Chemical Society Reviews Blog

On behalf of the Chem Soc Rev Editorial Board, I am delighted to announce that Professor Xile Hu from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, has been chosen as the winner of the 2013 Chem Soc Rev Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

This annual award recognises an emerging scientist who has made a significant contribution to their research field.  The Editorial Board commended Professor Hu’s research in the field of catalysis, particularly his development of catalysts, composed of earth-abundant elements, which are used in sustainable chemical synthesis and for efficient chemical energy storage.  With his research group, he has developed base metal catalysts for organic synthesis, bio-mimetic synthetic compounds for [Fe]-hydrogenase, and non-precious and scalable electrocatalysts for H₂ production from water.

On winning the Lectureship, Professor Hu says, “It was a nice surprise for me to learn that I was selected for this award, because I know there are many other equally deserving candidates.  I want to thank the Editorial Board members and the staff of Chem Soc Rev for their interest in my group’s research and their support for my career.  The credit is really due to my co-workers who have exercised tremendous creativity, persistence, and work ethic to push our research endeavors forward.  On their behalf, I am thrilled and honoured to accept this award.”

Professor Hu will present his award lecture at an international conference later in the year– keep an eye on this blog for more details.

You can find out more about Professor Hu’s exciting research by reading his recent articles on Chem Soc Rev, Chemical Science and ChemComm:

Organic molecules as mediators and catalysts for photocatalytic and electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction
Yeonji Oh and Xile Hu
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 2253-2261
From themed issue on Solar fuels

Fe, Co, and Ni ions promote the catalytic activity of amorphous molybdenum sulfide films for hydrogen evolution
Daniel Merki, Heron Vrubel, Lorenzo Rovelli, Stéphane Fierro and Xile Hu
Chem. Sci., 2012, 3, 2515-2525

Hydrogen evolution across nano-Schottky junctions at carbon supported MoS₂ catalysts in biphasic liquid systems
Peiyu Ge, Micheál D. Scanlon, Pekka Peljo, Xiaojun Bian, Heron Vubrel, Arlene O’Neill, Jonathan N. Coleman, Marco Cantoni, Xile Hu, Kyösti Kontturi, BaoHong Liu and Hubert H. Girault
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 6484-6486

Nickel-catalyzed cross coupling of non-activated alkyl halides: a mechanistic perspective
Xile Hu
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 1867-1886