![Dr Zhe Yang](/sites/default/files/profiles/43567.jpeg)
Overview
Background
Dr. Zhe Yang currently is an ARC DECRA fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering/Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation at the University of Queensland. He obtained his PhD degree in Environmental Engineering in 2018 at the University of Hong Kong (PhD supervisor: Prof. Chuyang Tang). He was appointed as research assistant/post-doc fellow in HKU from Nov 2018 to July 2021 and was further promoted to Research Assistant Professor from July 2021 to Dec 2023. He was recognized as a Top 1% Scholar worldwide ranked by Clarivate Analytics by citations in 2023. Dr. Yang has more than 10 years of R&D experience in membrane technology in the context of desalination, water reuse, and water/wastewater treatment. To date, he has published over 70 papers and two book chapters, with total citations of over 6,000 and an h-index of 41 based on Google Scholar. Most of these papers (90%) are published in Nature indexed/top tier journals in the field of environmental engineering and membrane technology, including Nature Communications, Nano Letters, Chemical Society Reviews, Environmental Science & Technology, Environmental Science & Technology Letters, Water Research, and Journal of Membrane Science. He has been awarded numerous prestigious awards, including The First Prize of the Water 2023 Young Investigator Award, Early Career Stars of Separation & Purification Technology, The 2022 ACS ES&T Engineering Best Paper Award, the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions Gold Metal in 2019, etc. He currently serves as the Early Career Editorial Board member of the leading journal in his field (Desalination, IF 9.9).
Feature works:
1. Meta-analysis and establishing upper bound of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes:
2023: His work on establishing the nanofiltration upper bound framework and investigating its impact on system performance (ACS ES&T Eng., 2, 3, (2021) 377-390) was awarded the 2022 ACS ES&T Engineering Best Paper Award.
2022: Based on the upper bound framework, Dr. Yang collaborated with several international researchers/teams from KU Leuven, Yale University, and Technion to develop an open-access database of TFC desalination membranes - Open Membrane Database (OMD) (J. Membr. Sci., 641 (2021) 119927).
2019: His work on establishing the upper bound correlation between permeance and selectivity for desalination membrane (J. Membr. Sci., 590 (2019) 117297) is the first top-cited papers published in the Journal of Membrane Science in the year 2019 and among the top 1% cited according to Essential Science Indicators (ESI Highly Cited Paper).
2. High-performance gutter layer-based reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membrane:
2017-now: His works on designing high-performance novel gutter layer-based reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes significantly advance the water permeance of conventional membranes by an order of magnitude with simultaneously improved selectivity, which successfully surpasses the permeance-selectivity upper bound. The significance of these studies is highlighted by several ESI Highly Cited Papers (Environ. Sci. Technol., 52 (2018) 9341-9349; Environ. Sci. Technol., 53 (2019) 5301-5308; Environ. Sci. Technol., 54 (2020) 11611-11621).
3. Mechanistic investigation of nanofiller-enhanced reverse osmosis membranes:
2019-now: In the membrane community, the concept of thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) has successfully led to several commercialized products including Aquaporin-containing TFN membranes by Aquaporin A/S1 and zeolite-based TFN seawater and brackish RO membranes by LG-Chem NanoH2O®. Nevertheless, the mechanisms for membrane performance enhancement remained unclear. Dr. Yang's works on TFN membranes (Environ. Sci. Technol., 53 (2019) 5301-5308; Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., 7 (2020) 766-772) unveiled the underlying transport mechanisms of TFN membranes based on a systematic framework of the interior and exterior channels of the embedded nanofillers.
