the preparation of literaturereview for group meeting presentations, preparation ofmanuscript for publication, and present in divisionseminars, respectively.Students would also be trained with management skillsthrough the operation of the lab, for example, maintainingthe normal operation of the lab, managing lab duties oflab members, maintaining the inventory of chemicals andconsumables, practicing safety protocols and wastemanagement.