{"id":5,"date":"2016-12-09T16:35:03","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T21:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/home\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T09:44:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:44:42","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Energy Research Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-433\" src=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/faculty-li.jpeg\" alt=\"headshot of professor Fanxing Li\" width=\"217\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/faculty-li.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/faculty-li-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/faculty-li-350x350.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/faculty-li-45x45.jpeg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px\" \/>Energy and climate change are two intertwined issues of critical importance in the modern era. Here at the Li Research Group, we&#8217;re confronting this challenge by developing Chemical Looping technologies &#8211; 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, CO<span style=\"font-size: 8pt\"><sub>2<\/sub><\/span> capture, and pollutant control. Our research also encompasses chemical reaction engineering and process synthesis and optimization, including plasma-assisted CO<span style=\"font-size: 8pt\"><sub>2<\/sub><\/span> 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. &#8211; <strong>Fanxing Li<\/strong>, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-660 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/chemical-looping-overview-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1113\" height=\"580\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-647 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"712\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-scaled.png 2560w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-600x387.png 600w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-1200x773.png 1200w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-1536x990.png 1536w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/combined-topics-overview-2048x1320.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Active Research Topics<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Alkanes &amp; Alkylbenzene<\/li>\n<li>Oxidative Coupling &amp; Dehydroaromatization of Methane<\/li>\n<li>Methane Pyrolysis<\/li>\n<li>Sorption-Enhanced Biomass Gasification and Biogas Reforming<\/li>\n<li>Thermochemical Energy Storage<\/li>\n<li>Chemical Looping Dry Reforming<\/li>\n<li>Thermochemical CO<span style=\"font-size: 8pt\">2<\/span> and H<span style=\"font-size: 8pt\">2<\/span>O splitting<\/li>\n<li>Direct Air Capture from Ambient Air<\/li>\n<li>Plasma-Assisted Catalytic Conversion of CO<span style=\"font-size: 8pt\">2<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Proton Conducting Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOEC)<\/li>\n<li>Liquid Metal Catalysis<\/li>\n<li>Agentic AI-Assisted Lab Automation<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>See a summary of <\/strong><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/05\/Li-Group-Poster-2026.pdf\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>our latest research here!<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Most Recent Publication<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Read our group&#8217;s most recent publication in <em>ACS Catalysis<\/em> by <strong>Sam Portillo<\/strong>, <em><span class=\"hlFld-Title\">Supported Transition Metals for Catalytic Decomposition of Methane: Advances, Challenges, and Outlook. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acscatal.5c07379\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acscatal.5c07379<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"tgr1\" class=\"inline-fig internalNav aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/cms\/10.1021\/acscatal.5c07379\/asset\/images\/medium\/cs5c07379_0008.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Recent Li Group Highlights<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>ARPA-E awards NC State <a href=\"https:\/\/arpa-e.energy.gov\/news-and-events\/news-and-insights\/us-department-energy-announces-34-million-pair-artificial-intelligence-autonomous-labs-accelerate-catalyst-development-0\">$3M CATALCHEM-E Grant<\/a> for AI Driven Catalyst Discovery (joint project with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abolhasanilab.com\/\">Dr. Milad Abolhasani<\/a><\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dr. Fanxing Li<\/strong> awarded 2026 Mid-Career Award from the <a href=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/li-enfl-award\/\">American Chemical Society &#8211; Division of Energy &amp; Fuels (ENFL)<\/a><\/li>\n<li>4th Year PhD Candidate <a href=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/2026-stannett-award\/\"><strong>Sam Portillo<\/strong> Wins 2026 Vivian T. Stannett Outstanding Early Publication Award<\/a> for his work on catalytic hexaaluminates for methane decomposition<\/li>\n<li>Former Li Group Member, <strong>Dr. Leo Brody<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/klinzing-award\/\">wins 2025 George Klinzing Best PhD Award<\/a> from American Institute of Chemical Engineers<\/li>\n<li>Li Group welcomes first-year PhD Student <strong>Kyle Peters<\/strong>!<\/li>\n<li>In 2025, members of the Li group published in <em>Chemical Engineering Journal, Advanced Energy Materials,<\/em> <em>ACS Catalysis<\/em>, and A<em>dvanced Energy and Sustainability Research<\/em>, to name just a few.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-431 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-02-at-2.25.49-PM-1200x455.png\" alt=\"list of journals and sponsors\" width=\"1200\" height=\"455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-02-at-2.25.49-PM-1200x455.png 1200w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-02-at-2.25.49-PM-600x227.png 600w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-02-at-2.25.49-PM-768x291.png 768w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-02-at-2.25.49-PM-1536x582.png 1536w, https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-02-at-2.25.49-PM.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"notranslate\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"notranslate\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"notranslate\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Energy and climate change are two intertwined issues of critical importance in the modern era. Here at the Li Research Group, we&#8217;re confronting this challenge&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-fullwidth.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":661,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions\/661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}