曹直研究员于2014年在美国普渡大学(Purdue University)取得理学博士学位。2014年-2018年在美国加州大学伯克利分校(University of California, Berkeley)以及劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)从事博士后研究，合作导师为Christopher Chang教授（美国国家艺术科学院院士，霍华德休斯研究所研究员）和Peidong Yang教授（美国国家艺术科学院院士，美国国家科学院院士）等国际知名学者。现为中国科学院山西煤炭化学研究所研究员/博士生导师，煤转化国家重点实验室研究员，中科合成油技术有限公司国际表面科学中心高级研究员。

曹直研究员长期从事碳基能源体系高效清洁转化利用的基础研究工作。针对催化剂开发的关键科学问题，发展了以催化材料理论设计—可控合成—原位动态超快表征为基础，进而建立催化剂构效关系的研究方法，为碳基能源高效清洁转化提供了新的思路与技术支持。相关研究成果在Science, Accounts of Chemical Research, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition等国际期刊发表论文50余篇、专著2个章节。目前担任30余个重要国际期刊独立审稿人。

1 Xuan Liu, Bo Li, Guanqun Han, Xingwu Liu, Zhi Cao*, De-en Jiang*, Yujie Sun*. Electrocatalytic synthesis of heterocycles from biomass-derived furfuryl alcohols. Nature Communications, 2021, 1868.

2 Peter T. Smith, Eva M. Nichols, Zhi Cao*, Christopher J. Chang*. Hybrid Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis: Merging Approaches from Molecular, Materials, and Biological Catalysis. Accounts of Chemical Research, 2020, 53(3): 575–587.

3 Xiaojun Zeng, Wenhao Yan, Matthew Paeth, Samson B Zacate, Pei-Hsun Hong, Yufei Wang, Dongqi Yang, Kundi Yang, Tao Yan, Chang Song, Zhi Cao*, Mu-Jeng Cheng, Wei Liu*. Copper-Catalyzed, Chloroamide-Directed Benzylic C–H Difluoromethylation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2019, 141(50): 19941-19949.

4 Xiaojun Zeng, Wenhao Yan, Samson B. Zacate, Tzu-Hsuan Chao, Xiaodong Sun, Zhi Cao*, Kate G. E. Bradford, Matthew Paeth, Sam B. Tyndall, Kundi Yang, Tung-Chun Kuo, Mu-Jeng Cheng, Wei Liu*. Copper-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Difluoromethylation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2019, 141(29): 11398-11403.

5 Matthew Paeth, Sam B. Tyndall, Liang-Yu Chen, Jia-Cheng Hong, William P. Carson, Xingwu Liu, Xiaodong Sun, Jinjia Liu, Kundi Yang, Elizabeth M. Hale, David L. Tierney, Bin Liu, Zhi Cao*, Mu-Jeng Cheng, William A. Goddard III*, Wei Liu*. Csp3–Csp3 Bond-Forming Reductive Elimination from Well-Defined Copper(III) Complexes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2019, 141(7): 3153-3159.

6 Yang Yang, Xiaodong Sun, Guanqun Han, Xi Liu, Xiangyu Zhang, Yongfang Sun, Min Zhang, Zhi Cao*, Yujie Sun*. Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Oxidation on Ni/NiO/C Derived from a Nickel‐Based Metal–Organic Framework. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2019, 58(31): 10644-10649.

7 Kunlun Ding*, David A. Cullen, Laibao Zhang, Zhi Cao, Amitava D. Roy, Ilia N. Ivanov, Dongmei Cao. A general synthesis approach for supported bimetallic nanoparticles via surface inorganometallic chemistry. Science, 2018, 362, 560-564.

8 Zhi Cao, Samson B. Zacate, Xiaodong Sun, Jinjia Liu, Elizabeth M. Hale, William P. Carson, Sam B. Tyndall, Jun Xu, Xingwu Liu, Xingchen Liu, Chang Song, Jheng‐hua Luo, Mu‐Jeng Cheng, Xiaodong Wen*, Wei Liu*. Tuning Gold Nanoparticles with Chelating Ligands for Highly Efficient Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2018, 57(39): 12675-12679.

9 Zhi Cao, Jeffrey S. Derrick, Jun Xu, Rui Gao, Ming Gong, Eva M. Nichols, Peter T. Smith, Xingwu Liu, Xiaodong Wen*, Christophe Copéret, Christopher J. Chang*. Chelating N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands Enable Tuning of Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Formate and Carbon Monoxide: Surface Organometallic Chemistry. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2018, 57(18): 4981-4985.

10 Zhi Cao, Dohyung Kim, Dachao Hong, Yi Yu, Jun Xu, Song Lin, Xiaodong Wen, Eva M. Nichols, Keunhong Jeong, Jeffrey A. Reimer, Peidong Yang*, Christopher J. Chang*. A Molecular Surface Functionalization Approach to Tuning Nanoparticle Electrocatalysts for Carbon Dioxide Reduction. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2016, 138(26): 8120-8125.

11 Zhi Cao, Bin Xi, Diane S. Jodoin, Lei Zhang, Steven P. Cummings, Yang Gao, Sarah F. Tyler, Phillip E. Fanwick, Robert J. Crutchley*, Tong Ren*. Diruthenium–Polyyn-diyl–Diruthenium Wires: Electronic Coupling in the Long Distance Regime. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2014, 136(34): 12174-12183.