Huabin Zhang

Principal Investigator

Principal Investigator

Current

Location:

Bldg 3, Office 4233 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Biography

Published more than 170 SCI-indexed papers, with a total of 23,322 citations and an H-index of 77 (Google Scholar, January 2026). Fourty-two publications are designated as Highly Cited Papers in Web of Science, and 65 papers have received more than 100 citations. Among these, over 80 papers were published as first author or corresponding author in leading journals, including Science Advances, Nature Reviews Chemistry, Joule, Energy & Environmental Science, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Nature Communications, PNAS, ACS Central Science, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, ACS Nano, and Nano Energy. These contributions to the scientific community led to the recognition as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for five consecutive years (2021–2025).

Research Interests

Professor Zhang's research interest focuses on the development of single-atom catalysts with the particular configuration for sustainable energy conversion, including photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and thermal catalysis. His research also extends to the operando investigation for monitoring the structural evolution of the reactive centers, as well as the mutual interaction between the reactive center and reactant in the catalytic process.

Education

  • Associate Professor                                                   Jan 2026 - Current

Physical Science and Engineering Division, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

  • Assistant Professor                                                   Jan 2021 - Dec 2025

Physical Science and Engineering Division, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

  • Research Fellow                                                        Mar 2017 - Jan 2021

School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  • Postdoc                                                                   Jul 2014 - Mar 2017

International Center for Materials Nano architectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan

  • Assistant Professor                                                   Jul 2013 - Jun 2014

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), P. R. China

  • Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry                                        Sep 2008 - Jul 2013

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), P. R. China


Scientific and Professional Membership

  • Associate Editor of Science Advances 
  • Editorial Board of Carbon Energy

KAUST Affiliations

  • KAUST Catalysis Centre (KCC)
  • Division of Physical Science and Engineering (PSE)

Current Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

Hongye Qin

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: DFT, AIMD, Electrocatalysis

Shizhao Wu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis

Zhi-peng Wu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jifeng Wu

Postdoctoral Fellow (Joint with Prof. Kuo-Wei Huang)

Research Interests: Porous materials, Supercapacitors, Superconductors

Shouwei Zuo

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: XAFS, Synchrotron radiation experiment technology, Perovskite materials, OER

Yang Li

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis

Chengyang Feng

Postdoctoral Fellow

Bin Chang

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis, Nitrogen fixation, Electrochemical organic synthesis

Ph.D Students

Hao Wang

Visiting student

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis, Capacitive Deionization, Machine Learning

Changle Yue

Visiting student

Research Interests: Catalytic Chemistry, Polyoxometalate Chemistry, Electrocatalysis

Can Wang

Ph.D. Student

Abdulrahman Allangawi

Ph.D. Student

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis, CO2 reduction, DFT

Xiangyun (Tony) Xiao

Ph.D. Student

Research Interests: Hydrogen production, OER

Yuanfu Ren

Ph.D. Student

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis, OER, Single-atom catalysis

M.S. Students

Chengtai Li

M.Sc. Student

Shahad Al Gamdi

M.S. Student

Research Interests: Electrocatalysis, Hydrogen, CO2 reduction

Raghd Hantoush

M.S. Student

Research Interests: CO2 reduction, Electrocatalysis

Afnan Abid

M.S. Students

Jumanah Alharbi

MS student

Research Interests: Photocatalysis, Water splitting

Adil iqbal

Visiting student

 

 

Alumni

Huabin Zhang

Principal Investigator

Principal Investigator

Current

Location:

Bldg 3, Office 4233 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Biography

Published more than 170 SCI-indexed papers, with a total of 23,322 citations and an H-index of 77 (Google Scholar, January 2026). Fourty-two publications are designated as Highly Cited Papers in Web of Science, and 65 papers have received more than 100 citations. Among these, over 80 papers were published as first author or corresponding author in leading journals, including Science Advances, Nature Reviews Chemistry, Joule, Energy & Environmental Science, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Nature Communications, PNAS, ACS Central Science, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, ACS Nano, and Nano Energy. These contributions to the scientific community led to the recognition as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for five consecutive years (2021–2025).

Research Interests

Professor Zhang's research interest focuses on the development of single-atom catalysts with the particular configuration for sustainable energy conversion, including photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and thermal catalysis. His research also extends to the operando investigation for monitoring the structural evolution of the reactive centers, as well as the mutual interaction between the reactive center and reactant in the catalytic process.

Education

  • Associate Professor                                                   Jan 2026 - Current

Physical Science and Engineering Division, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

  • Assistant Professor                                                   Jan 2021 - Dec 2025

Physical Science and Engineering Division, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

  • Research Fellow                                                        Mar 2017 - Jan 2021

School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  • Postdoc                                                                   Jul 2014 - Mar 2017

International Center for Materials Nano architectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan

  • Assistant Professor                                                   Jul 2013 - Jun 2014

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), P. R. China

  • Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry                                        Sep 2008 - Jul 2013

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), P. R. China


Scientific and Professional Membership

  • Associate Editor of Science Advances 
  • Editorial Board of Carbon Energy

KAUST Affiliations

  • KAUST Catalysis Centre (KCC)
  • Division of Physical Science and Engineering (PSE)

Huabin Zhang

Principal Investigator

Principal Investigator

Current

Location:

Bldg 3, Office 4233 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Biography

Published more than 170 SCI-indexed papers, with a total of 23,322 citations and an H-index of 77 (Google Scholar, January 2026). Fourty-two publications are designated as Highly Cited Papers in Web of Science, and 65 papers have received more than 100 citations. Among these, over 80 papers were published as first author or corresponding author in leading journals, including Science Advances, Nature Reviews Chemistry, Joule, Energy & Environmental Science, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Nature Communications, PNAS, ACS Central Science, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, ACS Nano, and Nano Energy. These contributions to the scientific community led to the recognition as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for five consecutive years (2021–2025).

Research Interests

Professor Zhang's research interest focuses on the development of single-atom catalysts with the particular configuration for sustainable energy conversion, including photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and thermal catalysis. His research also extends to the operando investigation for monitoring the structural evolution of the reactive centers, as well as the mutual interaction between the reactive center and reactant in the catalytic process.

Education

  • Associate Professor                                                   Jan 2026 - Current

Physical Science and Engineering Division, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

  • Assistant Professor                                                   Jan 2021 - Dec 2025

Physical Science and Engineering Division, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

  • Research Fellow                                                        Mar 2017 - Jan 2021

School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  • Postdoc                                                                   Jul 2014 - Mar 2017

International Center for Materials Nano architectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan

  • Assistant Professor                                                   Jul 2013 - Jun 2014

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), P. R. China

  • Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry                                        Sep 2008 - Jul 2013

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), P. R. China


Scientific and Professional Membership

  • Associate Editor of Science Advances 
  • Editorial Board of Carbon Energy

KAUST Affiliations

  • KAUST Catalysis Centre (KCC)
  • Division of Physical Science and Engineering (PSE)