Di He

Associate Lecturer in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering's UNSW Water Research Centre (WRC)

Academic qualifications

PhD (August 2010-September 2013) Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales

M. Phil (September 2007-July 2010) Municipal Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology

B. Eng (September 2003-July 2007) Municipal Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology

Employment History

Research Associate in University of New South Wales         Sep 2013-Feb 2014

Associate Lecturer in University of New South Wales           Mar 2014-present 

Research Interests

• Understanding of chemical, physical and biological processes of nanomaterials in natural and engineered water systems;
• Understanding of redox processes (e.g. advanced oxidation process) in natural and engineered water systems;
• Development of electrochemistry-based water desalination (e.g. capacitive deionization) and treatment (e.g. electro-Fenton) technology.

ARC Grant Participation

Waite, T.D.; Fletcher, J.; Kovalsky, P. (2016-2019) Optimizing CDI water treatment for ion removal and energy recovery; ARC Linkage (LP150100854)

"The goals of this project are i) to identify applications where capacitive deionisation (CDI) would, if operated optimally, cost effectively render brackish, contaminated water usable/re-usable, ii) to optimise CDI design and operating conditions such that particular ions of concern are effectively and sustainably removed given particular feed water compositions, iii) to develop approaches to energy recovery for particular design and operating conditions such that application of CDI is cost effective and sustainable, and iv) to develop a photovoltaic-powered CDI unit that is capable of “stand-alone” operation with optimal energy recovery and inbuilt monitoring and control technology enabling sustainable operation."

Most Significant Publications in the Past 5 years

 2016

1. He, D.; Wong, C.E.; Tang, W.W.; Kovalsky, P. and Waite, T.D.* (2016) Faradaic reactions in water desalination by batch-mode capacitive deionization. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 3(5), 222-226
2. He, D.; Ma, J.X.; Collins, R. and Waite, T.D.* (2016) Effect of structural transformation of nanoparticulate zero-valent iron on generation of reactive oxygen species. Environ. Sci. Technol. 50(7), 3820-3828
3. He, D.; Ma, X.M.; Jones, A.M. and Waite, T.D.* (2016) Mechanistic and kinetic insights into the ligand-promoted depassivation of bimetallic zero-valent iron nanoparticles. Environ. Sci. Nano 3, 737-744.
4. Ma, J.X.; He, D.*; Collins, R.N. and Waite, T.D.* (2016) The tortoise versus the hare-Possible advantages of microparticulate zerovalent iron (mZVI) over nanoparticlate zerovalent iron (nZVI) in aerobic degradation of contaminants. Water Res. 105, 331-340.
5. Ma, X.M.; He, D.*; Jones, A.M.; Collins, R.N. and Waite, T.D.* (2016) Reductive reactivity of borohydride- and dithionite-synthesized iron-based nanoparticles: A comparative study. J Hazard. Mater. 303, 101-110
6. Sun, B.; Dong, H.Y.; He, D.; Rao, D.D. and Guan, X.H.* (2016) Modeling the kinetics of contaminants oxidation and the generation of manganese(III) in the permanganate/bisulfite process. Environ. Sci. Technol. 50, 1473-1482
7. Tang, W.W.; Kovalsky, P.; Cao, B.C.; He, D.; Waite, T.D.* (2016) Fluoride removal from brackish groundwaters by constant capacitive deionization (CDI). Environ. Sci. Technol. 50(19), 10579-10579.

 2015

1. Qiu, S.; He, D.*; Ma, J.X.; Liu, T.X. and Waite, T.D.* (2015) Kinetic modelling of the electro-Fenton process: Quantification of reactive oxygen species generation. Electrochim. Acta 176, 51-58
2. Tang, W.W.; Kovalsky, P.; He, D. and Waite, T.D.* (2015) Fluoride and nitrate removal from brackish groundwaters by batch-mode capacitive deionization. Water Res. 84 342-349
3. Ma, J.X.; Wang, Z.W.*; He, D.; Li, Y.X. and Wu, Z.C. (2015) Long-term investigation of a novel electrochemical membrane bioreactor for low-strength municipal wastewater treatment. Water Res. 78, 98-110
4. Guan, X.H.; Sun, Y.K.; Qin, H.J.; Li, J.X.; Lo, I.M.C.; He, D. and Dong, H.R.* (2015) The limitations of applying zero-valent iron technology in contaminants sequestration and the corresponding countermeasures: The development in zero-valent iron technology in the last two decades (1994-2014). Water Res. 75, 224-228

