Xiao Cheng Zeng
曾晓成
NationalityChina
Alma materPeking University
Ohio State University
Known forComputational chemistry
AwardsFellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Fellow of American Physical Society
Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry
Fellow of Materials Research Society
Foreign Fellow of European Academy of Sciences
Scientific career
FieldsPhysical chemistry; Nanomaterials
InstitutionsCity University of Hong Kong
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Xiao Cheng Zeng (Chinese: 曾晓成) is a Chinese scientist and a US permanent resident. He currently serves as the Head of Department of Materials Science & Engineering and a Chair Professor of Materials Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong. He is also an Emeritus Chancellor's University Professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA). He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Physical Society, a fellow of US Materials Research Society, a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, and a foreign fellow of the European Academy of Sciences. He had also held a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship.

Education

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He received his bachelor degree in Physics from Peking University in 1984 and his Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the Ohio State University in 1989. He pursued his postdoctoral research in Physical Chemistry at University of Chicago (1989-1992) and UCLA (1992-1993).

Career and Reaserch

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As a computational physical chemist, Zeng has made original contributions to thermodynamics and phase transition of nanoconfined water/ice, and water/surface interaction and wetting; original contributions to gold-cluster science & nanocatalysis; atmospheric reactions; and computational design of low-dimensional materials.

Low-dimensional ice/ice hydrates: Zeng opened the field of low-dimensional ice/ice hydrates. In 1997, he predicted 2D bilayer hexagonal ice, nicknamed "the Nebraska ice"[1], a phase of water ice that is two-dimensional[2]. And it was confirmed by two experiments: one by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2009[3] and another by the Peking University in 2020[4]. Thereafter, this 2D bilayer hexagonal ice is named 2D ice I. Moreover, his theoretical predictions of the 1D ices (1D ice-nanotubes I-III)[5], "DNA-ice"[6], ferroelectric ice-χ[7], and 2D amorphous[8], plastic, and superionic ices[9] enriched ice family.

Gold-cluster science & nanocatalysis: In 2006, he discovered the first all-metal cage molecules (Au16-18)[10]. Later, he resolved size/structure/catalytic-activity relationship of 20+ gold clusters[11][12]; he also developed a grand-unified model to decipher structures of 70+ ligand-covered gold clusters.

Atmospheric reactions: Since 2015, he has found several new chemical reactions on water/cloud droplets with implications to atmospheric new particle formation and haze chemistry[13][14][15][16].

Computational design of low-dimensional materials: In 2011, he predicted 20+ metallic boron monolayer structures and created systematic naming series for these monolayers, including α, β, χ, and δ series[17]; two in these series, χ3-borophene and β12-borophene were later confirmed by experiments[18][19].

Zeng's scientific accomplishments are documented in more than 700 journal publications with more than 57000 citations. Selected high-profile pubilications are:

  • "First-order transition in confined water between high-density liquid and low-density amorphous phases," Nature 408, 564-567 (2000)[20].
  • "Formation of ordered ice nanotubes inside carbon nanotubes," Nature 412, 802-805 (2001)[5].
  • "Long-Range Ordered Carbon Clusters: A Crystalline Material with Amorphous Building Blocks," Science 337, 825-828 (2012)[21].
  • "Atomic imaging of edge structure and growth of a two-dimensional hexagonal ice," Nature 577, 60-63 (2020)[4].
  • "A droplet-based electricity generator with high instantaneous power density," Nature 578, 392-396 (2020)[22].
  • "Long-term stability in perovskite solar cells through atomic layer deposition of tin oxide," Science, 386, 187-192 (2024)[23].
  • "Probing structural superlubricity of two-dimensional water transport with atomic resolution," Science, 384, 1254-1259 (2024)[24].

