Team

06/2023

06/2023

06/2023

12/2022

08/2022

07/2022

04/2022

04/2022

10/2021

Principal Investigator

Dr. Cao Thang Dinh received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Laval University in 2010 and 2014, respectively. His graduate work focused on designing visible-light-driven nanostructured photocatalysts for water splitting and the decomposition of organic pollutants. After receiving his doctorate, Cao joined Sargent’s group at the University of Toronto as a postdoctoral fellow. Here, he focused on developing catalysts and systems for the conversion of carbon dioxide to fuels and chemicals using renewable energy. Cao began his independent career in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University in July of 2019. He is currently a Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals, a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, and the Editor-in-Chief of the new journal Cambridge Prism: Carbon Technologies published by Cambridge University Press.

Postdocs & Visiting Scholars

Dr. Khac Huy Dinh – Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr Khac Huy Dinh received his PhD from Lille University. His previous work focused on fabricating metal nitride thin films for micro energy storage device. Currently, he joined Dinh’s Lab at Queen’s University as postdoctoral fellow. He works on developing nanostructured catalyst material and conversion system for CO2 conversion.

Dr. Anh Nguyen – Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Anh Nguyen received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Chungnam National University, South Korea. His main research interests are the synthesis of advanced nanomaterials for applications in water electrolysis, fuel cells, conductive film, and Li/Na-ion batteries. He joined Dinh’s Group at Queen’s University as a postdoctoral fellow to work on scaling up electrochemical processes for CO2 conversion to ethylene. This involves synthesizing new catalysts and optimizing electrochemical systems.

Dr. Hyunwook Kim – Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Hyunwook Kim received his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Korea University under the supervision of Prof. Ki Bong Lee. His doctoral research focused on developing catalysts and adsorbents based on porous materials for applications such as NOx storage and reduction, and the adsorptive separation of N₂ and CO. He then joined Dr. Da Hye Won’s group at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) as a postdoctoral researcher, where he worked on electrochemical CO₂ reduction with an emphasis on enhancing ethylene production. During this time, he was awarded a Domestic Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Research Foundation of Korea for his project titled “High-stability carbon dioxide reduction electrocatalyst design for ethylene production.” In September 2025, he joined Dinh’s Lab as a postdoctoral fellow. His current research focuses on designing an integrated electrochemical CO₂ reduction system, with a particular emphasis on high-efficiency ethylene production.

Graduate students

Guorui Gao – PhD student

Guorui Gao completed his undergraduate study in Xingjiang University and Xi’an Jiaotong University. He joined Dr. Dinh’s group after obtaining his Master’s degree from China University of Mining and Technology. His previous work mainly focused on photo-thermal conversion and the synthesis of novel functional materials. His current research focuses on developing new electrochemical systems for CO₂ conversion.

Huy Trong Pham– PhD student

Huy Trong Pham completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Education in Vietnam. His major is Chemistry Teacher Education. His undergraduate research focused on developing organic solvent that allows the separation of natural pigments or organic compounds from natural material. He also did research on the green synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles from natural materials and assess their antibacterial ability. Currently, Huy is a master student at the Department of Chemical Engineering. He is developing technology for the convesion of CO2 and CO to ethylene.

Dao Ho- MSc student

Dao Ho received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi-Vietnam. Her undergraduate research focused on designing homogeneous catalyst based on thiomolybdate for electrochemical proton reduction. She also worked on fabricating nanomaterials based on Nickel and Cobalt for electrochemical water-splitting. Currently, she is a MASc student in Chemical Engineering.

Hung Lai – PhD Student

Hung Lai completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam. His undergraduate research focus on process modelling for chemical processes and developing a hierarchical approach to process design. Hung has some years of experience in Process Engineering as a Chemical Process Engineer. Currently, he is a PhD student at Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University. His study at Queens will focus on establishing the LCA and TEA model for the CO2 capture and conversion system which utilize the energy (heat, electricity) generated from nuclear reactor. He is co-supervised by Dr. Qian Zhang from the Mining Department at Queen’s.

Tai Van Nguyen – PhD Student

Tai Van Nguyen received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, Vietnam. His undergraduate research focused on investigating electrochemical performance of bi-functional NiCo2Se4 nanostructures for targeted applications in energy conversion and storage. Currently, he is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University. He is co-supervised by Dr. Cao Thang Dinh and Dr. Martin Guay.

Thao-Nguyen Ho – PhD Student

Thao-Nguyen Ho received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from VNUHCM – University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her undergraduate research focused on the synthesis of benzothiazole derivatives using N,N-dialkyl-3-nitroaniline. She has also contributed to projects involving photosynthesis reactions and hydrogel production. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, having been promoted from the M.A.Sc. program. Her research interests include catalyst development and electrochemical systems for sustainable chemical production

Viet Dai Vo – PhD Student

Viet Dai Vo completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Da Nang University of Science and Education in Viet Nam. His research for undergraduate and master thesis focused on the synthesis and biological activity evaluation of derivatives of 2-pyrrolidone. Currently, he is a PhD student at Chemical Engineering Department. His work will mainly concentrate to development of electrodes using natural-based nano materials for CO2 reduction reaction to fuels and feedstock.

Phan Pham Duc Minh – MSc Student

Phan Pham Duc Minh is currently a Master’s student at Queen’s University, originally from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Vietnam. He intends to pursue a PhD in the future.

During his undergraduate studies, Duc-Minh became actively involved in research from the early years, working on diverse projects ranging from biomass conversion to carbon aerogels for supercapacitor applications to dye degradation studies. Most notably, he focused on the synthesis and modification of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production.

Currently, Duc-Minh is a member of the Liquid Phase team, where his research focuses on applying CuO-based materials for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) toward ethylene (C2H4) production.

Tuan Anh Bui – MSc Student

Tuan Anh Bui earned his bachelor’s degree in English Program (K) – Chemistry Education from Hanoi National University of Education. His undergraduate research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of advanced polymer materials for UV-shielding acrylic resins and developing student’s competency in Chemistry-English language education. Currently, he is a MASc in Chemical Engineering, with a focus on the gas-phase system for CO2RR towards C2+ products

Joseph Keenan – MSc Student

Joseph Keenan received his Bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering from the University of Ottawa. His previous undergraduate research experience includes investigating catalyst synthesis for the methane cracking reaction and evaluating the slow pyrolysis of biomass through LCA and TEA models. Currently, he is a MASc student in Chemical Engineering. His work will centre around catalyst coating layers in CO2 reduction reactions.

Interns and visiting students

Huijie Chen

Huijie Chen is a third-year Environmental Engineering student at Zhejiang University. She was a member of the Hi-ZJU team that participated in the 2024-iGEM competition, focusing on using engineered yeast to extract rare earth elements from industrial wastewater. She is excited to be involved in CO2 electrocatalysis research as a MITACS Globalink Research Intern in 2025.

Undergraduate students

Aumama Al-Naib

Aumama Al-Naib is an undergraduate student obtaining a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry Major) and Bachelor of Education through the Queen’s Concurrent Education Program. She is in her fourth year, and by way of the Chem497 research project course, she will be exploring how different factors influence ECC catalyst formation, as well as the subsequent effect of that on the catalysts’ performance.