Innovating Greener Catalytic Processes for Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Storage and Hydrogen Production
Group Members
Principal Investigator
Prof. Sibudjing KAWI
Associate Professor
chekawis at. nus.edu.sg | ChBE Faculty Page | Google Scholar
Prof. Kawi obtained his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees from University of Texas (Austin), University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), and University of Delaware, respectively, and has been attached to the National University of Singapore since 1994. In the past decade, his research has focused on the design and synthesis of nanocatalysts for green and sustainable development, such as CO2 reforming with methane to bio-syngas and hydrogen, CO2 hydrogenation, biomass gasification, and water gas shift reactions via thermal, plasma, photo, and electrocatalysis. His expertise also includes the synthesis of novel inorganic membranes, as well as catalytic membrane reactors. He is a productive researcher who has published more than 400 international peer reviewed journal articles, awarded AIChE Outstanding Principal Investigator Award (2021) and was selected as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers since 2021.
Research Fellows
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Dr. Claudia LI
Research Fellow
cli@ | Google Scholar
Claudia received her B.Eng.(Chemical, Hons.) and Ph.D. from Swinburne University of Technology in 2017 and 2021. Her Ph.D. work was focused on the development and simulation of oxygen permeation fluxes through CO2-resistant dual-phase mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes. She was awarded the Swinburne’s competitive Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) Travel Award, which supported her research attachments to Curtin University in Australia and then to Tiangong University and Shandong University of Technology in China. Her research interests include dense gas separation membranes, carbon capture technologies, and catalytic membrane reactors.
Dr. Qiangqiang XUE
Research Fellow
xueqq@ | Google Scholar
Qiangqiang received his B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering and Technology) from Dalian University of Technology in 2019 and Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering and Technology) from Tsinghua University in 2024. His Ph.D. work was focused on the Controllable synthesis of higher hydrocarbon reforming catalyst in microreactor and its performance study. He was awarded the Tsinghua’s Future Scholar Scholarship in 2022. His research interests include microfluidic construction of nano-catalyst, thermal-catalytic C−H activation for hydrogen, olefin, and carbon nanotube production, and integrated CO2 conversion technology.
Dr. Jiyi CHEN
Research Fellow
jiyichen@ | Google Scholar
Chen Jiyi graduated in B. Eng. (Polymer Science and Engineering) from Donghua University in 2016, M. S. (Material Physics and Chemistry) from Fudan University in 2020 and Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering) from National University of Singapore in 2024. He worked on investigations on the advanced electrocatalysts for water splitting during his master career and won 2-time National Scholarship for Graduate Students. Upon his graduation, he was awarded Academic Pioneer Prize for his high quality and significant works. His current research focuses on designing practical and novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Dr. Xiaohan CHEN
Research Fellow
xh.chen@
Xiaohan graduated in 2024 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and Technology from Nanchang University and participated in a one-year joint training program at the National University of Singapore from 2023 to 2024. His research focuses on the resourceful conversion of C1 molecules (including CO, COâ‚‚, and CHâ‚„), with strong interests in plasma catalysis and photothermal catalysis.
Dr. Melvin WEE
Research Fellow
m.wee@ | Google Scholar
Melvin obtained his B.Eng. (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from Swinburne University of Technology in 2019. In the same year, he began his career as a process engineer specializing in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for a multinational solar cell manufacturer. In 2020, he was awarded the Curtin Malaysia Postgraduate Research Stipend and embarked on his Ph.D. journey. He earned his Ph.D. from Curtin University in 2024 with a thesis titled "Catalytic co-pyrolysis of palm oil biomass and surgical face mask waste for bio-oil production." That year, Melvin also served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Swinburne University of Technology, where he conducted research attachments at the National University of Singapore. His research interests span renewable energy, process modelling, bioenergy, carbon capture, membrane separation, and hydrogen technology.
Ph.D. Students
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Jason Zechen YE
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Jiangwen Jiang, NUS)
E0022634@
To be updated.
Kang Hui LIM
Ph.D. Student
E0030027@ | Google Scholar
Kang Hui graduated with First Class Honours (Highest Distinction) in B. Eng. (Chemical) and B. Soc. Sc. (Quantitative Economics) from the National University of Singapore in 2021. He studied contact electrification phenomenon and optimization modelling as an undergraduate researcher, and was awarded 2-time Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prizes for his contributions. His current research focuses on developing novel materials and processes for thermal and non-thermal catalytic applications for CO2 utilization and H2 production using experimental and data-driven or machine learning strategies.
