Kun Li is a professor at Shandong University, a national overseas high-level young talent, and an outstanding young and middle-aged scholar of Shandong University. His main research areas are atmospheric chemistry and secondary aerosols, and he has published more than 60 papers, including more than 20 as first or corresponding author in journals such as National Science Review, Nature Communications, Environmental Science & Technology, and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. They have been reported as research highlights by EurekAlert, Phys.org, ScienceAlert, and others, and cited in Science, Nature, and their sub-journals. He has undertaken projects such as the Young Scientist Project of the National Key R&D Program, the Youth Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province. He was selected as the "NSERC Visiting Fellow" in Canada and the "Marie Curie Scholar" in the European Union, won the second prize of the Invention and Innovation Award of the China Invention Association, the second prize of the Analytical and Testing Science Award of the China Analytical and Testing Association, and served as the executive deputy director of the Qingdao Key Laboratory of Air Pollution Prevention and Control in Coastal Cities, a member of the Ozone Pollution Control Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences, a member of the Scientific Observation Committee of the Earth Environmental System, and a youth editorial board member of Carbon Research, Journal of Atmospheric and Environmental Optics, Journal of Safety and Environment.
Selected publications:
Li, K.*; Zhang, J.; Bell, D. M.; Wang, T.; Lamkaddam, H.; Cui, T.; Qi, L.; Surdu, M.; Wang, D.; Du, L.; El Haddad, I.; Slowik, J. G.; Prevot, A. S. H.* Uncovering the dominant contribution of intermediate volatility compounds in secondary organic aerosol formation from biomass-burning emissions. National Science Review, 2024, 11, nwae014.
Du, L.#*; Song, Y.#; Li, J.; Wan, Y.; Yu, H.; Ma, X.; Yang, Z.; Hu, J.; Hu, K.; Gao, X.; Li, Q.; George, C.; Ge, M.; Li, K.* Droplet surface spontaneous oxidation as a dominant formation pathway of organosulfates in the marine atmosphere. Nature Communications, 2025, 16, 10146.
Ma, X.; Li, K.*; Chen, X.; Du, L. Photochemical degradation of sunscreen chemicals in sea spray aerosols. Environmental Science & Technology, 2026.
Chen, X.; Zhao, Y.; Zhang, S.; Du, L.; Li, K.* Atmospheric aging suppresses the formation of limonene-derived organic peroxides. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 2026.
Chen, X.; Li, K.*; Li, R.; Fang, L.; Bian, H.; Jiang, W.; Yan, C.; Du, L. NOx-driven chemical transformation of terpene mixtures: linking highly oxygenated organic molecules to health effects in secondary organic aerosol. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2026.
Chen, X.; Li, K.*; Bian, H.; Zhang, S.; Ma, X.; Fang, L.; Jiang, W.; Yan, C.; Du, L.* Monoterpenes amplify the oxidative potential of biomass burning secondary aerosols. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2026, 501, 140950.
Zhang, S.; Li, K.*; Xu, L.; Du, L. Chemical interactions within biomass-burning emissions significantly influence the composition and optical properties of nanoscale secondary organic aerosols. Environmental Science: Nano, 2026, 13, 257-267.
Zhang, S.; Li, K.*; Chen, X.; Yang, Z.; Du, L. Molecular composition of secondary brown carbon from styrene at low-to-high oxidation degrees. Environmental Pollution, 2025, 368, 125795.
Ma, X.; Li, K.*; Zhang, S.; Yang, Z.; Xu, L.; Tsona, N. T.; Du, L.* Oxidation flow reactor and its application in secondary organic aerosol formation in laboratory studies. ACS ES&T Air, 2025, 2, 1394–1410.
Chen, X.; Du, L.*; Yang, Z.; Zhang, S.; Tsona Tchinda, N.; Li, J.; Li, K.* Interaction between marine and terrestrial biogenic volatile organic compounds: non-linear effect on secondary organic aerosol formation. Atmospheric Environment, 2024, 338, 120868.
Ma, X.; Li, K.*; Zhang, S.; Tsona, N. T.; Li, J.; Herrmann, H.; Du, L.* Molecular characteristics of sea spray aerosols during aging with the participation of marine volatile organic compounds. Science of the Total Environment, 2024, 954, 176380.
Zhang, S.; Du, L.*; Yang, Z.; Tchinda, N. T.; Li, J.; Li, K.* Contrasting impacts of humidity on the ozonolysis of monoterpenes: insights into the multi-generation chemical mechanism. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2023, 23, 10809-10822.
Wang, R.; Li, K.*; Li, J.; Tsona, N. T.; Wang, W.; Du, L.* Interaction of acrylic acid and SO2 on the surface of mineral dust aerosol. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 2023, 7, 548-558.
Li, K.*; Wentzell, J.; Liu, Q.; Leithead, A.; Moussa, S. G.; Wheeler, M.; Han, C.; Lee, P.; Li, S.-M.; Liggio, J.* Evolution of atmospheric total organic carbon from petrochemical mixtures. Environmental Science & Technology, 2021, 55, 12841-12851.
Li, K.; Liggio, J.; Han, C.; Liu, Q.; Moussa, S. G.; Lee, P.; Li, S.-M. Understanding the impact of high-NOx conditions on the formation of secondary organic aerosol in the photooxidation of oil sands-related precursors. Environmental Science & Technology, 2019, 53, 14420-14429.
Li, K.; Liggio, J.; Lee, P.; Han, C.; Liu, Q.; Li, S.-M. Secondary organic aerosol formation from α-pinene, alkanes and oil-sands-related precursors in a new oxidation flow reactor. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2019, 19, 9715-9731.
Li, K.; Li, J.; Tong, S.; Wang, W.; Huang, R.-J.; Ge, M. Characteristics of wintertime VOCs in suburban and urban Beijing: concentrations, emission ratios, and festival effects. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2019, 19, 8021-8036.
Li, K.; Li, J.; Liggio, J.; Wang, W.; Ge, M.; Liu, Q.; Guo, Y.; Tong, S.; Li, J.; Peng, C.; Jing, B.; Wang, D.; Fu, P. Enhanced light scattering of secondary organic aerosols by multiphase reactions. Environmental Science & Technology, 2017, 51, 1285-1292.
Liu, Q.; Li, L.; Zhang, X.; Saini, A.; Li, W.; Hung, H.; Hao, C.; Li, K.; Lee, P.; Wentzell, J.; Huo, C.; Li, S.-M.; Harner, T.; Liggio, J. Uncovering global-scale risks from commercial chemicals in air. Nature, 2021, 600, 456-461.