 2014

1. He, D.; Miller, C.J. and Waite, T.D.* (2014) Fenton-like zero-valent silver nanoparticle-mediated hydroxyl radical production. J. Cata. 317, 198-205
2. He, D.*; Kacopieros, M.; Ikeda-Ohno, A. and Waite, T.D.* (2014) Optimizing the design and synthesis of supported silver nanoparticles for low cost water disinfection. Environ. Sci. Technol. 48 (20), 12320-12326
3. Xu, J.H.; Li, C.L.*; Liu, P.; He, D.*; Wang, J.F. and Zhang, Q. (2014) Photolysis of low concentration of H₂S under UV/VUV irradiation emitted from high frequency discharge electrodeless lamps. Chemosphere 109, 202-207

 2013

1. He, D.; Bligh, M and Waite, T.D.* (2013) Effects of aggregate structure on the dissolution kinetics of citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47(16), 9148-9156.
2. He, D.; Ikeda-Ohno, A.; Boland, D.D. and Waite, T.D.* (2013) Synthesis and characterization of antibacterial silver nanoparticle-impregnated rice husks and rice husk ash. Environ. Sci. Technol.47, 5276-5284.

 2012

1. He, D.; Dorantes-Aranda, J.J. and Waite, T.D.* (2012) Silver nanoparticle-algae interactions: oxidative dissolution, reactive oxygen species generation and synergistic toxic effects. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46(16), 8731-8738.
2. He, D.; Garg, S. and Waite, T.D.* (2012) H₂O₂-mediated oxidation of zero valent silver and resultant interactions between silver nanoparticles, silver ions and reactive oxygen species. Langmuir 28(27), 10266-10275.

2011

1. He, D.; Jones, A.M.; Garg, S.; Pham, A.N. and Waite, T.D.* (2011) Silver nanoparticle-reactive oxygen species interactions: application of a charging-discharging model. J. Phy. Chem. C 115(13), 5461-5468.
2. Jones, A.M; Garg, S.; He, D.; Pham, A.N. and Waite, T.D.* (2011) Superoxide-mediated formation and charging of silver nanoparticles. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45(4), 1428-1434. 

List of ERA (2010) Ranked A and A* Publications in the Past 5 Years

ERA (2010) Ranked A* Publications: Environ. Sci. Technol. (9); Water Res. (4) J. Phys. Chem. C (1); Langmuir (1) J. Cata. (1)

ERA (2010) Ranked A Publications: J. Hazard. Mater. (2) Chemosphere (1) Electrochim. Acta (1)

Student Supervison

Dr Xiaoming Ma           (PhD)            March 2016 (Co-supervisor)

PhD thesis title: Investigations of reactivity of nanoparticulate zero valent iron for remediation of contaminants in seawater

Mr Wangwang Tang      (PhD)            On-going (Co-supervisor)

PhD thesis title: Selective ion removal in water desalination by capacitive deionization

Mr Changyong Zhang    (PhD)           On-going (Joint-supervisor)

PhD thesis title: Faradaic reactions in water desaliantion and treatment processes

Ms Maritsa Kacopieos   (Honours)    November 2013 (Co-supervisor)

Honours thesis title: Synthesis and characterization of antibacterial silver nanoparticle-impregnated silica

 Mr Wei Yeh Teoh          (Honours)    November 2014 (Joint Supervisor)

Honours thesis title: Membrane fouling by in-situ formed Fe(III) coagulant: Determination of constant pressure material properties.

Mr Chi Eng Wong         (Honours)    November 2015  (Joint Supervisor)

Honours thesis title: Faradaic reactions in batch-mode capacitive deionization system.

Mr Calvin Lok                (Honours)    On-going (Co-supervisor)

Honours thesis title: Investigations of scale formation and control in electrodialysis reversal.

Conferences

1. He, D.; Tang, W.W.; Kovalsky, P; Waite, T.D. Sustainable treatment of brackish water using capactive deionization: Faradaic and non-Faradaic Reactions. 2015 National Environmental Chemistry Conference, Guangzhou, China (Oral)
2. He, D.; Miller, C.J. and Waite, T.D. Fenton-like zero-valent silver nanoparticle-mediated hydroxyl radical. 2015 IWA Nano and Water Regional Conference, Dalian, China (Oral)
3. He, D. Effects of aggregate structure on the dissolution kinetics of citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles. Gordon Research Seminar: Chemical reactions on surfaces, Les Diablerets, Switzerland, 2013 (Invited oral).
4. He, D. H₂O₂-mediated oxidation of zero-valent silver and resultant interactions among silver nanoparticles, silver ions and reactive oxygen species. Advanced Oxidation Technology Conference, Jacksonville, Florida, 2012 (Invited oral).
5. He, D. Silver nanoparticle-reactive oxygen species interactions: application of a charging-discharging model. Goldschmidt Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, 2011 (Poster).