Team

We are a fast-growing team. Whilst we work hard to achieve academic excellence, we also try our best to create a positive work environment. As a multicultural group, we appreciate and celebrate our diversity. We embrace differences and welcome creative new minds to join us.

Xiao Hua (Lecturer)

Dr Xiao Hua was born in Shanghai, China. He obtained his BSc and MSc in Chemistry from Fudan University (Shanghai, China) and Stony Brook University (NY, US), respectively.  He did his PhD on the topic of electrode materials characterisation under the supervision of Prof Dame Clare Grey FRS at the University of Cambridge and was awarded the EPSRC Doctoral Prize to continue his postdoctoral research upon completing his thesis. He later joined Prof Ullrich Steiner’s research group at the Adolphe Merkle Institute (Fribourg, Switzerland) to develop novel synthesis methods for the preparation of mesoporous electrode materials. He was later awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship to work with Prof Andrew Goodwin FRS at the University of Oxford to advance methodologies in the study of the local structures of functional materials. Using the acquired skills, he also worked as a Faraday Institution Fellow with Prof Serena Cussen at the University of Sheffield to develop new cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Senior Researchers

Dr Xin Chen (陈鑫)

PDRA (2025-)

K-ion Battery Cathodes

Dr Zhenjiang Yu (于振江)

Marie Curie Fellow (2024-)

Next-generation Battery Electrodes

Dr Hekang Zhu (朱和康)

PDRA (2023-)

Next-generation Li-ion Battery Cathodes

PhD Students

Lauren Mitchell

PhD (2024-)

Electrochemically Switchable Glazing

Shaoquan Li (李绍铨)

PhD (2023 - )

Electrocatalysis for Ammonia Synthesis

Matthew Leesmith

MChem (2022) | PhD (2023-)

Next-generation Battery Electrodes

Safya Elsharkawy

Visiting PhD (2025 - )

Electrocatalysis for Water Splitting

ALUMNI

Mingqing Sun (2023-4 Visiting PhD) | Yufeng Qin (2023-24 Visiting Fellow) | Lexie Zheng (2024 Summer Intern) | Brian Lewis (2023 Summer Intern) | Andrew Lemm (2023 Summer Intern)