Dr. Zihua Zhu is a chemist with the Ecosystem Interfaces team in PNNL’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Division and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) user program. A secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) expert, with extensive experience in time-of-flight SIMS (ToF-SIMS) and nanoscale SIMS (NanoSIMS), Zhu’s research has focused on the SIMS field for over 20 years. He has published over 160 articles in high-impact journals and is a key inventor (with four U.S. patents) of in situ liquid SIMS. He leads the applications of this new capability to better understand the complex chemistries occurring at solid-electrolyte interphase in novel Li ion batteries, electro-catalysis, biofilm growth, cell attachment, aerosol formation, ion solvation, and initial nucleation of nanoparticle formation.
Research Interest
Applying ToF-SIMS and principal component analysis on various research fields, primarily biological and environmental fields
Using in situ liquid SIMS to investigate solid-liquid interface under operando condition, as well as weak interactions, such as ion solvation, ion-pair formation, and initial nucleation, in various liquids 
Nanoscale chemical imaging using ToF-SIMS and NanoSIMS
Three-dimensional molecular imaging of interesting biological and environmental samples