Shanxi Normal University’s Chen Wenwen team makes significant progress in efficient green synthesis – achieving high-selectivity synthesis of azoxyarenes by modulating CeO₂ oxygen vacancies and confinement effects

Recently, the research team led by Associate Professor Chen Wenwen from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Shanxi Normal University has made a breakthrough in the field of selective catalytic reduction of nitroarenes. The related research findings, titled "Synergistic Modulation of Oxygen Vacancies and Confinement Effects in CeO₂ for High-Selectivity Synthesis of Azoxyarenes," have been published in Nano Research. By synergistically modulating the oxygen vacancies and confined microenvironments of cerium dioxide (CeO₂) nanospheres, this study successfully achieved the highly selective conversion of nitrobenzene to azoxybenzene, providing a new strategy for the green and efficient synthesis of high-value-added azoxyarenes.

Profile of Associate Professor Chen Wenwen

Chen Wenwen is an Associate Professor and Master’s Thesis Supervisor in the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Shanxi Normal University. She earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua University in 2015. In 2023, she was a visiting scholar in the research group of Academician Li Yadong at Tsinghua University’s Department of Chemistry. Her research focuses on the application of nanomaterials and single-atom catalysts in organic photochemical synthesis. She has published more than 20 papers in leading international and domestic journals, including International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Molecular Catalysis, Organic Letters, The Journal of Organic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry Frontiers, Nano Research.

DOI Link:

https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2026.94908483

About Nano Research

Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 8,000 articles. In 2025 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2025 IF is 9.4 (8.3, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.