Skip to main content

Ming Yang, Ph.D.

YangDean’s Assistant Professor
Catalysis, Advanced Materials, Reaction Engineering for Energy and Environmental Applications
Email: myang3@clemson.edu
Phone: 864-656-6130
Office: 221 Earle Hall
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ming-yang-5641111b/


Education

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Tufts University
M.S., Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University
B.S., Chemistry, Nankai University
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University

Research Interests

The research of Yang Lab centers at the crossroads of thermo-, electro-, and magneto-catalytic reaction engineering for environmental and energy applications that enable the global transition toward a sustainable clean energy future. Specifically, Yang Lab designs and deploys innovative and rigorous strategies for materials synthesis, reaction kinetic studies, and in-situ reaction characterizations. The synergy of these research components uncovers translational chemical science down to the atomic resolution and ultimately provides practical catalysis solutions at scale: 1) from the perspective of catalytic materials, Yang Lab develops highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts that dramatically reduce the unsustainable reliance on critical minerals of the globe; 2) from the perspective of reaction energy inputs, Yang Lab electrifies thermal reactions that are workhorses in today’s industry via field enhancement to reduce their environmental footprint while elevating reaction performances. Yang collaborates extensively with researchers across the campus, peer universities, and national laboratories. Dr. Yang is currently an inaugural early-career editor of Applied Catalysis B: Environment & Energy.

Selective Awards and Honors

2025 CAREER Award, NSF
2023 EPSCoR Research Fellowship, NSF-NASA
2022 New Doctoral Investigator Award, ACS PRF
2020 Movers and Shakers, Catalyst Review
2019 Internal Start-Up Research Award, General Motors R&D
2015 Outstand Ph.D. Academic Scholarship, Tufts University
2014 Outstanding Student Research Award, IPMI

Leading-Author Publications - Full List Google Scholar

“Engineering intricacies of implementing single-atom alloy catalysts for low-temperature electrocatalytic CO2 reduction”, Chem Catalysis 2024, 4, 101164.

“Recent developments of single atom alloy catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogenation reactions”, Chemical Engineering Journal 2024, 152072.

“Catalytic reaction triggered by magnetic induction heating mechanistically distinguishes itself from the standard thermal reaction”, ACS Catalysis 2024, 14, 4008-4017.

“Uncertainties in the reactivity of atomically dispersed catalytic metal: Can any single-atom catalyst work like a charm?”, Chem Catalysis 2023, 100735.

“Dual-site catalysts featuring platinum-group-metal atoms on copper shapes boost hydrocarbon formations in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction”, Nature Communications 2023, 14, 3075.

“Reaction-driven evolutions of Pt states over Pt-CeO2 catalysts during CO oxidation”, Applied Catalysis B 2023, 330, 122662.

“Crowded supported metal atoms on catalytically active supports may compromise intrinsic activity: a case study of dual-site Pt/α-MoC catalysts”, Applied Catalysis B 2023, 329, 122532.

“NCNT grafted perovskite oxide as an active bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc-air battery”, Materials Today Nano 2023, 21, 100287.

“Enhancing oxygen reduction performance of oxide-CNT through in-situ generated nanoalloy bridging”, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 2020, 263: 118297.

“Nanocluster and single-atom catalysts for thermocatalytic conversion of CO and CO2”, Catalysis Science & Technology 2020, 10, 5772.

“Tuning single‐atom Pt1‐CeO2 catalyst for efficient CO and C3H6 oxidation: Size effect of ceria on Pt structural evolution”, ChemNanoMat 2020, 6, 1797.

“Single-atom gold oxo-clusters prepared in alkaline solutions catalyse the heterogeneous methanol self-coupling reaction”, Nature Chemistry 2019, 11, 1098.

“Surpassing the single-atom catalytic activity limit through paired Pt-O-Pt ensemble built from isolated Pt1 atoms”, Nature Communications 2019, 10: 3808.

“Single-site Pt/La-Al2O3 stabilized by barium as an active and stable catalyst in purifying CO and C3H6 emissions”, Applied Catalysis B 2019, 244, 327.

“Tackling CO poisoning with single-atom alloy catalysts”, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2016, 138, 6396.

“Design of single-atom metal catalysts on various supports for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction”, Catalysis Today 2017, 298, 216.

"Selective hydrogenation of 1, 3-butadiene on platinum-copper alloys at the single-atom limit", Nature Communications 2015, 6: 8550.

“A common single-site Pt(II)-O(OH)x- species stabilized by sodium on active and inert supports catalyzes the water-gas shift reaction”, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2015, 137, 3470.

“Catalytically active Au-O(OH)x- species stabilized by alkali ions on zeolites and mesoporous oxides”, Science 2014, 346, 1498.

“Atomically dispersed Au-(OH)x species bound on titania catalyze the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction”, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2013, 135, 3768.

“Effects of CO2 and steam on Ba/Ce-based NOx storage reduction catalysts during lean aging”, Journal of Catalysis 2010, 271, 228.

“Pd-supported interaction-defined selective redox activities in Pd−Ce0.7Zr0.3O2−Al2O3 model three-way catalysts”, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2009, 113, 12778.

"Pd/Support Interface-Promoted Pd− Ce0. 7Zr0. 3O2− Al2O3 Automobile Three-Way Catalysts: Studying the Dynamic Oxygen Storage Capacity and CO, C3H8, and NO Conversion", Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2009, 113, 3212.

Yang group members 2021

Yang group members 2022

Yang group members 2023

Yang group members 2024

Sponsors and Donors

Sponsors include NSF, ACSPRF, NASA DOE, GM.