Dr Peng Zhang PhD

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Research Fellow

Contact details

Telephone: 07398598427
Email: p.zhang.1@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @JackyZh03052070

Address: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Zhang is considered a leading researcher with a broad vision and innovative ideas in developing solutions for sustainable nanotechnology and nano-enabled agriculture. He pioneered the use of synchrotron-radiation based techniques to study the transformation of nanomaterials in plants. He specifically established an isotope labeling approach for tracing the fate of nanoscale CeO2 in plants and the environment, which enhanced the detection sensitivity by several thousand-fold. In addition to advancing an understanding of the environment and health implications of nanotechnology, including neurological effects of nanoparticles, he has provided a unique roadmap that combines nanotechnology and artificial intelligence to enable and advance sustainable agriculture.

Dr Zhang was awarded the 2022 American Chemical Society James J Morgan Early Career Award.

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Biography

Dr. Zhang joined the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Birmingham as a Marie Curie Fellow in 2018. He completed a Ph.D. followed by a 2-year assistant professorship at the Chinese Academy of Science at the Institute of High Energy Physics. He also completed a research fellowship at McGill University, Canada. His research interests span nanosafety, environmental toxicology of emerging contaminants, nanomaterials application in agriculture, and environmental remediation.

Research

Research Interests

Dr Zhang is an environmental scientist having broad research interests in environmental toxicology and chemistry of traditional (e.g., heavy metals) and emerging (e.g., engineered nanomaterials, nano-/micro- plastic) environmental contaminants, and using nanotechnology to solve environmental and agricultural issues. In particular, he has extensive expertise on labeling and tracing of contaminants using isotope (radioactive or stable isotope) labeling approach, and chemical speciation analysis using synchrotron radiation based analytical tools.

He has expanded his work to develop engineered nanomaterials for environmental and agricultural application, for example, developing antifouling materials; developing nanofertilizer and nanopesticides for improving use efficiency of agrochemicals for sustainable and reduced pollution agriculture. A key aspect of his research is to understand the chemical/biological reactions at biointerface, which is essential to understand the behavior and fate contaminants/materials in environment, and the interaction of contaminants/materials with biological organisms.

Dr Zhang has published over 80 papers in journals including Nature Protocols, Nature Plants, Nature Communications, PNAS, Nano Today, ACS Nano, ES&T, ES&T Letters, Environment International and Environmental Science: nano, with a H-index 30 and total citations over 3300.

Other activities

Youth Editor - The Innovation (Cell Press), 2021-present

Editorial Board - Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2021-present

Review Editor - Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021-present

Review Editor - Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2022- present

Editor - PLoS One, 2019-present

Topic Editor - Agriculture, 2021-present

Editor of book - Nano-enabled agriculture (Elsevier), 2021 (ongoing)

Guest Editor - Environmental Pollution, 2021

Guest Editor - Frontiers in Toxicology, 2020

Editorial Board - Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2018-2021

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Zhang, P, Cao, M, Chetwynd, AJ, Faserl, K, Abdolahpur Monikh, F, Zhang, W, Ramautar, R, Ellis, LJA, Davoudi, HH, Reilly, K, Cai, R, Wheeler, KE, Martinez, DST, Guo, Z, Chen, C & Lynch, I 2024, 'Analysis of nanomaterial biocoronas in biological and environmental surroundings', Nature protocols, vol. 19, pp. 3000–3047. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-024-01009-8

An, C, Huang, B, Jiang, J, Wang, X, Li, N, Liu, H, Shen, Y, Sun, C, Zhan, S, Li, X, Wang, C, Zeng, Z, Cui, H, Wu, Q, Zhang, Y, Guo, Z, Zhang, P, Lynch, I, Gao, J-M & Wang, Y 2024, 'Design and Synthesis of a Water-Based Nanodelivery Pesticide System for Improved Efficacy and Safety', ACS Nano, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 662-679. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.3c08854