Professional memberships
1. A member of Membrane Society of Australasia (MSA), since May 2024
2. A member of Australia Water Association (AWA), since April 2024
Availability
- Dr Zhe Yang is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (华东理工大学)
- Masters (Research) of Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia
- Doctor of Philosophy of Environmental Engineering, University of Hong Kong
Research impacts
SELECTED PRIZES, HONOURS AND AWARDS
- TOP 1% Scholar Worldwide (Link), Ranked by Clarivate Analytics, 2023
- The First Prize of the Water 2023 Young Investigator Award (Link and Interview), the Journal Water, 2023
- Early Career Stars of Separation & Purification Technology, GBA-SPT 2023 & 2nd GBA-MMP (Link), 2023
- The 2022 ACS ES&T Engineering Best Paper Award (Link), 2023
- 2022 Environmental Science & Technology Letters Best Paper Award (Link), 2023
- Stanford Top 2% of the World’s Most Cited Scholars, 2021-2023 (Link), 2021-2023
- ARC DECRA Fellowship(Link), 2023-2026
- Outstanding Paper Award, The 6th National Conference on Water Treatment and Reuse of China, 2021
- CAPEES Best Poster Presentation Award, Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science (CAPEES) Annual Meeting, 2021
- Gold Medal, Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, 2019
Works
Search Professor Zhe Yang’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Journal Article
Polyamide reverse osmosis membranes containing 1D nanochannels for enhanced water purification
Li, Wen-xuan, Yang, Zhe, Liu, Wei-liang, Huang, Zhi-hao, Zhang, Hao, Li, Meng-ping, Ma, Xiao-hua, Tang, Chuyang Y. and Xu, Zhen-liang (2021). Polyamide reverse osmosis membranes containing 1D nanochannels for enhanced water purification. Journal of Membrane Science, 618 118681, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118681
2020
Journal Article
A critical review on thin-film nanocomposite membranes with interlayered structure: mechanisms, recent developments, and environmental applications
Yang, Zhe, Sun, Peng-Fei, Li, Xianhui, Gan, Bowen, Wang, Li, Song, Xiaoxiao, Park, Hee-Deung and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2020). A critical review on thin-film nanocomposite membranes with interlayered structure: mechanisms, recent developments, and environmental applications. Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (24), 15563-15583. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c05377
2020
Journal Article
Toward tailoring nanofiltration performance of thin-film composite membranes: Novel insights into the role of poly(vinyl alcohol) coating positions
Zhu, Xuewu, Yang, Zhe, Gan, Zhendong, Cheng, Xiaoxiang, Tang, Xiaobin, Luo, Xinsheng, Xu, Daliang, Li, Guibai and Liang, Heng (2020). Toward tailoring nanofiltration performance of thin-film composite membranes: Novel insights into the role of poly(vinyl alcohol) coating positions. Journal of Membrane Science, 614 118526, 118526. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118526
2020
Journal Article
Ultrathin polyamide nanofilm with an asymmetrical structure: A novel strategy to boost the permeance of reverse osmosis membranes
Gan, Bowen, Qi, Saren, Song, Xiaoxiao, Yang, Zhe, Tang, Chuyang Y., Cao, Xingzhong, Zhou, Yong and Gao, Congjie (2020). Ultrathin polyamide nanofilm with an asymmetrical structure: A novel strategy to boost the permeance of reverse osmosis membranes. Journal of Membrane Science, 612 118402, 118402. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118402
2020
Journal Article
Probing the Contributions of Interior and Exterior Channels of Nanofillers toward the Enhanced Separation Performance of a Thin-Film Nanocomposite Reverse Osmosis Membrane
Yin, Jun, Yang, Zhe, Tang, Chuyang Y. and Deng, Baolin (2020). Probing the Contributions of Interior and Exterior Channels of Nanofillers toward the Enhanced Separation Performance of a Thin-Film Nanocomposite Reverse Osmosis Membrane. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 7 (10), 766-772. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00507
2020
Journal Article
Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Polydopamine Interlayer toward Improved Separation Performance of Polyamide Nanofiltration Membranes
Yang, Zhe, Wang, Fei, Guo, Hao, Peng, Lu Elfa, Ma, Xiao-Hua, Song, Xiao-Xiao, Wang, Zhiwei and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2020). Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Polydopamine Interlayer toward Improved Separation Performance of Polyamide Nanofiltration Membranes. Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (18), 11611-11621. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c03589
2020
Journal Article
Dissecting the Role of Substrate on the Morphology and Separation Properties of Thin Film Composite Polyamide Membranes: Seeing Is Believing
Peng, Lu Elfa, Yao, Zhikan, Yang, Zhe, Guo, Hao and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2020). Dissecting the Role of Substrate on the Morphology and Separation Properties of Thin Film Composite Polyamide Membranes: Seeing Is Believing. Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (11), 6978-6986. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c01427
2019
Journal Article
The upper bound of thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide membranes for desalination
Yang, Zhe, Guo, Hao and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). The upper bound of thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide membranes for desalination. Journal of Membrane Science, 590 117297, 1-23. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117297
2019
Journal Article
Highly permeable and highly selective ultrathin film composite polyamide membranes reinforced by reactable polymer chains
