Dr Harvey Yi Huang

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Dr Harvey Yi Huang

Dr Harvey Yi Huang is a Reader of Materials Chemistry and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh (UoE). He received a PhD degree (Chemical Engineering) at Monash University, Australia and a joint undergraduate honours degree (Chemical Engineering and Economics) at Harbin Engineering University. As a part of his PhD program, Dr Huang worked at Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) as a postgraduate scientist. He then studied abroad at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, US. Before joining the University of Edinburgh, he was a senior postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, US with Profs Krista Walton and David Sholl.

Currently, he leads a research team at UoE, focusing on advanced functional porous and novel 2D materials, membranes, and their novel nanofabrication methods and nanotechnologies to address challenges in many industrial processes, e.g. mixture separation, gas adsorption & storage (e.g., CH4, H2, CO2), catalysis, antibacterial & self-cleaning interfaces (e.g., anti-icing/anti-corrosion coatings), anti-cancer drug delivery, and clean water supply. His research has been strengthened by substantial industrial interactions. Since 2022, he has attracted more than £2.4 million of funds to support his research and commercialization of graphene-based materials. 

Dr Huang has several senior editorial duties. For example, he is the Elsevier Editor of Separation and Purification Technology (IF 8.2) and Results in Engineering (IF 6.0). He also serves as an Editorial Board Member/a Guest Editor of Green Chemical Engineering (IF 9.1), Sustainability (IF 3.3), Advanced Membranes (CiteScore 12.4), and Cambridge Prisms: Carbon Technologies (by Cambridge University Press). 

Dr Huang was awarded for '2022 RINENG Distinguished Young Investigator', '2022 ISPT-BMS Young Membrane Scientist', and '2023 Separation and Purification Technology (SPT) Distinguished Young Scholar'.

  • PhD in Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Australia (2011, with Prof Huanting Wang)
    • Research scientist, CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia (with Dr Anita J Hill)
    • Exchange Study, Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, United States (2010-2011, with Prof Michael Tsapatsis)
  • Joint Honours Degree: B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering and Dip. Eco. in International Economics and Trade, Harbin Engineering University (2006)

  • Chemical Engineering Laboratory 3 (CHEE09016) - Course Instructor
  • Chemical Engineering Design: Projects 4 (CHEE10002) - Project Supervision
  • Chemical Reaction Engineering 4/MSc (CHEE10008/PGEE10025) - Course Organiser
  • Chemical Engineering Study Project 4 (CHEE10009) - Project Supervision
  • Chemical Engineering Industrial Project 5 (CHEE11014) - Project Supervision
  • Chemical Engineering Research Project 5 (CHEE11017) - Project Supervision
  • Advanced Chemical Engineering Dissertation (MSc) (PGEE11151) - Project Supervision
  • Reactor & Heater Exchanger Design - Lead Instructor 

 

  • Ultrathin Membranes Composed of 2D Materials for Energy-efficient Separation

All across the world, people are facing a wealth of new and challenging problems, particularly the energy and environmental issues. For example, billions of tons of annual CO2 emissions are the direct result of fossil fuel combustion to generate electricity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. emitted 6.1 billion metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere in 2007. Producing clean energy from abundant sources, such as coal, will require a massive infrastructure and highly efficient capture technologies to curb CO2 emissions. In addition to its environmental impact, CO2 also reduces the heating value of the CH4 gas streams in power plants and causes corrosion in pipes and equipment. To minimize the impact of CO2 on the environment, the design of high-performance separation materials and technologies for efficient carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is urgent and essential. Our research in this area is creating novel nanostructured (membrane) materials with enhanced transport properties by ordering their nano-architectures via different methods and meanwhile exploring their novel and energy-sustainable scale up.

  • Bioinspired Materials for Water Treatment and Desalination

Oil pollution is another serious global issue because of the large amounts of oily wastewater produced by petrochemical and other industries, as well as by frequent off-shore oil-spill accidents. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) issues guidance addressed at all companies involved in offshore exploration and production where oil may be released into the sea or other water systems. The regulatory limit for the concentration of oil in produced water discharged into the sea is set at a 30 mg/l performance standard (this figure applies as averaged over a monthly period). At any one time, the concentration must not exceed 100 mg/l. Therefore, it is in great need to develop effective techniques to treat oil-polluted wastewater at such low oil/grease concentrations in order to satisfy the stringent governmental limitations and preserve the environment. Membrane techniques have been widely employed for water purification and are very effective in separating stabilized oil emulsions-especially for removing oil droplets. However, current membranes suffer from membrane fouling both on surfaces and in internal structures, which significantly limits their service time and degrades separation performance in practical operations. My research in this field attempts to adopt the concept of biomimetic hierarchical roughness in membrane design for creating superoleophobic membrane surfaces from a vast pool of candidate materials, such as zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and single-layered graphene oxide. My research also focuses on the development of facile, low-cost preparation technique which would open a completely new direction for the membrane society. Further investigation on scaling-up production/commercialization will be pursued.