Li, M, Zhang, P, Guo, Z, Zhao, W, Li, Y, Yi, T, Cao, W, Gao, L, Tian, CF, Chen, Q, Ren, F, Rui, Y, White, JC & Lynch, I 2024, 'Dynamic Transformation of Nano-MoS₂ in a Soil-Plant System Empowers Its Multifunctionality on Soybean Growth', Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 1211-1222. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c09004

Yang, K, Wang, X, Lynch, I, Guo, Z, Zhang, P & Wu, L 2024, 'Green construction of MBI corrosion-resistant interfaces modified NZVI@MOFs-regulated 3D PAN cryogel film to enhance Cr(VI) removal', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 333, 125902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2023.125902

Deng, Y, Wang, X, Lynch, I, Guo, Z, Zhang, P, Wu, L, Wu, X & Li, T 2024, 'Homogeneous dispersion of amorphous nanoscale zero-valent iron supported on chlorella-derived biochar: In-situ synthesis and application mechanism for Cr(VI) removal over a wide pH range', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 330, 125207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2023.125207

Song, Z, Dang, X, Zhao, L, Hou, H, Guo, Z, Lynch, I, Nadezhda, T & Zhang, P 2024, 'Influence of soil properties and aging on exogenous antimony toxicity to Caenorhabditis elegans in agricultural soil', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 31, no. 8, pp. 12499-12510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31975-1

Wang, X, Zheng, Y, Ning, P, Lynch, I, Guo, Z, Zhang, P & Wu, L 2024, 'Synergetic effect of green synthesized NZVI@Chitin-modified ZSM-5 for efficient oxidative degradation of tetracycline', Environmental Research, vol. 258, 119360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119360

Wang, X, Jiang, M, Lynch, I, Guo, Z, Zhang, P, Wu, L & Ma, J 2023, 'Construction of urchin-like core-shell Fe/Fe₂O₃@UiO-66 hybrid for effective tetracycline reduction and photocatalytic oxidation', Environmental Pollution, vol. 336, 122280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122280

Guo, Z, Zhang, P, Xie, C, Voyiatzis, E, Faserl, K, Chetwynd, AJ, Monikh, FA, Melagraki, G, Zhang, Z, Peijnenburg, WJGM, Afantitis, A, Chen, C & Lynch, I 2023, 'Defining the Surface Oxygen Threshold That Switches the Interaction Mode of Graphene Oxide with Bacteria', ACS Nano, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 6350-6361. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c10961

Yang, K, Wang, X, Lynch, I, Guo, Z, Zhang, P, Wu, L & Ma, J 2023, 'Design of cryogel based CNTs-anchored polyacrylonitrile honeycomb film with ultra-high S-NZVI incorporation for enhanced synergistic reduction of Cr(VI)', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 442, 129923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129923

Chapter

Zhang, P, Lynch, I, Handy, RD & White, JC 2023, A brief history of nanotechnology in agriculture and current status. in Nano-enabled Sustainable and Precision Agriculture. Elsevier, pp. 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91233-4.00002-8

Review article

Zhang, P, Jiang, Y, Schwab, F, Monikh, FA, Grillo, R, White, JC, Guo, Z & Lynch, I 2024, 'Strategies for Enhancing Plant Immunity and Resilience Using Nanomaterials for Sustainable Agriculture', Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 58, no. 21, pp. 9051-9060. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c03522

Zhu, G, Zhang, P, Zhao, W, Shakoor, N, Sun, Y, Wang, Q, Wang, Q, Li, M, Jiang, Y, Tan, Z, Rui, Y & Lynch, I 2024, 'Toxicity of metal-based nanomaterials in different organisms', Toxin Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1080/15569543.2024.2317296

Sun, Y, Jiang, Y, Li, Y, Wang, Q, Zhu, G, Yi, T, Wang, Q, Wang, Y, Dhankher, OP, Tan, Z, Lynch, I, White, JC, Rui, Y & Zhang, P 2024, 'Unlocking the potential of nanoscale sulfur in sustainable agriculture', Chemical Science. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc06122a

Li, X, Chen, Y, Xu, J, Lynch, I, Guo, Z, Xie, C & Zhang, P 2023, 'Advanced nanopesticides: Advantage and action mechanisms', Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB, vol. 203, 108051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108051

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