Dr. Lei Xie is a distinguished professor in the School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University. He obtained the BSc degree in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2008 and the MSc degree in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of California Riverside (UCR) in 2010 (MSc supervisor: Dr. Yushan Yan, NAE fellow, expert in separation membrane and electrochemical catalysis). After working in KAUST for two years, he went to the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta (UA), studying as a PhD student and working as a postdoc, NSERC postdoc, etc. under the supervision of Dr. Hongbo Zeng (CAE fellow, RSC fellow, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in intermolecular forces and interfacial science). In Dec. 2020, Dr. Xie joined in the Central South University.

Dr. Xie's research interest mainly includes the colloid and interface science, intermolecular and surface forces, resources processing, water treatment, adhesion and lubrication, and superwettable surfaces. Based on the advanced nanomechanical techniques such as atomic force microscope (AFM) nano/colloidal/bubble/drop probes and surface forces apparatus (SFA), he has conducted a series of research projects in the interaction forces and underlying mechanisms at the gas/water/solid/oil interfaces at the nanoscale in a variety of natural and engineering systems. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in SCI journals, e.g., Angew. Chem., ES&T, Water Research, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Chem. Eng. J., J. Colloid Interface Sci., Langmuir, and also served as the associate editor of Frontiers in Chemistry and Frontiers in Physics as well as the editorial board member of Minerals and Mineral Materials.

Google scholar: 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=rSurKtEAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate 

Researchgate: 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lei-Xie-24 

The research group recruits graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with the background of chemical engineering, resources and environment, materials engineering and other related fields.

The recent and planned research directions include:

* Surface interaction mechanisms in minerals and petroleum processing

* Removal of heavy metal ions and organic pollutants (e.g., NOM, microplastics)

* Superwettable materials for anti-fouling, anti-corrosion, anti-icing, drag reduction, etc.

* Biodegradable alloys for biomedical applications