  • Hierarchical Nanofabrication of Microporous Materials with Enhanced Hydrothermal Stability for Catalytic Reactions, Adsorption-based Separations and Gas Storage

Enhanced demand for fuels worldwide not only decreased world oil reserves but also increased climate concerns about the use of fossil-based fuel. To address these energy and environmental problems, efforts have been made towards improved utilization of fossil fuel and development of renewable energy production. With the abundant availability and carbon-neutral nature, biomass is recognized as one of the most promising renewable energy resources. A number of transportation fuels can be produced from biomass, helping to alleviate demand for petroleum products and improve the greenhouse gas emissions profile of the transportation sector. Traditional catalysts suffer from many undesirable properties, such as small accessible pore size, low hydrothermal stability, and less controllable active sites. Among these, low hydrothermal stability at upgrading temperatures greatly hinders conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuel. One of my research topics is focused on synthesizing a new class of ultra-stable catalysts with tunable nanostructure and functionalities for efficient bio oil upgrading, with special emphasis on the study of their hydrothermal stability.

  • Preparation of New Inorganic Porous Materials with Attractive Versatility, Stability, and Biocompatibility to Serve as Controlled Delivery Systems (CDSs) for Small Drug Molecules and Other Biological Agents

The practice of drug delivery has changed dramatically in the last few decades and even greater changes are anticipated in the near future. It is because CDSs are one of the promising applications for human healthcare. In pharmaceutical market, the CDS is growing fast with approximate 10% annual increase. However, an important challenge in this area is the efficient delivery of drugs in the body using non-toxic nanocarriers. Most of the existing carrier materials show poor drug loading (usually less than 5 wt% of the transported drug versus the carrier material) and/or rapid release of the proportion of the drug that is simply adsorbed (or anchored) at the external surface of the nanocarrier. Many matrices have been tested so far, such as organic polymers, organic-inorganic hybridmaterials, bioactive glasses and ceramics. Among these, organic-inorganic hybrid material is promising for getting drugs to their targets in a controlled manner as it carries merits from both materials.

Our previous study in designing a composite microsphere formulation, composed of mesoporous silica spheres (MPS) and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), enables the controlled delivery of a prime-boost vaccine via the encapsulation of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and protein in different compartments. Based on this, DDSs that have a well controllable pore size and nanostructure can help understand and control their adsorption properties for drug molecules and the efficiency of cellular uptake. Zeolites having a pore size from 0.5 nm to 2 nm and more than 100 different pore structures is a promising candidate. We aim to produce uniform zeolite nanocrystals and nanostructures for the adsorption of drug molecules with sizes below and above 2 nm, respectively. An experimental approach is employed to fundamentally study the interaction of drug molecules with microporous zeolite matrices, and realise a controllable releasing of drug molecules to target sites. In addition to zeolites, MOFs are also used for CDSs. Their nontoxic nature, abundant structures, and potential for nanoparticle synthesis, coupled with unusually large loadings of different drugs, make them ideal candidates for a new valuable solution in the field of CDSs. 

  • 2-Dimensional and porous materials (graphenes, MXenes, zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs))
  • Ultrathin membranes, smart surfaces and multifunctional interfaces
  • Adsorption, storage and membrane separation
  • Drinking water purification, wastewater treatment, desalination, antibacterial and anti-cancer applications

Other interests: hydrothermally stable materials for catalytic bio-oil upgrading; novel controlled delivery systems for small drug delivery

Current Opportunities:

Your application should include the latest CV with a publication list, a research statement, and the contact information (including name, affiliation, phone number and email address) of at least two references. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled.

*Ph.D. Vacancy - Open!! applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.

Undergraduate Students

Don't hesitate to get in touch with Dr. Huang if you are interested in adsorption, membrane separation, materials synthesis, and catalytic science.

Graduate Students:

Always looking for outstanding prospective students who are interested in Ph.D. studies in Chem. Eng. The following scholarships can be applied to support your study. (School of Engineering also provides Ph.D. scholarships for exceptional applicants)

Principal's Career Development Ph.D. Scholarships

Carnegie/Caledonian PhD Scholarships

Research Scholarships for international students - Edinburgh Global Research Scholarship

China Scholarships Council/University of Edinburgh Scholarships (Citizens and permanent residents of the People's Republic of China)

More funding information can be found here!

Postdoctoral researchers

Outstanding applicants can consider the following fellowships, e.g., RAE, MC (Individual Fellowships), Newton International Fellowships, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships, China Scholarship Council Scholarship Postdoctoral Fellowship, Marie-Curie Postdoc Fellowship, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship, NERC Independent Research Fellowship, EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1851 Research Fellowship.

Note: additional postdoctoral opportunities may be available in the "Current Opportunities" section if research funding opportunities arise!

Visiting researchers

Visiting students/scholars/professors are welcome. You need to source your own funding for the visit, including a bench fee (£955, 2024-2025) and living costs.

Other enquiries?

Welcome, just send an email to Yi.Huang@ed.ac.uk