Bio

Dr. Tianying Liu is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University, focusing on the development of scalable, low-Iridium loading catalysts for cost-effective and durable PEM water electrolyzers. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Boston College in 2025, where his dissertation research investigated water oxidation mechanisms on Iridium dinuclear heterogeneous catalysts. During his doctoral studies, he served as an ALS Doctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, applying synchrotron-based ex situ and in situ soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy to uncover the structural dynamics of Iridium catalyst electrodes during water oxidation.

Before his doctoral work, Dr. Liu completed his M.S. and B.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering at Central South University. His earlier research experience includes developing Mo-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution, engineering lithium-ion battery cathodes via atomic layer deposition at ShanghaiTech University, and characterizing molybdenum carbide catalysts as a visiting researcher at Northwestern University. His research interests broadly cover electrocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, energy conversion, and materials design, with a strong focus on renewable energy applications.

Honors & Awards

  • ALS Doctoral Fellowship in Residence, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Sep 2024 – Aug 2025)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    liuth@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Mechanical Engineering Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Modulating coordinate site occupancy in high-entropy spinel electrocatalysts. Nature communications Baek, J., Hamkins, K. S., Li, Y., Garcia-Esparza, A. T., Liu, T., Kuo, C. T., Lee, J. S., Potter, A. W., Kim, S., Wang, Y., Ding, H., Li, J., Zhuo, Z., Guo, J., Bajdich, M., Zheng, X. 2026

    Abstract

    High entropy spinel oxides provide a versatile platform for electrocatalysis because multiple metal cations can be incorporated into a single crystalline lattice, enabling tunable electronic structures. However, controlling how these cations distribute between tetrahedral and octahedral coordination sites remains a major challenge, limiting rational catalyst design. Here, we modulate cation coordination site occupancy between tetrahedral and octahedral sites in a Co-Fe-Cr-Mn-Ni framework by introducing a sixth cation (Zn, Ga, Mg, or Al) with distinct site preference energies. Using density functional theory, synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and magnetic circular dichroism, we demonstrate that Zn preferentially occupies tetrahedral sites, driving increased octahedral occupancy of cobalt. This redistribution increases the population of octahedrally coordinated cobalt in mixed oxidation states, enhances electrical conductivity, and improves oxygen evolution reaction activity. Our findings establish coordination site occupancy as a critical design parameter, providing a strategic pathway for tailoring multicomponent spinel electrocatalysts with optimized performance.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-70982-3

    View details for PubMedID 41862500

  • Investigating the Adsorption-Desorption Kinetics of a Molecular Water Oxidation Catalyst at an Electrode Interface JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS Chen, B., Zhang, H., Zhang, R., Liu, T., Shin, D., Wang, D., Waegele, M. M. 2026

    Abstract

    Probing the dynamics of molecular catalysts at electrode-electrolyte interfaces is essential for understanding catalytic mechanisms. Structure-specific spectroscopic methods are particularly powerful for examining electrocatalytic interfaces but are mostly used under steady-state conditions. Herein, we combined surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) with phase-sensitive detection (PSD) to investigate the dynamics of a molecular Ir-based water oxidation catalyst at the Au-electrolyte interface. We found that the amplitude of the absorbance of the catalyst is anticorrelated to that of interfacial water. This anticorrelation can be understood by the adsorption of the electrooxidized catalyst on the electrode and concurrent displacement of interfacial water. The infrared signals from the interface exhibit an increasing phase lag with respect to the electrode potential with an increasing scan rate of the potential. Kinetic modeling suggests that the potential-dependent adsorption-desorption kinetics of the molecular catalyst on the electrode gives rise to this phase lag. This study shows that PSD-SEIRAS is a powerful tool for investigating the interfacial dynamics of electrocatalytic systems.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.jpclett.5c03574

    View details for Web of Science ID 001691798400001

    View details for PubMedID 41696881

  • Gerischer Electrochemistry Today ACS ENERGY LETTERS Sambur, J. B., Kaufman, A. J., Montoya-Castillo, A., Kundman, A., Nozik, A. J., Descarpentrie, A. G., Jana, A., Tews, A., Banik, A., Martindale, B. C. M., Debruine, B., Parkinson, B. A., Frisbie, C., Tossi, C., Hallock, C. D., Esposito, D. V., Lustig, D. R., Ingram, D., Seo, D., Solanki, D., Wang, D., Ratcliff, E. L., Houle, F. A., Toma, F. M., Zhu, G., Moore, G. F., Meyer, G. J., Liu, H., Begum, H., Schneidewind, J., Cahoon, J. F., Mayer, J. M., Van De Lagemaat, J., Brinker, J. R., Dempsey, J. L., Mendes, J., Diederich, J., Hart, J. N., Brinkert, K., Rajeshwar, K., Choi, K., Berben, L. A., Salvi, M., Spitler, M. T., Rose, M. J., Lewis, N. S., Gomez, N. A., Maurya, O., Aghadiuno, P. O., Kamat, P. V., Evans, R., Almaraz, R., Sampaio, R. N., Coridan, R. H., Van De Krol, R., Suo, S., Magpantay, S. V., Bae, S., Cushing, S., Ardo, S., Boettcher, S. W., Hu, S., Maldonado, S., Liu, T., Cuk, T., Hannappel, T., Sayer, T., Arthur, T., Deutsch, T. G., Streibel, V., Stinson, W. D. H., Jaegermann, W., Surendranath, Y., Mi, Z., Ye, Z. 2025; 10 (12): 6578-6595

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acsenergylett.5c02966

    View details for Web of Science ID 001636344700001

  • Effect of Electrolyte Ions on Iridium Oxide-Based Water Oxidation Catalysis ACS CATALYSIS Chen, B., Wang, P., Shin, D., Li, W., Liu, T., Waegele, M. M., Wang, D. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acscatal.5c03970

    View details for Web of Science ID 001571004700001

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9165-308X