Sustainable Energy Research Lab
Energy and climate change are two intertwined issues of critical importance in the modern era. Here at the Li Research Group, we’re confronting this challenge by developing Chemical Looping technologies – a process intensification strategy where a solid oxide material is reversibly reduced and oxidized to selectively drive chemical reactions, enabling efficient conversion and inherent product separation. We apply Chemical Looping to the design, synthesis, and characterization of nano-based catalyst and reagent particles for biomass and fossil energy conversions, green liquid fuel synthesis, CO2 capture, and pollutant control. Our research also encompasses chemical reaction engineering and process synthesis and optimization, including plasma-assisted CO2 conversion and AI-assisted material discovery. Density Functional Theory (DFT) based methods are also used to elucidate the particle reaction mechanisms and to identify potential ways to improve particle performance. – Fanxing Li, Ph.D.
Active Research Topics
- Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Alkanes & Alkylbenzene
- Oxidative Coupling & Dehydroaromatization of Methane
- Methane Pyrolysis
- Sorption-Enhanced Biomass Gasification and Biogas Reforming
- Thermochemical Energy Storage
- Chemical Looping Dry Reforming
- Thermochemical CO2 and H2O splitting
- Direct Air Capture from Ambient Air
- Plasma-Assisted Catalytic Conversion of CO2
- Proton Conducting Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOEC)
- Liquid Metal Catalysis
- Agentic AI-Assisted Lab Automation
- See a summary of our latest research here!
Most Recent Publication
- Read our group’s most recent publication in ACS Catalysis by Sam Portillo, Supported Transition Metals for Catalytic Decomposition of Methane: Advances, Challenges, and Outlook. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5c07379
Recent Li Group Highlights
- ARPA-E awards NC State $3M CATALCHEM-E Grant for AI Driven Catalyst Discovery (joint project with Dr. Milad Abolhasani)
- Dr. Fanxing Li awarded 2026 Mid-Career Award from the American Chemical Society – Division of Energy & Fuels (ENFL)
- 4th Year PhD Candidate Sam Portillo Wins 2026 Vivian T. Stannett Outstanding Early Publication Award for his work on catalytic hexaaluminates for methane decomposition
- Former Li Group Member, Dr. Leo Brody wins 2025 George Klinzing Best PhD Award from American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Li Group welcomes first-year PhD Student Kyle Peters!
- In 2025, members of the Li group published in Chemical Engineering Journal, Advanced Energy Materials, ACS Catalysis, and Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research, to name just a few.
