Qi-Fa Chen

Dr. Qi-Fa Chen is a full professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology since 2026. Dr. Chen obtained his Bachelor's degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2015 and was awarded Ph.D. from Tsinghua University in 2020 under the supervision of Professor Ming-Tian Zhang. In 2020-2026, He conducted postdoctoral research at Tsinghua University (collaborating with CAS academician Jin-Pei Cheng), National University of Singapore (collaborating with Professor Lei Wang), and The University of Hong Kong (collaborating with Professor Ho Yu Au-Yeung).

 He now works within the State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals at Dalian University of Technology as a member of Professor Tao Liu’s research team on “Photo-responsive Intelligent Molecular Materials”, and also leads his own independent group on “Intelligent Molecular Engineering and Energy Catalysis”. The research primarily centers on employing methodologies from physical organic and physical inorganic chemistry to investigate the catalytic mechanisms of energy-relevant small molecules, including water oxidation, oxygen reduction, and carbon dioxide reduction.

 He focuses on the mechanistic study of catalytic dynamic evolution and the targeted construction of molecular catalysts. Following the research approach of “intermediate capture - structure-activity relationship - catalyst design,” he aims to dynamically monitor key intermediates, elucidate catalytic mechanisms, and design efficient and stable molecular catalysts. The current main research directions include: (1) rational design of biomimetic molecular catalysts and investigation of structure-activity relationships; (2) mechanistic studies on electronic spin state regulation and magnetic field effects in small-molecule activation reactions. The relevant research results have been published in 9 papers (as first or co-first author) in journals such as CCS Chem. (×2), JACS (×3), Angew and Nat. Commun..

Tao Liu’s research team website:  https://liutao.dlut.edu.cn/index.htm

Chen Group website: https://www.x-mol.com/groups/chenqifa?lang=en

University personnal homepage: https://faculty.dlut.edu.cn/chenqifa/en/index.htm