He received B.S. from Fudan University, and Ph.D. in 2011 from University of California, Los Angeles, mentored by Omar Yaghi, working on solutions for carbon dioxide capture and separation. After postdoc at University of California, Berkeley, he joined faculty at College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University in 2013. He served as vice dean of the college from 2020 to 2024 and was appointed as the executive director at the Office of International Affair, Wuhan University in May, 2024. 

His research group focuses on sustainable technologies for the storage, separation of carbon dioxide, the further conversion and utilization of this green-house gas using sun light, green electricity and waste heat. He is also interested in the fundamental behavior of gas molecules in confined space and their adsorption. He published more than 50 papers in Nature, Nat. Chem., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. ed. etc. 

Selected Publications: 

1. C. Zhao, Z. Jiang, Y. Liu, Y. Zhou, P. Yin, Y. Ke, and H. Deng*, Molecular Compartments Created in Metal–Organic Frameworks for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven CO2 Overall Conversion. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 144, 23560-23571. 

2. Z. Jiang†, X. Xu†, Y. Ma, H. Cho, D. Ding, C. Wang, J. Wu, P. Oleynikov, M. Jia, J. Cheng, Y. Zhou, O. Terasaki*, T. Peng, L. Zan*, and H. Deng*, Filling Metal-Organic Framework Mesopores with TiO2 for CO2 Photoreduction. Nature, 2020, 586, 549-554. 

3. H. Cho†, J. Yang, X†. Gong, Y†. Zhang, K. Momma, B. M. Weckhuysen, H. Deng*, J. Kang, O.M. Yaghi* and O.Terasaki*, Isotherms of Individual Pores by Gas Adsorption Crystallography. Nat. Chem., 2019, 11, 562-570. 

4. H. Liu, J. Chu, Z. Yin, X. Cai, L. Zhuang and H. Deng*, Covalent Organic Frameworks Linked by Amine Bonding for Concerted Electrochemical Reduction of CO2. Chem, 2018, 4, 1696-1709. 

5. H. Cho†, H. Deng†, K. Miyasaka†, Z. Dong, M. Cho, A. V. Neimark, J. Kang, O. M. Yaghi* and O. Terasaki*, Extra Adsorption and Adsorbate Superlattice Formation in Metal-Organic Frameworks. Nature, 2015, 527, 503-507.