Dr. Kuizhi Chen is currently a professor working in Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) and is qualified for advising PhD students. He completed his PhD studies in May 2017 at the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA, under the supervision of Prof. Jeffery White. His PhD work focused on molecular level investigations into water interactions with zeolite acid sites, primarily using solid state NMR. He then moved to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory located in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, as a postdoctoral fellow to work with Dr. Zhehong Gan. His postdoctoral research primarily focused on material science studies using high to ultra-high field NMRs, including the world-record 35.2 T Series-Connected Hybrid (SCH) NMR, and quadrupolar NMR techniques. At the meantime, he worked on elucidating fine structures of active sites in dehydrated zeolites with advanced NMR methods. In 2021, he moved to DICP as an associate professor and were promoted to professor in 2022. 


Contact

Email:      kchen@dicp.ac.cn

Address:  457 Zhongshan Rd., Dalian, Liaoning, China, 116023

Research

We are primarily aiming at solving scientific problems using/taking advantages of the well equiped solid-state NMR facilities in the "solid-state NMR group" in DICP (http://www.ssnmr.dicp.ac.cn/), directed by Prof. Guangjin Hou. Currently, we have accessibilities to 400, 600, 800 MHz solid-state NMRs that are equiped with multiple advanced double, triple-resonance solid-state probes, including 1.3, 3.2, 4 and 7 mm probes/rotors for demands of variable MAS speeds and sample volumes.  Laser heating and in-situ methods are also available.  

 

Elucidating Fine Structures of Active Sites in Zeolite Catalysts

Despite of decades of development for zeolite catalysts and their successful industrial applications, many of the fundamental understandings towards the active sites still remain elusive. Among the controversial topics, the identity of extra-framework aluminums (EFALs) and partially bonded aluminum species, the Al siting/Al distribution, the intrisic acidity of acid sites and the BAS/EFAls interaction, etc., have drawn increased interest in the past decade. It has been shown that solid state NMR can play crucial roles in solving critical problems of understanding these structures and/or related phenomenon.

 

Understanding Fundamental Catalytic Mechanisms in Zeolite-Based Catalysis

In common zeolite-based catalytic systems such as MTH (methanol to hydrocarbon), FCC (fluid catalitic cracking), SCR (selective catalytic reaction) the fundamental mechanisms at molecule levels are not yet fully understood. Such mechanisms include the first C-C bond formation, the effect from water, the effect of local confinement, Lewis/Bronsted synergy, and the lately reported Bronsted/Bronsted synergy, etc. We are focusing on elucidating such mechanisms with in-ste NMR techniques and quadrupolar nuclei involved NMR techniques and advanced 13C, 17O NMR methods.

 

Development and Application of Solid-State NMR

For solid state materials, including the extensively interested solid state catalysts such and zeolites, metal oxides and metal doped catalysts, as well as metal-organic framework materials (MOFs), etc., quadruplar nuclei largely exist. However, the analyses of quadrupolar nuclei involed materials are often hindered by the limited magnetic fields and the complexity of quadruplar interactions. We are aiming at developing and implementing the cutting-edge quadrupolar NMR techniques including satellite-transition manipulation to material science research, to solve problems such as for structure elucidation, dynamic properties that cannot be easily solved by common characterization methods.

 


Publications

   
Papers
  1. Chen,      K.*; Gan, Z.; Horstmeier, S.; White, J. L.*, Distribution of Aluminum      Species in Zeolite Catalysts: 27Al NMR of Framework,      Partially-Coordinated Framework, and Non-Framework Moieties J. Am.      Chem. Soc. 2020, 143, 6669-6689

 

  1. Špačková, J.; Fabra, C.;      Mittelette, S.; Gaillard, E.; Chen, C.; Cazals, G.; Lebrun, A.; Sene, S.;      Berthomieu, D.; Chen, K.; Gan, Z.; Gervais, C.; Metro, T.;      Laurencin, D.* Unveiling the structure and reactivity of fatty-acid based      (nano)materials thanks to efficient and scalable 17O and 18O-isotopic      labeling schemes J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142,      21068-21081

 

  1. Chen,      K.*, A Practical Review      of NMR Lineshapes      for Spin-1/2 and      Quadrupolar Nuclei in Disordered Materials Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21,      5666 invited      review

 