Prizes and Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "'Nebraska Ice' leads to 3 more discoveries | Announce | University of Nebraska-Lincoln". newsroom.unl.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  2. ^ Koga, Kenichiro; Zeng, X. C.; Tanaka, Hideki (1997-12-29). "Freezing of Confined Water: A Bilayer Ice Phase in Hydrophobic Nanopores". Physical Review Letters. 79 (26): 5262–5265. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.5262. ISSN 0031-9007.
  3. ^ Kimmel, Greg A.; Matthiesen, Jesper; Baer, Marcel; Mundy, Christopher J.; Petrik, Nikolay G.; Smith, R. Scott; Dohnálek, Zdenek; Kay, Bruce D. (2009-09-09). "No Confinement Needed: Observation of a Metastable Hydrophobic Wetting Two-Layer Ice on Graphene". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 131 (35): 12838–12844. doi:10.1021/ja904708f. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 19670866.
  4. ^ a b Ma, Runze; Cao, Duanyun; Zhu, Chongqin; Tian, Ye; Peng, Jinbo; Guo, Jing; Chen, Ji; Li, Xin-Zheng; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Xu, Li-Mei; Wang, En-Ge; Jiang, Ying (January 2020). "Atomic imaging of the edge structure and growth of a two-dimensional hexagonal ice". Nature. 577 (7788): 60–63. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1853-4. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 31894149.
  5. ^ a b Koga, Kenichiro; Gao, G. T.; Tanaka, Hideki; Zeng, X. C. (August 2001). "Formation of ordered ice nanotubes inside carbon nanotubes". Nature. 412 (6849): 802–805. doi:10.1038/35090532. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 11518961.
  6. ^ Bai, Jaeil; Wang, Jun; Zeng, X. C. (2006-12-26). "Multiwalled ice helixes and ice nanotubes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (52): 19664–19667. doi:10.1073/pnas.0608401104. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1750917. PMID 17170136.
  7. ^ Zhu, Weiduo; Huang, Yingying; Zhu, Chongqin; Wu, Hong-Hui; Wang, Lu; Bai, Jaeil; Yang, Jinlong; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zhao, Jijun; Yuan, Lan-Feng; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2019-04-26). "Room temperature electrofreezing of water yields a missing dense ice phase in the phase diagram". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 1925. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09950-z. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 6486617. PMID 31028288.
  8. ^ Bai, Jaeil; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2012-12-26). "Polymorphism and polyamorphism in bilayer water confined to slit nanopore under high pressure". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (52): 21240–21245. doi:10.1073/pnas.1213342110. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3535661. PMID 23236178.
  9. ^ Jiang, Jian; Gao, Yurui; Li, Lei; Liu, Yuan; Zhu, Weiduo; Zhu, Chongqin; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (March 2024). "Rich proton dynamics and phase behaviours of nanoconfined ices". Nature Physics. 20 (3): 456–464. doi:10.1038/s41567-023-02341-8. ISSN 1745-2481.
  10. ^ Bulusu, Satya; Li, Xi; Wang, Lai-Sheng; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2006-05-30). "Evidence of hollow golden cages". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (22): 8326–8330. doi:10.1073/pnas.0600637103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1482493. PMID 16714382.
  11. ^ Li, Lei; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2014-11-12). "Direct Simulation Evidence of Generation of Oxygen Vacancies at the Golden Cage Au 16 and TiO 2 (110) Interface for CO Oxidation". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 136 (45): 15857–15860. doi:10.1021/ja508666a. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 25338299.
  12. ^ Gao, Yi; Shao, Nan; Pei, Yong; Chen, Zhongfang; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2011-10-25). "Catalytic Activities of Subnanometer Gold Clusters (Au 16 –Au 18 , Au 20 , and Au 27 –Au 35 ) for CO Oxidation". ACS Nano. 5 (10): 7818–7829. doi:10.1021/nn201817b. ISSN 1936-0851. PMID 21888432.
  13. ^ Li, Hao; Zhong, Jie; Vehkamäki, Hanna; Kurtén, Theo; Wang, Weigang; Ge, Maofa; Zhang, Shaowen; Li, Zesheng; Zhang, Xiuhui; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2018-09-05). "Self-Catalytic Reaction of SO 3 and NH 3 To Produce Sulfamic Acid and Its Implication to Atmospheric Particle Formation". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 140 (35): 11020–11028. doi:10.1021/jacs.8b04928. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 30088767.
  14. ^ Li, Lei; Kumar, Manoj; Zhu, Chongqin; Zhong, Jie; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2016-02-17). "Near-Barrierless Ammonium Bisulfate Formation via a Loop-Structure Promoted Proton-Transfer Mechanism on the Surface of Water". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 138 (6): 1816–1819. doi:10.1021/jacs.5b13048. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 26811124.
