Personal Profile

Zhenkun He, male, born in January 1995 in Hunan Province China. He is a Lecturer at the School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University. He completed his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees at Northeastern University. He is recognized as a Top-notch Talent of Shenyang. He has presided over 4 provincial and ministerial projects as well as enterprise technology development projects, and was selected into the National Funded Postdoctoral Researcher Program. His research interests include Molten Salt electrolysis, Molten Salt corrosion, Photocatalytic Metallurgy. He teaches courses including Fundamentals of Electrochemical Energy Storage, Energy and Environmental Technology, Smart Materials and Devices. He has published more than 20 SCI papers, among which 14 are first-author or corresponding-author papers in journals such as ACS Sensors, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Applied Surface Science and Journal of Alloys and Compounds, etc. He serves as a Youth Editorial Board Member of Green Chemical Technology, and is a member of The Nonferrous Metals Society of China, Chinese Physical Society and Chinese Chemical Society.

Education

• Sep. 2012 – Jul. 2016, School of Materials and Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Metallurgical Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering

• Sep. 2016 – Jan. 2019, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Non-ferrous Metallurgy, Master of Engineering

• Mar. 2019 – Apr. 2024, School of Sciences, Northeastern University, Condensed Matter Physics, Doctor of Science

Work Experience

• Apr. 2024 – Present, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Lecturer

• May 2024 – Apr. 2026, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests

Molten Salt Electrolysis; Photoreductive Metallurgy.

Talent Training

Supervised 4 undergraduate students, assisted in supervising 4 master students, guided more than 10 students in national college innovation training programs. Class tutor for Metallurgy Bechalor Class 2508.

Student Recruitment

Recruit 1–2 master students and 1–2 undergraduate graduation project students each year. 

Honors & Awards

• Top-notch Talent of Shenyang

• Class C Funding, National Funded Postdoctoral Researcher Program

• Second Prize, University Teaching Innovation Competition & Young Teacher Basic Teaching Skills Competition

Research Projects

1. Mie resonance enhanced photoreduction performance of TiO₂ nanotubes and resource recovery of heavy metal wastewater, Department of Science and Technology of Liaoning Province

2. Carrier regulation of TiO₂-CeO₂ heterojunction and metallic copper preparation via photoreductive metallurgy, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

3. Carrier concentration regulation of semiconductor heterojunctions and photoreductive metallurgy, Double First-Class Special Fund of Liaoning Province

4. Room-temperature analysis and testing service for Mg-Zn alloy coatings, Enterprise Project

First / Corresponding Author Papers & Patents

1. Boosted Photoreduction Copper Recovery Ability via Trace Sr Incorporation in TiO₂ Nanorods, Physica Scripta, 2026, 101, 155911. (IF=2.6, Q2)

2. Electrical Conductivity Behavior and Predictive Modeling of LiF-and NaCl-Modified Cryolite-Based Molten Salts, Engineering Research Express, 2026. (IF=1.6, Q2)

3. Electrochemical corrosion and aluminum electrolysis performance of pre-oxidized Fe-Ni alloys in NaF-AlF₃-NaCl-CaF₂-Al₂O₃ molten salt, Physica Scripta, 2026, 101, 075909. (IF=2.6, Q2)

4. Unveiling the Structure, Carrier Separation and Photocatalytic behavior in TiO₂ Nanomaterials for Efficient Metal Ions Photo-recovery, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2025, 1047, 185068. (IF=6.3, Q1)

5. Topotactic Transformation-Enabled TiO₂ Nanotubes for Efficient Photocatalytic Recovery of Copper from Wastewater, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2025, 13(5): 118870. (IF=7.2, Q1)

6. Mechanochemical treatment and valorization of hazardous fluorine from aluminum electrolyte in spent carbon anodes, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2025, 13(5): 117988. (IF=7.2, Q1)

7. Photocatalytic conversion of copper (II) ions to metallic copper (0) on TiO₂ nanoparticles. Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 2025, 24: 511-518. (IF=3.2, Q2)

8. Customizing Wettability of Defect-Rich CeO₂/TiO₂ Nanotube Arrays for Humidity-Resistant, Ultrafast, and Sensitive Ammonia Response[J]. ACS Sensors, 2024, 9(2): 1014-1022. (IF=9.1, Q1)

9. Engineering carrier density at TiO₂ nanotube metasurface with hole reservoir for Enhanced Photo-electrocatalysis[J]. Applied Surface Science, 2023, 613: 155974. (IF=6.9, Q1)

10. Rational Integration of SnMOF/SnO₂ Hybrid on TiO₂ Nanotube Arrays: An Effective Strategy for Accelerating Formaldehyde Sensing Performance at Room Temperature [J]. ACS Sensors, 2023, 8(11): 4189-4197. (IF=9.1, Q1)

11. Surface-charge regulated TiO₂ nanotube arrays as scaffold for constructing binder-free high-performance supercapacitor[J]. Applied Surface Science, 2021, 567: 150832. (IF=6.9, Q1)

12. Rapid preparation and characterization of oxygen-deficient SnO₂ nanobelts with enhanced Li diffusion kinetics[J]. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 2020, 871: 114276. (IF=4.1, Q1)

13. Reactive molten salt synthesis of natural graphite flakes decorated with SnO₂ nanorods as high performance, low cost anode material for lithium ion batteries[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2019, 792: 1213-1222. (IF=6.3, Q1)

14. Molten salt synthesis of oxygen-deficient SnO₂ crystals with enhanced electrical conductivity[J]. Applied Surface Science, 2019, 465: 397-404. (IF=6.9, Q1)

Patents

1. Qin Shu, Zhongning Shi, Zhenkun He. A method for preparing TiB₂ cathode coating by oxide electrodeposition. CN119932667A, 06 May 2025.

2. Zhongning Shi, Xue Yang, Aimin Liu, Zhenkun He, Xianwei Hu, Zhaowen Wang, Fengguo Liu. A method for preparing aluminum-manganese alloy by electrodeposition using room-temperature electrolyte, CN122013259A, 12 May 2026.

Academic Services

Member of The Nonferrous Metals Society of China, Chinese Physical Society and Chinese Chemical Society. Reviewer for Materials Research Express, Nanotechnology, Physica Scripta and other journals.

Research Group

Institute of Light Metal Metallurgy (http://team.neu.edu.cn/lmm), School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University. It originated from the Electrolysis Group of the Light Metal Teaching and Research Section of Northeastern Engineering College, founded by Academician Zhuxian Qiu, the Father of China’s Aluminum Industry. For decades, the institute has carried out theoretical and technical research on light metal smelting, molten salt chemistry and technology. It hosts the Technical Committee on Molten Salt Chemistry and Technology of The Nonferrous Metals Society of China, and is one of the world’s four major basic research centers for light metals (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, University of Auckland and Northeastern University).

The institute has 13 full-time faculty members, including 6 professors, 4 associate professors, 2 lecturers. Among them, 1 recipient of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund of NSFC, 1 recipient of the New Century Excellent Talents Program of the Ministry of Education, 3 selected for Liaoning BaiQianWan Talents Program, and 1 foreign associate professor under the Double Hundred Talent Program of Northeastern University.

Personal Academic Links

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5988-3026

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhen-Kun-He

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=naNVUmEAAAAJ&hl=en