Dr Erli Lu PhD

Dr Erli Lu

School of Chemistry
Associate Professor in Mechanochemistry and Sustainable Synthesis

Contact details

Email
e.lu@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@erli_lu
View my research portal
Address
Molecular Science Building
School of Chemistry
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Erli Lu is an expert in synthetic inorganic, organometallic and coordination chemistry, as well as mechanochemistry. His group’s research at Birmingham focuses on:

(1) Developing new chemistry of Group-1 alkali metal (especially Li, Na, K) to activate inert small molecules and chemical bonds (such as N2, H2, CO, C-H bond). The new chemistry will allow the community to phase out hazardous, costly and unsustainable precious metal catalysts and organic reagents.

(2) Developing solvent-free synthetic methods, directly using mechanical forces to promote chemical reactions (mechanochemistry). By phasing out one of the biggest carbon footprint contributors, solvent, this effort will lead chemical industry into a sustainable future.

Qualifications

  • Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry, Newcastle University (09.2019 – 06.2024)
  • PhD in Organic Chemistry (01.2012). Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • BEng in Materials Science and Engineering (06.2006). Tianjin Polytechnic University, China.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hemingway, JM, Quirk, JA, Lu, E & Dawson, JA 2026, 'Grain Boundary‐Driven Lattice Dynamics in a Solid‐State Li‐Ion Conductor', Advanced Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.75295

Lu, E 2026, 'Influence of pressure on structure, stability and ionic conductivity of lithium argyrodite solid electrolytes', npj Energy Materials, vol. 1, 7. <https://doi.org/10.1038/s44456-026-00009-1>

Kondo, K, Lowe, M, Davison, N, Waddell, PG, Armstrong, RJ, Lu, E, Kubota, K & Ito, H 2026, 'Mechanochemical synthesis of organosodium compounds through direct sodiation of organic halides', Nature Synthesis, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 669-679. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-025-00949-7

Lu, E 2026, 'Rapid electrolyte degradation mapping through reactive molecular dynamics simulations', Chemical Communications , vol. 62, no. 71, pp. 17624. <https://doi.org/10.1039/d6cc03537j>

Yang, X, Hemingway, JM, Kanna, W, Davison, N, Hayashi, H, Male, L, Waddell, PG, Dawson, JA & Lu, E 2026, 'Tandem Reactivity of Metal−Carbon and Carbon−Silicon Bonds in Mononuclear α‐Silyl Organolithium or Organosodium Complexes Towards CO, CO2 and Heteroallenes', Angewandte Chemie, vol. 138, no. 21, e8906317. https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.8906317

Yang, X, Hemingway, JM, Kanna, W, Davison, N, Hayashi, H, Male, L, Waddell, PG, Dawson, JA & Lu, E 2026, 'Tandem Reactivity of Metal−Carbon and Carbon−Silicon Bonds in Mononuclear α‐Silyl Organolithium or Organosodium Complexes Towards CO, CO2 and Heteroallenes', Angewandte Chemie (International Edition) , vol. 65, no. 21, e8906317. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.8906317

Lowe, M, Gallant, BM, Davison, N, Hopkinson, MN, Kubicki, DJ, Lu, E & Armstrong, RJ 2025, 'A reductive mechanochemical approach enabling direct upcycling of fluoride from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into fine chemicals', Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 147, no. 44, pp. 40895-40899. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c14052

Yang, X, Davison, N, Lowe, ME, Waddell, PG, Armstrong, RJ, McMullin, CL, Hopkinson, MN & Lu, E 2025, 'C=O methylenation mediated by organo-alkali metal reagents: metal identity and ligand effects', Chemical Science, vol. 16, no. 24, pp. 11151-11160. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SC02313K

Hemingway, JM, Yang, X, Waddell, PG, Cornelio, J, Lowe, ME, Dawson, JA, Slater, PR, Armstrong, RJ & Lu, E 2025, 'Non-aqueous separation of lithium and sodium perchlorates by selective coordination with a hexadentate semi-flexible amine ligand', Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5qi01799h

Zhang, H, Davison, N, Hemingway, JM, Male, L, Waddell, PG, Deakin, J, Tuna, F, Dawson, JA & Lu, E 2025, 'Reactivity of a Sodium Anion with Alkenes: 1‑Electron vs 2‑Electron Reductions', Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 64, no. 51, pp. 25195-25204. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c04279

Davison, N, Hemingway, JM, Waddell, PG & Lu, E 2024, 'Lithium, sodium and potassium enolate aggregates and monomers: syntheses and structures', Dalton Transactions, vol. 53, pp. 4719-4728. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4DT00211C

Bowles, AWJ, Quirk, JA, Liu, Y, Morritt, GH, Freitag, M, Whitehead, GFS, Woodward, AW, Brookfield, A, Goodwin, CAP, Collison, D, Tuna, F, McMullin, CL, Dawson, JA, Lu, E & Ortu, F 2024, 'Mechanochemical Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Room Temperature Stable Calcium Electride', Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 146, no. 42, pp. 28914-28924. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c09408

Davison, N, Hemingway, JM, Wills, C, Stolar, T, Waddell, PG, Dixon, CM, Barron, L, Dawson, JA & Lu, E 2024, 'Mechanochemical Synthesis of a Sodium Anion Complex [Na + (2,2,2-cryptand)Na – ] and Studies of Its Reactivity: Two-Electron and One-Electron Reductions', Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 63, no. 32, pp. 15247-15258. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02914

Davison, N, Quirk, JA, Tuna, F, Collison, D, McMullin, CL, Michaels, H, Morritt, GH, Waddell, PG, Gould, JA, Freitag, M, Dawson, JA & Lu, E 2023, 'A room-temperature-stable electride and its reactivity: Reductive benzene/pyridine couplings and solvent-free Birch reductions', Chem, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 576-591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2022.11.006

Review article

Lowe, ME, Hopkinson, MN, Kubicki, DJ, Lu, E & Armstrong, RJ 2026, 'Recent advances in the degradation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at low temperature (≤100 °C)', Chemical Science. https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc03192g

View all publications in research portal