Faculty & Staff
Di Wu, PhD
Di Wu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Heterogeneous catalysis, porous materials, surface science, materials chemistry, thermodynamics, nanogeoscience and nanotechnology
Office: 107 Wegner Hall đ509-335-3757
đ§d.wu@wsu.edu
⥠View Dr. Wuâs Lab Website
The Gene and Linda Voiland
School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering
1505 Stadium Way, Room 105
P.O. Box 646515
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6515
Research Interests
Di Wu is interested in the general topic of Thermodynamics of Materials. His research lies at the blurry interfaces between surface science, materials chemistry, nanogeoscience and nanotechnology. Using calorimetry as the unique tool, his group reveal the energetic landscape of materials and minerals, and investigate the fundamental guest â host interaction mechanisms at interfaces surfaces and in nanopores. His work advances chemical and materials industries by enabling stable materials and heterostructures for alternative and sustainable energy, petrochemical conversion, environmental remediation, and nanomedicine. The specific research focuses include,
- Confinement Chemistry: encapsulation and intercalation
- Adsorption Calorimetry
- Porous Materials: zeolites, metalâorganic frameworks, and mesoporous oxides
- 2D, Layered, and Electrochemical Materials: layered double hydroxides (LDHs), graphene and MXenes
- Ceramics: A2B2O7, perovskite, carbides and nitrides
- Catalytic Material Characterization
- Geochemistry: mineral hydration, kerogen, shale rocks, clays and natural zeolites
Biographical Information
Di Wu earned his B.S. from Zhejiang University, China in 2006, M.S. from the University of Akron in 2008, and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in 2012, all in Chemical Engineering. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Laboratory and NEAT ORU at the University of California, Davis from 2013. In the summer of 2016, he joined the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Washington State University as an Assistant Professor.
Education
- Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis – Davis, CA, 2012
- M.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Akron – Akron, OH, 2008
- B.S. Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University – Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, 2006
Professional Experience
- Founding Director â Alexandra Navrotsky Institute for Experimental Thermodynamics, Washington State University, 2017âpresent
- Assistant Professor â Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, 2016âpresent
- Affiliate Assistant Professor â Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, 2016âpresent
- Affiliate Assistant Professor â Materials Science and Engineering Program, Washington State University, 2016âpresent
- Postdoctoral Fellow â Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Laboratory and NEAT ORU, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 2013â2016
Membership in Professional Organizations
- American Chemical Society
- American Geophysical Union
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- American Society for Engineering Education
- Geological Society of America
- Mineralogical Society of America
Selective Publications
- G. Li, X. Zhang, D. Qiu, C. Yang, C. B. Cockreham, Z. Liu, B. Wang, L. Fu, J. Zhang, B. Sudduth, X. Guo, H. Sun, Z. Huang, J. Qi, J. Sun, S. Ha, Y. Wang, D. Wu, âTuning Ni/Al Ratio to Enhance Pseudocapacitive Charge Storage Properties of Nickel â Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxideâ, Adv. Electron. Mater. 2019, 5 (8), 1900215.
- Z. Huang, N. Ma, J. Qi, X. Guo, M. Yang, Z. Tang, Y. Zhang, Y. Han, D. Wu, T. Lu âDefect-Fluorite Gd2Zr2O7 Ceramics under Helium Irradiation: Amorphization, Cell Volume Expansion, and Bubble Formationâ, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 2019, 102 (8), 4911-4918.
- D. Qiu, C. Zhan, L. Fu, J. Lu, D. Wu, âSeeding Iron Trifluoride Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphite Oxide for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Loading and Stabilityâ, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 10 (35), 29505-29510.
- H. Sun, X. Lei, J. Tan, Z. Sun, X. Han, J. Liu, B. Shen, X. Zhang, X. Guo, D. Wu, âTuning the Catalytic Activity and Stability of AlâTi Bimetallic Species Immobilized on MgOâAl2O3âSiO2 for 1âDecene Oligomerizationâ, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2018, 57 (19), 6664-6672.
- G. Li, H. Sun, H. Xu, X. Guo, D. Wu, âProbing the Energetics of Molecule â Material Interactions at Interfaces and in Nanoporesâ, J. Phys. Chem. C 2017, 121 (47), 26141-26154. (Invited Review Featured as Journal Front Cover)
- L. Fu, H. Yang, Y. Hu, D. Wu, A. Navrotsky, “Tailoring Mesoporous Îł-Al2O3 Properties by Transition Metal Doping: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study”, Chem. Mater. 2017, 29, 1338-1349.
- N. Liu, X. Guo, A. Navrotsky, Li Shi, D. Wu, “Thermodynamic Complexity of Sulfated Zirconia Catalysts”, J. Catal. 2016, 342, 158-163.
- H. Sun, D. Wu, K. Liu, X. Guo, A. Navrotsky, âEnergetics of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Ion-exchanged Zeolite Aâ, J. Phys. Chem. C 2016, 120 (28), 15251-15256.
- D. Wu, X. Guo, H. Sun, A. Navrotsky, âEnergy Landscape of Water and Ethanol on Silica Surfacesâ, J. Phys. Chem. C 2015, 119 (27), 15428-15433.
- D. Wu, X. Guo, H. Sun, A. Navrotsky, âThermodynamics of Methane Adsorption on Copper HKUST-1 at Low Pressureâ, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2015, 6 (13), 2439-2443.
- D. Wu, A. Navrotsky, âProbing the Energetics of Organic â Nanoparticle Interactions: Ethanol on Calciteâ, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2015, 112, 5314-5318.
- D. Wu, A. Navrotsky, âThermodynamics of Metal â Organic Frameworksâ, J. Solid State Chem. 2015, 223, 53-58. (Invited Review)
- D. Wu, T. M. McDonald, Z. Quan, S. V. Ushakov, P. Zhang, J. R. Long, A. Navrotsky, âThermodynamic Complexity of Carbon Capture in Alkylamine-Functionalized Metal â Organic Frameworksâ, J. Mater. Chem. A 2015, 3, 4248-4254.
- H. Sun, D. Wu, X. Guo, B. Shen, J. Liu, and A. Navrotsky, âEnergetics of Confinement of Hexane in Ca â Na Ion Exchanged Zeolite Aâ, J. Phys. Chem. C 2014, 118 (44), 25590-25596.
- Z. Quan, D. Wu, J. Zhu, W. H. Evers, J. M. Boncella, L. A. Siebbeles, Z. Wang, A. Navrotsky, H. Xu, âEnergy Landscape of Self-Assembled Superlattices of PbSe Nanocrystalsâ, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2014, 111, 9054-9057.
- D. Wu, S. Hwang, S. I. Zones, and A. Navrotsky, âGuest â Host Interactions of a Rigid Organic Molecule in Porous Silica Frameworksâ, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2014, 111, 1720-1725.
- D. Wu, A. Navrotsky, âSmall Molecule â Silica Interactions in Porous Silica Structuresâ, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2013, 109, 38-50.
- D. Wu, J. J. Gassensmith, D. GouvĂȘa, S. Ushakov, J. F. Stoddart, A. Navrotsky, âDirect Calorimetric Measurement of Enthalpy of Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide on CD-MOF-2, a Green Metal â Organic Frameworkâ, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135 (18), 6790-6793.
Research Team

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