Shanghai Jiao Tong University - China
AUTHOR PROFILE
EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE
Yancai Yao is an Associate Professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University since January 2023. She previously held the position of Assistant Professor in the same department from April 2021 to December 2022. From June 2019 to April 2021, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China, where she also completed her PhD in Chemistry from September 2014 to June 2019. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Shanxi University, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, in July 2014.
RESEARCH FIELDS
Prof. Yao's research spans Environmental Electrochemistry, Environmental Functional Materials, and Water Pollution Control. Her work is dedicated to developing advanced materials and technologies to address critical environmental challenges, particularly in the areas of pollution control and sustainable water treatment solutions.
PROJECTS
Prof. Yao has led and participated in numerous significant research projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation project (22102100) from 2022 to 2024 with a funding of 300,000 RMB. She is also involved in the National Key Research and Development Programs of China, including projects 2022YFA1205602 (2022-2027) and 2021YFA1201701 (2021-2026), with substantial funding allocations. Additionally, she has been awarded the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (22ZR1431700) and several other prestigious grants.
AWARDS AND ACADEMIC SERVICES
Prof. Yao's academic excellence has been recognized with various awards and honors. In 2024, she joined the Young Editorial Board of National Science Open and Environmental Science and Technology and EcoEnergy. She received the Excellent Report Award at the 7th National Water Treatment and Recycling Academic Conference in 2023. She serves on the editorial board of Colloid and Surface Science and was honored with the "100 Outstanding Doctoral Theses" by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2020. Her early career was marked by the Chinese Academy of Sciences President's Award and being named an Outstanding Graduate in 2019.
PRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
Prof. Yao has published extensively in high-impact journals. Notable publications include a cover paper in Nature Catalysis on engineering the electronic structure of single atom Ru sites for water oxidation electrocatalysis, and a highly cited paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on charge transfer boosting the hydrogen evolution reaction. Her research has been featured in top-tier journals such as Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Advanced Materials, and Environmental Science & Technology, showcasing her significant contributions to the field.
NOTABLE PUBLICATION
Engineering the electronic structure of single atom Ru sites via compressive strain boosts acidic water oxidation electrocatalysis 2022 (853)
Single atom Ru monolithic electrode for efficient chlorine evolution and nitrate reduction 2022 (83)
Renewable energy driven electroreduction nitrate to ammonia and in-situ ammonia recovery via a flow-through coupled device 2023 (22)
Electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia on copper-based materials for nitrate-containing wastewater treatment 2022 (19)
One-stop rapid decomplexation and copper capture of Cu (II)-EDTA with nanoscale zero valent iron 2023 (12)