Kaijie Yang

Alumni

Research Scientist

Alumni

Social Profile:

Research Interests

Kaijie has a broad interest in water sustainability, with a particular focus on solar-driven freshwater production technologies, including solar evaporation and solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting. His research spans advanced material development, system-level optimization, and the translation of laboratory innovations into practical applications. Following the completion of his postdoctoral research, he joined Zhejiang University, where he was selected for the National Youth Talent Program (Outstanding Young Talent Overseas) and the “ZJU 100” (Category A) program in 2024. He currently serves as a Research Professor and PhD Supervisor.

Selected Publications

  • Yang, K.; Pan, T.; Dang, S.; Gan, Q. *; Han, Y. * Three-dimensional open architecture enabling salt-rejection solar evaporators with boosted water production efficiency. Nat. Comm., 2022, 13, 6653. 
  • Yang, K.; Pan, T.; Pinnau, I.; Han, Y.* Simultaneous generation of atmospheric water and electricity using a hygroscopic aerogel with fast sorption kinetics. Nano Energy, 2020, 78, 105326
  • Yang, K.; Chen, B.*; Zhu, X.; Xing, B. Aggregation, adsorption, and morphological transformation of graphene oxide in aqueous solutions containing different metal cations. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2016, 50, 11066-11075
  • Yang, K.; Pan, T.; Lei, Q.; Dong, X.; Cheng, Q.; Han, Y.* A roadmap to sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting: from molecular sorption mechanism to sorbent design and system optimization. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2021, 55, 6542–6560
  • Yang, K.; Wang, J.; Chen, B.* Facile fabrication of stable monolayer and few-layer graphene nanosheets as superior sorbents for persistent aromatic pollutant management in water. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 18219-18224
  • Yang, K.; Zhu, X.; Chen, B.* Facile fabrication of freestanding all-carbon activated carbon membranes for high-performance and universal pollutant management. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 20316-20326
  • Yang, K.; Shi, Y.; Wu, M.; Wang, W.; Jin, Y.; Li, R.; Shahzad, M. W.; Nga, K. C.; Wang, P.* Hollow spherical SiO2 micro-container encapsulation of LiCl for high-performance simultaneous heat reallocation and seawater desalination. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 1887-1895

Education

  • Ph.D. Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 2018
  • B.Sc. Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China, 2013

Professional Profile

  • 2018 - 2022: Postdoctoral fellow, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 2022 - 2025: Research scientist, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 2025 - present: Doctoral supervisor, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Awards

  • National Scholarship for Master Degree Candidate, 2015
  • Award of Honor for Graduate, 2015
  • Graduate of Merit/Triple A Graduate, 2015
  • Nomination Award of Student Top Ten  Academic Achievements of Zhejiang University, 2016
  • National Scholarship for Doctoral Candidate, 2017
  • Award of Honor for Graduate, 2017
  • Scholarship for Outstanding Doctoral Candidate, 2017
  • ACS Best Student Oral Presentation Prize at 9th NCEC, 2017
  • Excellent Postgraduate Student’s Prize of Zhejiang University, 2018

KAUST Affiliations

Research Interests Keywords

Solar evaporation Atmospheric water harvesting Adsorption