  1. VMartins, V.; Xu, J.; Wang,      X.; Chen, K.; Hung, I.; Gan, Z.*; Gervais, C.; Bonhomme, C.*; Zheng,      A.; Lucier, B.; and Huang, Y.*, Higher Magnetic Fields, Finer MOF      Structural Information: 17O Solid-State NMR at 35.2 T 2020, 142,      14877–14889

 

  1. Chen,      K.*; Horstmeier,      S.; Nguyen, V. Wang, B.; Crossley, S.; Pham, T.: Gan, Z.; Hung, I.; White,      J. L.*, Structure and Catalytic      Characterization of a Second Framework Al(IV) Site in Zeolite Catalysts      Revealed by NMR at 35.2 T J. Am.      Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 7512-7512

 

  1. Madsen, R.; Qiao, A.; Sen, J.; Hung, I.; Chen,      K.; Gan, Z.; Sen, S.*; Yue, Y.*, Ultrahigh-field 67Zn NMR      reveals short-range disorder in zeolitic imidazolate framework glasses Science 2020, 367, 1473-1476

 

  1. Chen,      C.; Gaillard, E.; Mentink, F.; Chen.      K.; Gan, Z.; Gaveau, P.; Rebiere. B.; Berthelot, R.; Florian, P.;      Bonhomme, C.; Smith, M.; Metro, T.; Alonso, B.; Laurencin, D., Direct 17O-Isotopic      Labeling of Oxides Using Mechanochemistry Inorganic Chemistry 2020, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c00208

 

  1. Shen, Li.; Wang, Y.; Du, J.; Chen, K.;      Lin, Z.; Wen, Y.; Hung, I.; Gan, Z.; and Peng, L.*, Probing the      Interaction of Gamma Alumina with Water via Multinuclear Solid State NMR      Spectroscopy, ChemCatChem 2020, 6, 1569-1574

 

  1. Mayen,      L.; Jensen, N. D.; Laurencin, D.; Marsan, O.; Bonhomme, C.; Gervais, C.;      Smith, M. E.; Coelho, C.; Laurent, G.; Trebosc, J.; Gan, Z.; Chen, K.; Rey, C.; Combes, C.;      Soulié, J., A soft-chemistry approach to the synthesis of amorphous      calcium ortho/pyrophosphate biomaterials of tunable composition Acta      Biomaterialia 2019, 103,      333-345.

 

  1. Chen, K.; Abdolrhamani, M.; Sarah, H.; Pham, T.; Nguyen, V.;      Zeets, M.; Wang, B.; Crossley, S.; White, J. L.*, Brønsted–Brønsted Synergies between      Framework and Noncrystalline Protons in Zeolite H-ZSM-5 ACS Catalysis 2019, 9, 6124-6136

 

  1. Abdolrhamani, M.; Chen, K.; White, J. L.*,      Assessment, Control and Impact of Brønsted Acid Site Heterogeneity in      Zeolite HZSM-5 J. Phys. Chem. C 2018,      122, 15520-15528

 

  1. Chen, K.; Abdolrhamani, M.; Freeman, J; Ward, G; Sheets, E;      White, J. L.*, Direct Detection of Multiple Acidic Proton Sites in Zeolite HZSM-5 J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 18698-18704

 

  1. Chen, K.; Gumidyala, A.; Abdolrhamani, M.; Villines,      C; Crossley, S.; White, J. L.*, Trace Water Amounts can Increase Benzene      H/D Exchange Rates in an Acidic Zeolite Journal of Catalysis 2017, 351, 130-135

 

  1. Chen, K.; Kelsey, J.; Zhang, L.; Resasco, D.; White, J. L.*,      Water Interactions in Zeolite Catalysts and Their Hydrophobically Modified      Analogues ACS Catalysis 2015, 5, 7480-7487

 

  1. Zhang, L.; Chen, K.; Chen, B.; White, J. L.;      Resasco, D. E.*, Factors that Determine Zeolite Stability in Hot      Liquid Water J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 11810-11819

 

  1. Chen, K.; Damron, J.; Pearson, C.; Resasco, D.; Zhang, L.;      White, J. L.*, Zeolite Catalysis: Water Can Dramatically Increase or      Suppress Alkane C-H Bond Activation ACS Catalysis 2014, 4, 3039-3044