Interests:
The Hu research group at Yale synthesize chemicals or fuels from light by using small molecules like water, CO2, and methane or ions like carbonates. We design efficient particle-based photocatalysts by combining coating protection, bio-inspired active sites, and corrosion mitigation. We use modeling to guide nano-materials and device approaches to eventually enable sunlight to everything. We specialize in developing multifunctional coatings for catalyst tuning, color switching, membrane separation, and quantum information processing.

We are currently investigating the following areas:

Modeling-guided photocatalytic reactor engineering
Probing photocatalyst microenvironments for rational design
Corrosion mitigation, repair, and regeneration for liquid interfaces
C-H activation and partial oxidation using new photochemical pathways

Negative emission technology: Direct air capture of CO2 and CH4 combined with their utilization