Xiaoming Sun

Xiaoming Sun
孙晓明
Born1976 (age 49–50)
EducationTsinghua University (BS, PhD)
Known forGas-superwetting nanoarray electrodes for electrocatalysis
Scientific career
FieldsElectrocatalysis, nanomaterials, hydrogen energy
WorkplacesBeijing University of Chemical Technology
Yadong Li
Other academic advisors
Hongjie Dai (postdoctoral)

Xiaoming Sun (Chinese: 孙晓明; born 1976) is a Chinese chemist and materials scientist and a professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT). He is known for proposing gas-superwetting (superaerophobic and superaerophilic) nanoarray electrodes for gas-involving electrocatalysis. He received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars in 2011 and has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate for 2018–2023 and 2025.

Early life and education

Sun was born in Shandong Province in February 1976. He earned his Bachelor of Science in 2000 and his Ph.D. in 2005, both in chemistry from Tsinghua University, where his doctoral advisor was Yadong Li. From 2005 to 2008, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University, working with Hongjie Dai.

Career

In 2008, Sun joined BUCT as a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering. He served as Executive Vice Dean of the School of Energy at BUCT around 2018. Sun is deputy editor-in-chief of Science Bulletin and serves on the editorial board of Nano Research, and is executive chairman of the Youth Committee and deputy chairman of the Hydrogen Energy Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society.

Research

Sun's research focuses on water electrolysis, interface engineering of gas-superwetting electrodes, and aqueous batteries.

Gas-superwetting electrodes

Sun proposed the concept of gas-superwetting electrodes—surfaces engineered to be either superaerophobic (gas-repellent) or superaerophilic (gas-attracting) at the nanoscale—to improve bubble management in electrochemical reactions. His group's early work showed that underwater superaerophobic molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanostructured electrodes could enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction by facilitating bubble release. A 2018 review in Accounts of Chemical Research discussed the design principles of superwetting electrodes and their applications in water electrolysis and fuel cells.

Seawater electrolysis

Sun's group works on direct seawater electrolysis for hydrogen production. In 2019, collaborating with Hongjie Dai, they reported a solar-driven system for sustained splitting of seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. In 2021, the group reported a chlorine-free hybrid seawater splitting system coupled with hydrazine degradation for energy-saving hydrogen production. In 2025, Sun's team, collaborating with Bin Liu's group at City University of Hong Kong, reported 10,000-hour stable intermittent alkaline seawater electrolysis, addressing cathode degradation under fluctuating renewable power supply with a NiCoP–Cr₂O₃ cathode.

Aqueous batteries

Sun's group has also developed electrode materials for aqueous batteries, reporting a layered double hydroxide cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (2022) and polymerized melamine catalysts for high-capacity Zn–I2 batteries (2025).

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chemistry Colloquium: Xiaoming Sun — Materials and Interface Engineering for Better Hydrogen Energy Applications". Westlake University. 2024-04-15. Archived from the original on 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "学术报告201813：关于北京化工大学孙晓明教授报告的通知" (in Chinese). Zhejiang University, School of Materials Science and Engineering. 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "孙晓明 个人主页" (in Chinese). Beijing University of Chemical Technology. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  4. 1 2 "Xiaoming Sun — Faculty Profile". Beijing University of Chemical Technology. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  5. 1 2 "Highly Cited Researchers — Past Lists". Clarivate. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  6. ↑ "Science Bulletin — Editorial Board". Elsevier. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  7. ↑ Lu, Zhiyi; Zhu, Wei; Yu, Xiaoyou; Zhang, Haichuan; Li, Yingjie; Sun, Xiaoming; Wang, Xinran; Wang, Hao; Wang, Jingming; Luo, Jun; Lei, Xiaodong; Jiang, Lei (2014). "Ultrahigh Hydrogen Evolution Performance of Under-Water "Superaerophobic" MoS₂ Nanostructured Electrodes". Advanced Materials. 26 (17): 2683–2687. doi:10.1002/adma.201304759. PMID 24488883.
  8. ↑ Sun, Xiaoming; Lu, Zhiyi; Zhu, Wei (2018). "Superwetting Electrodes for Gas-Involving Electrocatalysis". Accounts of Chemical Research. 51 (7): 1590–1598. doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.8b00070. PMID 29883085.
  9. ↑ Kuang, Yun; Kenney, Michael J.; Meng, Yongtao; Hung, Wei-Hsuan; Liu, Yijin; Huang, Jianan Erick; Prasanna, Rohit; Li, Pengsong; Li, Yaping; Wang, Lei; Lin, Meng-Chang; McGehee, Michael D.; Sun, Xiaoming; Dai, Hongjie (2019). "Solar-driven, highly sustained splitting of seawater into hydrogen and oxygen fuels". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (14): 6624–6629. doi:10.1073/pnas.1900556116. PMC 6452679. PMID 30886092.
  10. ↑ Sun, Fu; Qin, Jingsong; Wang, Zhiyi; Yu, Mengzhen; Wu, Xiaochao; Sun, Xiaoming; Qiu, Jieshan (2021). "Energy-saving hydrogen production by chlorine-free hybrid seawater splitting coupling hydrazine degradation". Nature Communications. 12 (1) 4182. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24529-3. PMC 8263752. PMID 34234135.
  11. ↑ Sha, Qihao; Wang, Shiyuan; Yan, Li; Feng, Yisui; Zhang, Zhuang; Li, Shihang; Guo, Xinlong; Li, Tianshui; Li, Hui; Zhuang, Zhongbin; Zhou, Daojin; Liu, Bin; Sun, Xiaoming (2025). "10,000-h-stable intermittent alkaline seawater electrolysis". Nature. 639 (8054): 360–367. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08610-1. PMID 40044863.
  12. ↑ "先应用、再发《自然》，这项研究为何这么干？". China Science Daily (in Chinese). 2025-03-17. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  13. ↑ Zhao, Yajun; Sun, Xiaoming; et al. (2022). "Unlocking Layered Double Hydroxide as a High-Performance Cathode Material for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries". Advanced Materials. 34 (37) 2204320. doi:10.1002/adma.202204320. PMID 35901506.
  14. ↑ Wang, Yueyang; Sun, Xiaoming; et al. (2025). "Polymerized Melamine Catalyzes Direct I−/I2 Conversion via ─N═N─ Motif for High Capacity Zn-I2 Batteries". Advanced Materials. 38 (4) e15000. doi:10.1002/adma.202515000. PMID 41064960.
  15. ↑ "关于2022年度中国可再生能源学会科学技术奖评审结果的公示" (PDF) (in Chinese). China Renewable Energy Society. 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2026-07-31.