Dr. NIU Zhiqiang received his B.Sc. degree and Ph.D. degree from Peking University in 2007 and Tsinghua University in 2012, respectively. His doctoral research was focused on the design and synthesis of nanomaterials for catalysis. Zhiqiang carried out postdoctoral studies with Professor Shoushan Fan at Tsinghua University and then with Professor Peidong Yang at UC Berkeley, respectively. His postdoctoral research was centered on the development of high-performance oxygen reduction catalysts. In the meantime, Zhiqiang also worked in California Research Alliance (CARA) by BASF on transparent conductors. He joined the faculty in the department of chemical engineering at Tsinghua University in 2019. His current research interest focuses on plastic recycling and electrochemical energy conversion.

2003~2007 B.Sc, College of Chemical and Molecular Engineering, Peking University

2007~2012 Ph.D, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University

2012~2014 Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University

2014~2017 Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley

2017~2019 Infinity Innovation

2019~2023 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University

2023~present Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University

Catalytic plastic recycling and renewable energy conversion

1. CO-Promoted Polyethylene Hydrogenolysis with Renewable Formic Acid as Hydrogen Donor. Yuqi Wang†, Qikun Hu†, Shuairen Qian, Jiayang Zhao, Yi Cheng, Jun Ma, Jing Zhang*, Zhiqiang Niu* Nat. Commun. 2025, 16, 7821.

2. Tandem Catalysis to Mitigate Coke Formation in the Upcycling of Mixed Polyolefin Wastes. Jiayang Zhao, Qikun Hu, Yuqi Wang, Yizhen Che, Zhiqiang Niu* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 30768–30776.

3. Unlocking the Potential of Mn-Based Catalyst for Durable Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction in Acid at High Current Densities. Helai Huang†, Mingze Sun†, Kai Chen†, Yizhen Che, Xin Tang, Zhengwen Li, Kaiqi Nie, Shuairen Qian, Jinjie Fang, Haiyong Wang, Yanfen Wu, Qikun Hu, Yuqi Wang, Xiaohang Sun, Junliang He, Yu-Xiao Zhang, Zhongbin Zhuang, Liang Zhang, Zhiqiang Niu* Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202511844.

4. Polyethylene Hydrogenolysis by Dilute RuPt Alloy to Achieve H2-Pressure-Independent Low Methane Selectivity. Qikun Hu, Shuairen Qian, Yuqi Wang, Jiayang Zhao, Meng Jiang, Mingze Sun, Helai Huang, Tao Gan, Jun Ma, Jing Zhang, Yi Cheng, Zhiqiang Niu* Nat. Commun. 2024, 15, 10573.

5. Enhancing H2O2 Electrosynthesis at Industrial-Relevant Current in Acidic Media on Diatomic Cobalt Sites. Helai Huang†, Mingze Sun†, Shuwei Li, Shengbo Zhang, Yiyang Lee, Zhengwen Li, Jinjie Fang, Chengjin Chen, Yu-Xiao Zhang, Yanfen Wu, Yizhen Che, Shuairen Qian, Wei Zhu, Cheng Tang, Zhongbin Zhuang, Liang Zhang, Zhiqiang Niu* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 9434–9443.

6. Diatomic Iron Nanozyme with Lipoxidase-Like Activity for Efficient Inactivation of Enveloped Virus. Beibei Li†, Ruonan Ma†, Lei Chen†, Caiyu Zhou†, Yu-Xiao Zhang, Xiaonan Wang, Helai Huang, Qikun Hu, Xiaobo Zheng, Jiarui Yang, Mengjuan Shao, Pengfei Hao, Yanfen Wu, Yizhen Che, Chang Li, Tao Qin, Lizeng Gao*, Zhiqiang Niu*, Yadong Li Nat. Commun. 2023, 14, 7312

7. Depolymerization of Polyesters by a Binuclear Catalyst for Plastic Recycling. Shengbo Zhang†, Qikun Hu†, Yu-Xiao Zhang†, Haoyue Guo, Yanfen Wu, Mingze Sun, Xingsong Zhu, Jiangang Zhang, Shuyan Gong, Ping Liu, Zhiqiang Niu* Nat. Sustain. 2023, 6, 965–973.

8. General Synthesis of a Diatomic Catalyst Library via a Macrocyclic Precursor-Mediated Approach. Yu-Xiao Zhang†, Shengbo Zhang†, Helai Huang†, Xiaolong Liu, Beibei Li, Yiyang Lee, Xingdong Wang, Yun Bai, Mingze Sun, Yanfen Wu, Shuyan Gong, Xiangwen Liu, Zhongbin Zhuang, Ting Tan, Zhiqiang Niu* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 4819–4827.

9. Bulk‐like Pt (100)‐Oriented Ultrathin Surface: Combining the Merits of Single Crystals and Nanoparticles to Boost Oxygen Reduction Reaction. Shuyan Gong†, Mingze Sun†, Yiyang Lee, Nigel Becknell, Jiangwei Zhang, Zhongqi Wang, Liang Zhang*, Zhiqiang Niu* Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202214516.

10. Well-Defined Materials for Heterogeneous Catalysis: From Nanoparticles to Isolated Single-Atom Sites. Zhi Li, Shufang Ji, Yiwei Liu, Xing Cao, Shubo Tian, Yuanjun Chen, Zhiqiang Niu*, Yadong Li* Chem. Rev. 2020, 120, 623‒682.