The Group Leader

Dr. Peng Zhang

Professor of Chemistry

Professor of Biomedical Engineering

BSc, MSc, Jilin University (China)
PhD, The University of Western Ontario
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, McGill University

Phone: (902) 494-3323
Fax: (902) 494-1310
Email: peng.zhang "at" dal.ca
Office: Room 317, Chemistry Building
Lab: Room 337, Chemistry Building
Mailing address:
Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University
6274 Coburg Road, PO Box 15000
Halifax, NS, B3H4R2, Canada

Summary of Research

Our research falls into the rapidly growing field of nanoscience and nanotechnology and centers around the studies of metal nanoparticles, the fundamental building blocks of nanotechnology. The past two decades have witnessed an explosive growth of research in metal nanoparticles, which show promising applications in a variety of areas in nanotechnology.

In order to improve the performance of metal nanoparticles in practical applications, selection of bimetallic and trimetallic systems with well-tailored atomic structure, such as cluster, core-shell and atomically dispersed alloy, is often preferred. These multicomponent nanoparticles may combine many desired functionalities associated with each component, such as enhanced catalytic reactivity, high stability, and biocompatability. In spite of these advantages, it remains a primary challenge to synthesize and characterize multicomponent metal nanoparticles with well-tailored structure and properties. Towards this end, our research is intended to improve the ability to precisely control the structure and properties of multi-component nanoparticles by developing efficient synthetic methodology and by providing insights into their structure-property relationships with powerful synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy methods in association with many other techniques. In addition to these fundamental studies, we are actively seeking the applications of these nanoparticles in catalysis, energy and biomedicine.

Recent Group News

July 21, 2020

Congratulations to our former PhD student, Dr. Paul Duchesne, on his new position as an assistant professor at Queen's University.

August 1, 2019

Congratulations to our group member David Morris for winning the NSERC PGSD Scholarship!

July 1, 2019

Our former PhD student Paul Duchesne won the prestigious NSERC PDF. Great job, Paul!

August 23, 2018

Dr. Zhang was invited to give a keynote talk at the 256th ACS National Meeting & Exposition in Boston. Well done!

August 14, 2018

Paul Duchesne's single-atom catalyst paper has just been accepted by NATURE MATERIALS. Good job, Paul!

May 17, 2018

The Zhang group congratulates the former PhD student Dan Chevrier for winning the EU Marie Curie PDF!

May 11, 2018

Dr. Zhang delivered a keynote lecture at the 25th Canadian Symposium on Catalysis. Congratulations!

May 1, 2018

Congratulations to our former PhD student Dan Chevrier for winning the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship!

April 1, 2018

Congratulations to our new MSc student David Morris for winning the NSGS Scholarship!

January 1, 2018

Dr. Zhang has become the Editorial Board Member for the ACS journal J. Phys. Chem. A/B/C/Letter!

February 7, 2016

The Zhang group congratulates the former PhD student Daniel Padmos on receiving the prestigious NSERC PDF!