Ziwen HAO
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Xinbin Ma, Tianjin Univ.)
E0788048@
Hao Ziwen received his B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering and Technology) from Dalian University of Technology in 2018 and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Tianjin University in 2021. He worked on investigations on the size effect of nanocatalysts for CO2 methanation during his Master career. His current research focuses on designing and synthesizing novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Zhenmei ZHANG
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Xinbin Ma, Tianjin Univ.)
E0974172@
Zhenmei graduated in B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering and Technology) from Qufu Normal University in 2017 and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Dalian University of Technology in 2021. She researched on CO2-assisted oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (CO2-ODHE) during her Master’s career and obtained Outstanding Graduate Student Certificates for two consecutive years. Additionally, she joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology in 2021 as a Research Assistant working on hydrophobic Fe-NC@SiO2 for C-H bond selective oxidation. Her current research focuses on designing and synthesizing novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Wenyan JIA
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Xinbin Ma, Tianjin Univ.)
E1144037@
Wenyan graduated in B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering) from Tianjin University in 2020 and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Fuzhou University(International Joint Institute of Tianjin University, Fuzhou) in 2023. Her current research focuses on designing and synthesizing novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Tingting YANG
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Jinlong Gong, Tianjin Univ.)
E1154534@
Tingting Yang received her Master degree from the School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University in 2023. Her current research focuses on the theoretical study of methan reforming to syngas and C-H activation on metal oxides.
Yi XIONG
Ph.D. Student
E1143484@
Xiong Yi graduated in B. Eng. (Energy Chemical Engineering) from Southwest University of Science and Technology in 2023 and M. S. (Chemical Engineering) from National University of Singapore in 2024. She worked on advanced electrocatalysts for water splitting (OER) during her undergraduate and CO2 electrochemical reduction during Master. Her current research focuses on plasma catalysis for non-oxidative coupling of methane.
M.Sc. and M.Eng. Students
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Jingting YANG
M.Eng. Student
E0281349@
JingTing received her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2022. She joined the research group in 2022 to pursue her M.Eng. for Chemical Engineering in NUS. Her current research focuses on the development of catalytic membrane reactor for methane pyrolysis.
Pinli DIAO
M.Sc. Student (CN5555)
E1139690@
Pinli Diao obtained a bachelor's degree at Beijing University of Chemical Technology and participated in the 3+1+1 project at the National University of Singapore. His current research focuses on the development of SSZ membrane for the separation of hydrogen and methane gas.
Yifan CHEN
M.Eng. Student (3+1+1 Program)
E1347129@
Chen Yifan studied undergraduate courses at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (major in Chemistry ) and is currently participating in 3+1+1 project at the National University of Singapore. His recent research focuses on catalysts for methane pyrolysis, mainly on catalyst design and recovery.
Zhicheng XIAO
M.Eng. Student (3+1+1 Program)
E1376015@
Zhicheng Xiao studied undergraduate courses at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (major in Chemistry ) and is currently participating in 3+1+1 project at the National University of Singapore. His recent research focuses on high temperature-resistant zeolite hollow fiber membranes for hydrogen separation .
Can ZHOU
M.Eng. Student (3+1+1 Program)
E1376004@
To be updated
Visiting Students
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Jicheng LIU
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1509518@
Jicheng Liu obtained his Bachelor's degree from Shandong Jianzhu University in 2018 and his Master's degree from China University of Petroleum (Beijing) in 2021. Now he is a PhD candidate in Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics at Xi'an Jiaotong University, as well as a visiting PhD student at the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on VOCs catalytic oxidation, environmental functional materials, and CO2 hydrogenation.
Xu MA
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1509509@
Xu Ma received his B. Eng. (New Energy Science and Engineering) from Hebei University of Engineering in 2019. He is currently pursuing his PhD degree in at Xi'an Jiaotong University (Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics). During his master's studies, Ma's research focuses on the investigation of heat-mass transfer processes and enhancement mechanisms at the micro/nano-scale within multiphase flows. During his graduate studies, he received the National Scholarship and the Best Paper Award at the Asian Conference on Thermal Sciences. Currently, his primary research emphasis lies in the construction of catalytic systems for methane dry reforming driven by photothermal coupling and the study of mass transfer processes within this system.
Ning ZHAO
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1509430@
Zhao Ning obtained her bachelor’s degree from China University of Petroleum (East China) in 2019. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Tianjin University and a visiting Ph.D. student at the National University of Singapore. Her current research at NUS focuses on CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.