Dr. Li Li – Project “On-Water Surface Photocatalysis for CO₂ Reduction” with a score of 98.0%

(June 2026 – May 2028)

Dr. Li’s research focuses on the rational design, synthesis, and advanced characterization of two-dimensional materials for energy conversion, with particular emphasis on the photo- and electrocatalytic activation of small molecules. His Marie Skłodowska-Curie project aims to develop an on-water surface photocatalysis strategy for converting CO₂ and H₂O into value-added solar fuels under mild conditions.

The project addresses a key limitation in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction: conventional bulk liquid- or gas-phase systems often suffer from inefficient reactant transfer and sluggish interfacial kinetics. To overcome this challenge, Dr. Li proposes to assemble ultrathin two-dimensional conjugated metal–organic framework catalysts at the water surface, creating a well-defined gas–solid–liquid interfacial microenvironment. This configuration is expected to improve the accessibility of CO₂ and H₂O, accelerate product formation, and enable mechanistic studies through in situ and operando techniques, including ATR-FTIR, Raman, SFG, XAFS, and GIWAXS.

Dr. Li received his B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology in 2019. He obtained his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2024 (supervised by Prof. Yi Xie and Yongfu Sun). Then, he joined the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics as a Research Scientist in the Department of Synthetic Materials and Functional Devices. Supported by the SusMax Steering Committee and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, he will further develop his research at the interface of two-dimensional materials, interfacial chemistry, and sustainable energy conversion.