Qian is an electron microscopy expert with a special interest in understanding catalytic nanomaterials. He obtained his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University, USA, in 2013. From 2013-2016, he did a postdoctoral research in the STEM group, Oak Ridge National Lab. He then joined Cardiff Catalysis Institute, Cardiff University as a staff scientist, between 2016-2019. In July 2019, he joined the Dept of MSE in NUS as an Assistant Professor and an NRF fellow. Qian’s research focus on developing and applying electron microscopy methods for nanomaterial characterisation.
Research area
Dr Qian He’s explores the interdisciplinary research area covering i) developing and applying electron microscopy techniques for nanomaterial characterisation and ii) developing novel heterogeneous catalytic nanomaterials for energy and environment related applications.
Selected publications:
- Lu, S.; Tang, Y.; Yao, B.; Ding, Y.; Yang, H.; Xi, S.; Lim, K. H.; Xu, C.; Du, Y.; Fu, X.; Tan, S.; Zhao, B.; Yuan, W.; Wade, C. A.; Yang, D.; Ma, L.; Dai, S.; Kawi, S.; Yan, N.; Lu, J.; Chen, W.; Luo, G.; He, Q. Subnanometre PtSn Alloyed Clusters Encapsulated in Silicalite-1 Sustain High Productivity in Propane Dehydrogenation. Nat. Catal. 2026, 9 (5), 552–564.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-026-01538-3 - Wu, Y.; Yao, B.; Song, W.; Luo, L.; Li, J.; Deng, Y.; Huang, J.; Gao, Y.; Lu, J.; Liu, Z.; He, Q. Lifting the Fog: Graphene Gas Cell for in Situ (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy with Robust Single-Atom Sensitivity. ACS Nano 2025, 19 (48), 41261–41271.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c15223 - Du, Y.; Yao, B.; Xu, L.; Lu, S.; Xu, C.; Han, P.; Dai, S.; Wang, S.; Xi, S.; Neo, B. S.; Yan, N.; He, Q. Single-Atom Catalysts Enabled Catalytic Ammonia Combustion at 1,100°C. Joule 2025, 9 (8), 102030.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102030 - Yuan, W.; Yao, B.; Tan, S.; You, F.; He, Q. Generative Learning of Morphological and Contrast Heterogeneities for Self-Supervised Electron Micrograph Segmentation. Npj Comput. Mater. 2025, 11 (1), 322.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-025-01800-5 - Liu, S.; Li, Y.; Wang, D.; Xi, S.; Xu, H.; Wang, Y.; Li, X.; Zang, W.; Liu, W.; Su, M.; Yan, K.; Nielander, A. C.; Wong, A. B.; Lu, J.; Jaramillo, T. F.; Wang, L.; Canepa, P.; He, Q. Alkali Cation-Induced Cathodic Corrosion in Cu Electrocatalysts. Nat. Commun. 2024, 15 (1), 5080.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49492-7