Research Interests

I am a chemical engineer who is interested in surface and interface science. I have participated in multidisciplinary research in layer-by-layer assembly for thin films fabrication, microfluidics and separation of cancer cells. I have extensive expertise in fabrication of polymer thin film by layer-by-layer assembly, developing UV crosslinkable polymer by chemical grafting, making microfluidic devices by using SU8 lithography, and preparing porous ceramic hollow fibers via phase-inversion and sintering method. I have hands on experience on many thin film study instruments such as SEM, AFM, TGA, profilometer, FT-IR, UV-vis, microscopy, and QCM-D.  

My current postdoc work focuses on the development of cost-effective and environment-friendly biomaterials for recovery of rare earth elements (REEs). Based on rare earth binding proteins and peptides, I develop a fixed-bed adsorption process for REE recovery from electronic wastes and coal-byproducts. 

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, 2019

M.S., Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 2014

B.Eng., Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 2011

1. Z. Dong, N. Zhang, Y. Wang, J. Wu, Q. Gan, W. Li, Photo-Patternable Nanolayered Polymeric Films with Fast Tunable Color Responses Triggered by Humidity, Advanced Functional Materials 2019, 1904453.
2. Z. Dong, H. Zhu, Y. Hang, G. Liu, W. Jin, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Composite Membrane Fabricated on the Inner Surface of a Ceramic Hollow Fiber: From Single-Channel to Multi-Channel. Engineering 2019 doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2019.10.012.
3. Z. Dong, D. Yu, Q. Liu, Z. Ding, V. J. Lyons, R. K. Bright, D. Pappas, X. Liu, W. Li, Enhanced Capture and Release of Circulating Tumor Cells Using Hollow Glass Microspheres with Nanostructured Surface. Nanoscale 2018, 10, 16795-16804.
4. Z. Dong, C. Ahrens, D. Yu, Z. Ding, H. Lim, W. Li, Cell Isolation and Recovery Using Hollow Glass Microspheres Coated with Nanolayered Films for Applications in Resource-Limited Settings, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2017, 15265-15273.
5. Z. Dong, L. Tang, C. Ahrens, Z. Ding, V. Cao, S. Castleberry, J. Yan, W. Li, A Benchtop Capillary Flow Layer-by-layer (CF-LbL) Platform for Rapid Assembly and Screening of Biodegradable Nanolayered Films. Lab on a Chip 2016, (23), 4601-4611.
6. Y. Zhou, Z. Dong, H. Andarge, W. Li, D. Pappas, Nanoparticle Modification of Microfluidic Cell Separation for Cancer Cell Detection and Isolation. Analyst 2019, DOI: 10.1039/C9AN01719D.
7. D. Yu, Z. Dong, H. Lim, Y. Chen, Z. Ding, N. Sultana, J. Wu, B. Qin, J. Cheng, W. Li, 2019. Microfluidic preparation, shrinkage, and surface modification of monodispersed alginate microbeads for 3D cell culture. RSC Advances 2019, 9(20), pp.11101-11110.
8. Y. Dan, L. Tang, Z. Dong, K. A. Loftis, Z. Ding, J. Cheng, B. Qin, J. Yan, W. Li. Effective reduction of non-specific binding of blood cells in a microfluidic chip for isolation of rare cancercells. Biomaterials Science 2018, 11, 2871-2880.
9. Q. Liu, Z. Dong, Z. Ding, Z. Hu, D. Yu, Y. Hu, N. Abidi, W. Li, Electroresponsive Homogeneous Polyelectrolyte Complex Hydrogels from Naturally Derived Polysaccharides, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2018, 6, 7052-7063.
10. C. Ahrens, Z. Dong, W. Li, Engineering Cell Aggregates through Incorporated Polymeric Microparticles, Acta Biomaterialia 2017, 62, 64-81.
11. Z. Hu, C. Uzun, Z. Dong, W. Li, A. Bernussi, G. Kumar, Elastocapillary Bundling of High Aspect-ratio Metallic Glass Nanowires, Applied Physics Letters 2017, 11, 023107.
12. N. Zhang, Z. Dong, D. Ji, H. Song, X. Zeng, Z. Liu, S. Jiang, Y. Xu, A. Bernussi, W. Li, Qiaoqiang Gan, Reversibly Tunable Coupled and Decoupled Super Absorbing Structures. Applied Physics Letters 2016; 108(101), 91105.
13. Z. Dong, G. Liu, S. Liu, Z. Liu, W. Jin, High Performance Ceramic Hollow Fiber-supported PDMS Composite Pervaporation Membrane for Bio-butanol Recovery, Journal of Membrane Science 2014, 450, 38-47.
14. D. Liu, G. Liu, L. Meng, Z. Dong, K. Huang, W. Jin, Hollow Fiber Modules with Ceramic-supported PDMS Composite Membranes for Pervaporation Recovery of Bio-butanol, Separation and Purification Technology 2015, 146, 24-32.
15. K. Huang, G. Liu,Y. Lou, Z. Dong, J. Shen,W. Jin, A Graphene oxide Membrane with Highly Selective Molecular Separation of Aqueous Organic Solution, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2014, 53, 6929-6932.
16. J. Zhu, Z. Dong, Z. Liu, K. Zhang, G. Zhang, W. Jin, Multichannel Mixed-Conducting Hollow Fiber Membranes for Oxygen Separation, AICHE J. 2014, 60, 1969-1976.
17. K. Huang, Z. Dong, Q. Li, W. Jin, GrowthofZIF-8MembraneontheInner-surfaceofCeramic Hollow Fiber via Cycling Precursors, Chemical Communications 2014, 49, 10326-10328.
18. L. Meng, H. Guo, Z. Dong, H. Jiang, W. Xing, W. Jin, Ceramic Hollow Fiber Membrane Distributor for Heterogeneous Catalysis: Effects of Membrane Structure and Operating Conditions, Chemical Engineering Journal 2013, 223, 356-363.