Yao, Zhikan, Yang, Zhe, Guo, Hao, Ma, Xiaohua, Dong, Yingchao and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). Highly permeable and highly selective ultrathin film composite polyamide membranes reinforced by reactable polymer chains. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 552, 418-425. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.05.070
2019
Journal Article
Confined nanobubbles shape the surface roughness structures of thin film composite polyamide desalination membranes
Song, Xiaoxiao, Gan, Bowen, Yang, Zhe, Tang, Chuyang Y. and Gao, Congjie (2019). Confined nanobubbles shape the surface roughness structures of thin film composite polyamide desalination membranes. Journal of Membrane Science, 582, 342-349. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.04.027
2019
Journal Article
Hydrophilic Silver Nanoparticles Induce Selective Nanochannels in Thin Film Nanocomposite Polyamide Membranes
Yang, Zhe, Guo, Hao, Yao, Zhi-Kan, Mei, Ying and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). Hydrophilic Silver Nanoparticles Induce Selective Nanochannels in Thin Film Nanocomposite Polyamide Membranes. Environmental Science and Technology, 53 (9), 5301-5308. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b00473
2019
Journal Article
Research progress of photocatalysis based on highly dispersed titanium in mesoporous SiO2
Dong, Chencheng, Ji, Jiahui, Yang, Zhe, Xiao, Yifei, Xing, Mingyang and Zhang, Jinlong (2019). Research progress of photocatalysis based on highly dispersed titanium in mesoporous SiO2. Chinese Chemical Letters, 30 (4), 853-862. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2019.03.020
2019
Journal Article
Tuning roughness features of thin film composite polyamide membranes for simultaneously enhanced permeability, selectivity and anti-fouling performance
Ma, Xiaohua, Yang, Zhe, Yao, Zhikan, Guo, Hao, Xu, Zhenliang and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). Tuning roughness features of thin film composite polyamide membranes for simultaneously enhanced permeability, selectivity and anti-fouling performance. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 540, 382-388. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.01.033
2019
Journal Article
Non-Polyamide Based Nanofiltration Membranes Using Green Metal-Organic Coordination Complexes: Implications for the Removal of Trace Organic Contaminants
Guo, Hao, Peng, Lu Elfa, Yao, Zhikan, Yang, Zhe, Ma, Xiaohua and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). Non-Polyamide Based Nanofiltration Membranes Using Green Metal-Organic Coordination Complexes: Implications for the Removal of Trace Organic Contaminants. Environmental Science and Technology, 53 (5), 2688-2694. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b06422
2019
Journal Article
Carbon nanotubes enhance permeability of ultrathin polyamide rejection layers
Ma, Xiao-Hua, Guo, Hao, Yang, Zhe, Yao, Zhi-Kan, Qing, Wei-Hua, Chen, Yi-Liang, Xu, Zhen-Liang and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). Carbon nanotubes enhance permeability of ultrathin polyamide rejection layers. Journal of Membrane Science, 570-571, 139-145. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.10.055
2019
Journal Article
Fabrication of a novel and green thin-film composite membrane containing nanovoids for water purification
Yang, Zhe, Huang, Xiaoyu, Ma, Xiao-hua, Zhou, Zhi-wen, Guo, Hao, Yao, Zhikan, Feng, Shien-Ping and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2019). Fabrication of a novel and green thin-film composite membrane containing nanovoids for water purification. Journal of Membrane Science, 570-571, 314-321. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.10.057
2018
Journal Article
Preparation of nanocavity-contained thin film composite nanofiltration membranes with enhanced permeability and divalent to monovalent ion selectivity
Yao, Zhikan, Guo, Hao, Yang, Zhe, Qing, Weihua and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2018). Preparation of nanocavity-contained thin film composite nanofiltration membranes with enhanced permeability and divalent to monovalent ion selectivity. Desalination, 445, 115-122. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2018.07.023
2018
Journal Article
Potable Water Reuse through Advanced Membrane Technology
Tang, Chuyang Y., Yang, Zhe, Guo, Hao, Wen, Jason J., Nghiem, Long D. and Cornelissen, Emile (2018). Potable Water Reuse through Advanced Membrane Technology. Environmental Science and Technology, 52 (18), 10215-10223. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b00562
2018
Journal Article
Tannic Acid/Fe3+ Nanoscaffold for Interfacial Polymerization: Toward Enhanced Nanofiltration Performance
Yang, Zhe, Zhou, Zhi-Wen, Guo, Hao, Yao, Zhikan, Ma, Xiao-Hua, Song, Xiaoxiao, Feng, Shien-Ping and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2018). Tannic Acid/Fe3+ Nanoscaffold for Interfacial Polymerization: Toward Enhanced Nanofiltration Performance. Environmental Science and Technology, 52 (16), 9341-9349. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b02425
2018
Journal Article
Reactable substrate participating interfacial polymerization for thin film composite membranes with enhanced salt rejection performance
Yao, Zhikan, Guo, Hao, Yang, Zhe, Lin, Chuner, Zhu, Baoku, Dong, Yingchao and Tang, Chuyang Y. (2018). Reactable substrate participating interfacial polymerization for thin film composite membranes with enhanced salt rejection performance. Desalination, 436, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2018.01.039
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Zhe Yang is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Application of advanced membranes in precise separation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang
-
Doctor Philosophy
Synthesis and applications of advanced membranes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Jingwei Hou, Professor Xiwang Zhang
Media
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