Di Wu, PhD

Research Interests

Di Wu’s research lies at the blurry interfaces between surface science, materials chemistry, nanogeoscience and nanotechnology. The goal of his research is to understand the fundamental and general reaction mechanisms on surfaces and in pores for rational design and synthesis of nanostructured materials with unique functionality and high performance. His work advances the petroleum and chemical industries, enabling alternative and sustainable energy, petrochemical conversion, environmental remediation, and nanomedicine. The specific research focuses include,

1. Tuning surface heterogeneity for energy storage and conversion
2. C1 chemistry
3. 2D materials
4. Synthesis, characterization and application of new inorganic and hybrid porous materials
5. Nanostructured medicine for cancer therapy
6. Actinide environmental chemistry

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

• Assistant Professor – Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, 2016–present
• Affiliate Assistant Professor – Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, 2016–present
• Affiliate Assistant Professor – Materials Science and Engineering Program, Washington State University, 2016–present
• Postdoctoral Fellow – Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Laboratory and NEAT ORU, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 2013–2016

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

Publications

1. L. Fu, H. Yang, Y. Hu, D. Wu, and A. Navrotsky, “Tailoring Mesoporous γ-Al 2 O 3 Properties by Transition Metal Doping: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study”, Chem. Mater. 2017, 29, 1338-1349
2. X. Guo, S. Szenknect, A. Mesbah, N. Clavier, C. Poinssot, D. Wu, H. Xu, N. Dacheux, R. C. Ewing, A. Navrotsky, “Energetics of Uranothorite (Th 1-x U x SiO 4 ) Solid Solution”, Chem. Mater. 2016, 28 (19), 7117-7124
3. N. Liu, X. Guo, A. Navrotsky, Li Shi, and D. Wu, “Thermodynamic Complexity of Sulfated Zirconia Catalysts”, J. Catal. 2016, 342, 158-163
4. H. Sun, D. Wu, K. Liu, X. Guo, and A. Navrotsky, “Energetics of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Ion-exchanged Zeolite A”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2016, 120 (28), 15251-15256
5. X. Guo, D. Wu, H. Xu, P. C. Burns, and A. Navrotsky, “Thermodynamic Studies of Studtite Thermal Decomposition Pathways via Amorphous Intermediates UO₃, U₂O₇, and UO₄”, J. Nucl. Mater., 2016, 478, 158-163
6. D. Wu, X. Guo, H. Sun, and A. Navrotsky, “Interplay of Confinement and Surface Energetics in the Interaction of Water with a Metal-Organic Framework”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2016, 120 (14), 7562-7567
7. D. Wu, X. Guo, H. Sun, and A. Navrotsky, “Energy Landscape of Water and Ethanol on Silica Surfaces”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2015, 119 (27), 15428-15433
8. D. Wu, X. Guo, H. Sun, and A. Navrotsky, “Thermodynamics of Methane Adsorption on Copper HKUST-1 at Low Pressure”, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2015, 6 (13), 2439-2443
9. D. Wu, and A. Navrotsky, “Probing the Energetics of Organic-Nanoparticle Interactions: Ethanol on Calcite”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2015, 112, 5314-5318
10. D. Wu, T. M. McDonald, Z. Quan, S. V. Ushakov, P. Zhang, J. R. Long, and A. Navrotsky, “Thermodynamic Complexity of Carbon Capture in Alkylamine-Functionalized Metal-Organic Frameworks”, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 4248-4254
11. H. Sun, D. Wu, X. Guo, B. Shen, J. Liu, and A. Navrotsky, “Energetics of Confinement of Hexane in Ca-Na Ion Exchanged Zeolite A”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2014, 118 (44), 25590-25596
12. Z. Quan, D. Wu, J. Zhu, W. H. Evers, J. M. Boncella, L. A. Siebbeles, Z. Wang, A. Navrotsky, and H. Xu, “Energy Landscape of Self-Assembled Superlattices of PbSe Nanocrystals”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2014, 111, 9054-9057
13. D. Wu, S. Hwang, S. I. Zones, and A. Navrotsky, “Guest-Host Interactions of a Rigid Organic Molecule in Porous Silica Frameworks”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2014, 111, 1720-1725
14. D. Wu, J. J. Gassensmith, D. Gouvêa, S. Ushakov, J. F. Stoddart, and A. Navrotsky, “Direct Calorimetric Measurement of Enthalpy of Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide on CD-MOF- 2, a Green Metal-Organic Framework”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135 (18), 6790-6793