  15. ^ Li, Lei; Duan, Zhiyao; Li, Hui; Zhu, Chongqin; Henkelman, Graeme; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2018-07-10). "Formation of HONO from the NH 3 -promoted hydrolysis of NO 2 dimers in the atmosphere". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (28): 7236–7241. doi:10.1073/pnas.1807719115. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6048549. PMID 29941594.
  16. ^ Zhong, Jie; Zhao, Yu; Li, Lei; Li, Hui; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2015-09-23). "Interaction of the NH 2 Radical with the Surface of a Water Droplet". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 137 (37): 12070–12078. doi:10.1021/jacs.5b07354. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 26325351.
  17. ^ Wu, Xiaojun; Dai, Jun; Zhao, Yu; Zhuo, Zhiwen; Yang, Jinlong; Zeng, Xiao Cheng (2012-08-28). "Two-Dimensional Boron Monolayer Sheets". ACS Nano. 6 (8): 7443–7453. doi:10.1021/nn302696v. ISSN 1936-0851. PMID 22816319.
  18. ^ Feng, Baojie; Zhang, Jin; Zhong, Qing; Li, Wenbin; Li, Shuai; Li, Hui; Cheng, Peng; Meng, Sheng; Chen, Lan; Wu, Kehui (June 2016). "Experimental realization of two-dimensional boron sheets". Nature Chemistry. 8 (6): 563–568. doi:10.1038/nchem.2491. ISSN 1755-4349. PMID 27219700.
  19. ^ Mannix, Andrew J.; Zhou, Xiang-Feng; Kiraly, Brian; Wood, Joshua D.; Alducin, Diego; Myers, Benjamin D.; Liu, Xiaolong; Fisher, Brandon L.; Santiago, Ulises; Guest, Jeffrey R.; Yacaman, Miguel Jose; Ponce, Arturo; Oganov, Artem R.; Hersam, Mark C.; Guisinger, Nathan P. (2015-12-18). "Synthesis of borophenes: Anisotropic, two-dimensional boron polymorphs". Science. 350 (6267): 1513–1516. doi:10.1126/science.aad1080. ISSN 0036-8075. PMC 4922135. PMID 26680195.
  20. ^ Koga, Kenichiro; Tanaka, Hideki; Zeng, X. C. (November 2000). "First-order transition in confined water between high-density liquid and low-density amorphous phases". Nature. 408 (6812): 564–567. doi:10.1038/35046035. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 11117739.
  21. ^ Wang, Lin; Liu, Bingbing; Li, Hui; Yang, Wenge; Ding, Yang; Sinogeikin, Stanislav V.; Meng, Yue; Liu, Zhenxian; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Mao, Wendy L. (2012-08-17). "Long-Range Ordered Carbon Clusters: A Crystalline Material with Amorphous Building Blocks". Science. 337 (6096): 825–828. doi:10.1126/science.1220522. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 22904007.
  22. ^ Xu, Wanghuai; Zheng, Huanxi; Liu, Yuan; Zhou, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Chao; Song, Yuxin; Deng, Xu; Leung, Michael; Yang, Zhengbao; Xu, Ronald X.; Wang, Zhong Lin; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wang, Zuankai (February 2020). "A droplet-based electricity generator with high instantaneous power density". Nature. 578 (7795): 392–396. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1985-6. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 32025037.
  23. ^ Gao, Danpeng; Li, Bo; Liu, Qi; Zhang, Chunlei; Yu, Zexin; Li, Shuai; Gong, Jianqiu; Qian, Liangchen; Vanin, Francesco; Schutt, Kelly; Davis, Melissa A.; Palmstrom, Axel F.; Harvey, Steven P.; Long, Nicholas J.; Luther, Joseph M. (2024-10-11). "Long-term stability in perovskite solar cells through atomic layer deposition of tin oxide". Science. 386 (6718): 187–192. doi:10.1126/science.adq8385. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 39388552.
  24. ^ Wu, Da; Zhao, Zhengpu; Lin, Bo; Song, Yizhi; Qi, Jiajie; Jiang, Jian; Yuan, Zifeng; Cheng, Bowei; Zhao, Mengze; Tian, Ye; Wang, Zhichang; Wu, Muhong; Bian, Ke; Liu, Kai-Hui; Xu, Li-Mei (2024-06-14). "Probing structural superlubricity of two-dimensional water transport with atomic resolution". Science. 384 (6701): 1254–1259. doi:10.1126/science.ado1544. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 38870285.
  25. ^ "Xiao Cheng Zeng – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation…". Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  26. ^ "APS Honors and Aword Winners".
  27. ^ "Xiao Zeng ORCA". mediahub.unl.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  28. ^ "St. Louis Section–American Chemical Society » Midwest Award". Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  29. ^ "Postdoc Awards | Graduate Studies | Nebraska". graduate.unl.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  30. ^ "Surfaces and Interfaces Award". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  31. ^ "2019". www.mrs.org. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  32. ^ "Highly Cited Researchers". Clarivate. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  33. ^ "Members - European Academy of Sciences". 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
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