Xiong Wen Lou

Research summary

Lou's research focuses on the design, synthesis, and electrochemical application of nanostructured inorganic materials, with emphasis on hollow architectures, mixed metal oxides, and supported electrocatalysts. A gram-scale synthesis of defect-rich MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets introduces additional active edge sites, producing an electrocatalyst with low onset overpotential, small Tafel slope, large cathodic current density, and durable hydrogen-evolution-reaction performance [1]. A widely cited review surveys hollow micro- and nanostructure synthesis, organizing strategies into hard-templating, soft-templating, sacrificial-template, and template-free routes, with discussion of applications spanning catalysis, sensing, drug delivery, and energy storage [2]. A companion review on metal oxide electrode architectures argues that practical performance of lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors depends not only on the choice of active material but on how the architecture is engineered to support ion and electron transport [3]. Mixed transition-metal oxides of the form AxB3-xO4 in spinel structures are reviewed as a family with tunable composition for energy storage and conversion, covering shape, size, and structural control of materials such as cobaltites and ferrites [4]. A two-step electrodeposition-plus-thermal method yields ultrathin mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanosheets on nickel foam with interparticle mesopores 2-5 nm wide, providing fast ion and electron transport for supercapacitor electrodes [5]. An inside-out Ostwald ripening route produces hollow and hollow core-shell SnO2 nanostructures from potassium stannate without templates; these spheres deliver high lithium storage capacity and improved cycling as anode materials [6]. A research-news article summarizes hollow nanostructures of binary oxides (SnO2, TiO2, Fe2O3, Co3O4) and complex oxides as lithium-ion electrodes that combine high capacity with improved rate and cycling [7]. For fuel-cell oxygen reduction, one-dimensional bunched Pt-Ni alloy nanocages with a Pt-skin structure reach a mass activity of 3.52 A mgPt-1 and specific activity of 5.16 mA cmPt-2 (about 17 and 14 times a Pt/C reference) and retain activity after 50,000 cycles, with calculations attributing the gain to fewer strongly bonded Pt-O sites [8]. A metal-organic-framework-assisted strategy uses confined carburization to produce porous molybdenum carbide nano-octahedrons for hydrogen evolution from water [9].

Recent publications

1. Defect‐Rich MoS2 Ultrathin Nanosheets with Additional Active Edge Sites for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution2013 · Advanced Materials · 3029 citationsDOI
2. Hollow Micro‐/Nanostructures: Synthesis and Applications2008 · Advanced Materials · 2966 citationsDOI
3. Recent Advances in Metal Oxide‐based Electrode Architecture Design for Electrochemical Energy Storage2012 · Advanced Materials · 2447 citationsDOI
4. Mixed Transition‐Metal Oxides: Design, Synthesis, and Energy‐Related Applications2014 · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2274 citationsDOI
5. A metal–organic framework-derived bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst2016 · Nature Energy · 2241 citationsDOI
6. Ultrathin Mesoporous NiCo2O4 Nanosheets Supported on Ni Foam as Advanced Electrodes for Supercapacitors2012 · Advanced Functional Materials · 1673 citationsDOI
7. Template‐Free Synthesis of SnO2 Hollow Nanostructures with High Lithium Storage Capacity2006 · Advanced Materials · 1631 citationsDOI
8. Metal Oxide Hollow Nanostructures for Lithium‐ion Batteries2012 · Advanced Materials · 1494 citationsDOI
9. Engineering bunched Pt-Ni alloy nanocages for efficient oxygen reduction in practical fuel cells2019 · Science · 1466 citationsDOI
10. Porous molybdenum carbide nano-octahedrons synthesized via confined carburization in metal-organic frameworks for efficient hydrogen production2015 · Nature Communications · 1417 citationsDOI

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Email Xiong Wen Lou 6-12 months before your application deadline. Read several recent papers and reference specific work in your message. Use our how to email a Japanese professor guide for the proven email structure.

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External profiles

• ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5557-4437
• OpenAlex: openalex.org

Profile compiled from public sources (Researchmap, OpenAlex, Kumamoto University faculty directory). Last refreshed 2026-05. Report incorrect information.