Difa Xu

7.1k total citations · 5 hit papers
74 papers, 6.3k citations indexed

About

Difa Xu is a scholar working on Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Materials Chemistry and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. According to data from OpenAlex, Difa Xu has authored 74 papers receiving a total of 6.3k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 62 papers in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, 58 papers in Materials Chemistry and 33 papers in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Recurrent topics in Difa Xu's work include Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques (61 papers), Covalent Organic Framework Applications (19 papers) and Copper-based nanomaterials and applications (17 papers). Difa Xu is often cited by papers focused on Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques (61 papers), Covalent Organic Framework Applications (19 papers) and Copper-based nanomaterials and applications (17 papers). Difa Xu collaborates with scholars based in China, Saudi Arabia and United States. Difa Xu's co-authors include Bei Cheng, Jiaguo Yu, Tianyou Peng, Weilai Yu, Chuanjia Jiang, Rongan He, Weikang Wang, Shiying Zhang, Shaowen Cao and Jiaguo Yu and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature Communications, Langmuir and Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

In The Last Decade

Difa Xu

73 papers receiving 6.2k citations

Hit Papers

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 for selective ... 2014 2026 2018 2022 2015 2014 2018 2018 2024 250 500 750
What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

  1. Enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 for selective CO2 reduction to CH3OH via facile coupling of ZnO: a direct Z-scheme mechanism
    2015 865 citations Difa Xu et al. Journal of Materials Chemistry A profile →
  2. Enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of Z-scheme Ag2CrO4-GO composite photocatalysts for organic pollutant degradation
    2014 508 citations Difa Xu, Jiaguo Yu et al. profile →
  3. Ag2CrO4/g-C3N4/graphene oxide ternary nanocomposite Z-scheme photocatalyst with enhanced CO2 reduction activity
    2018 506 citations Difa Xu et al. profile →
  4. Review on nanoscale Bi-based photocatalysts
    2018 454 citations Rongan He, Difa Xu et al. profile →
  5. In-situ formatting donor-acceptor polymer with giant dipole moment and ultrafast exciton separation
    2024 106 citations Jiaguo Yu, Difa Xu et al. profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name h Career Trend Papers Cites
Difa Xu China 38 5.2k 4.6k 2.6k 622 375 74 6.3k
Santosh Kumar India 36 5.5k 1.1× 4.9k 1.1× 2.5k 1.0× 586 0.9× 287 0.8× 67 6.5k
Changchang Ma China 46 5.0k 1.0× 4.4k 1.0× 2.3k 0.9× 466 0.7× 398 1.1× 139 6.1k
Shuqu Zhang China 44 5.8k 1.1× 5.1k 1.1× 2.6k 1.0× 400 0.6× 416 1.1× 71 7.1k
Yuning Huo China 35 4.6k 0.9× 3.9k 0.9× 1.7k 0.6× 643 1.0× 309 0.8× 70 5.8k
Mengxia Ji China 45 6.4k 1.2× 5.1k 1.1× 3.2k 1.3× 572 0.9× 305 0.8× 104 7.0k
Liying Huang China 45 5.5k 1.0× 4.7k 1.0× 3.0k 1.2× 745 1.2× 219 0.6× 101 6.5k
Jingwei Huang China 41 4.7k 0.9× 3.9k 0.9× 2.2k 0.9× 388 0.6× 661 1.8× 102 5.5k
Fazal Raziq China 44 4.7k 0.9× 4.4k 1.0× 2.8k 1.1× 730 1.2× 409 1.1× 106 6.6k
Minqiang He China 41 3.8k 0.7× 3.8k 0.8× 1.8k 0.7× 478 0.8× 294 0.8× 99 5.2k

Countries citing papers authored by Difa Xu

Since Specialization
Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Difa Xu's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Difa Xu with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Difa Xu more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Difa Xu

Since Specialization
Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Difa Xu. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Difa Xu. The network helps show where Difa Xu may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Difa Xu

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Difa Xu. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Difa Xu based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Difa Xu. Difa Xu is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

20 of 20 papers shown
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Zhang, S.F., Changsheng An, Yanyan Zhao, et al.. (2025). Enhancing H2 evolution with Mo-N bonding in hierarchical periodic macroporous photocatalyst of S-doped g-C3N4 and N-doped MoS2. Journal of Material Science and Technology. 233. 1–9. 5 indexed citations
3.
Xu, Difa, Rongan He, & Zhifeng Jiang. (2025). Exploring charge transfer dynamics at S-scheme heterojunction interfaces with advanced EPR. Journal of Material Science and Technology. 236. 280–283. 5 indexed citations
4.
Feng, Wenhui, Xu Yan, Jie Yuan, et al.. (2025). Atomically dispersed Co–N5 sites in graphene nanofoams for piezocatalytic N2 fixation driven by mild hydromechanical energy. Applied Surface Science. 711. 164111–164111. 1 indexed citations
5.
He, Rongan, Difa Xu, & Mahmoud Sayed. (2024). S-scheme heterojunction-induced surface plasmon response. Journal of Materiomics. 11(4). 100989–100989. 4 indexed citations
6.
Zhang, S.F., Changsheng An, Rongchao Zhang, et al.. (2024). Template-Free Synthesis of Boron-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Porous Nanotubes for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution. Langmuir. 40(12). 6453–6462. 9 indexed citations
7.
Huang, Kaihui, Dejun Chen, Xintong Zhang, et al.. (2024). Constructing Covalent Triazine Frameworks/N-Doped Carbon-Coated Cu2O S-Scheme Heterojunctions for Boosting Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production. Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica. 40(12). 2407020–2407020. 15 indexed citations
8.
Wu, Zhaohui, Jun Luo, Shuang Pi, et al.. (2024). Construction of Inverse–Opal ZnIn2S4 with Well–Defined 3D Porous Structure for Enhancing Photocatalytic H2 Production. Nanomaterials. 14(10). 843–843. 4 indexed citations
9.
Zhang, Rongchao, Libo Wang, Changsheng An, et al.. (2024). Precursor-reforming protocol to hierarchical porous g-C3N4 with N defects for remarkable visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 84. 731–738. 7 indexed citations
10.
Zhang, Liuyang, et al.. (2023). Yolk-shell FeSe2@CoSe2/FeSe2 heterojunction as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries with high rate capability and stability. Journal of Material Science and Technology. 172. 185–195. 63 indexed citations
11.
Hu, Penghui, Xu Yan, Yanhua Lei, et al.. (2022). Piezoelectric nanofoams with the interlaced ultrathin graphene confining Zn–N–C dipoles for efficient piezocatalytic H2 evolution under low-frequency vibration. Journal of Energy Chemistry. 69. 115–122. 27 indexed citations
12.
Li, Jingbo, Zhaohui Wu, Shumin Zhang, et al.. (2022). Hydroxyl-assisted iodine ions intercalating Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets to construct an interlayered bridge for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of phenols. CrystEngComm. 24(7). 1377–1386. 12 indexed citations
13.
Xu, Kaiqiang, Difa Xu, Zhongfu Li, et al.. (2021). Enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride by bulk iodine doped BiOCl with rich oxygen vacancy. Applied Surface Science. 578. 152083–152083. 39 indexed citations
14.
Zhang, Shumin, Hu Dong, Changsheng An, et al.. (2020). One-pot synthesis of array-like sulfur-doped carbon nitride with covalently crosslinked ultrathin MoS2 cocatalyst for drastically enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Journal of Material Science and Technology. 75. 59–67. 26 indexed citations
15.
16.
Feng, Wenhui, Yanhua Lei, Jie Yuan, et al.. (2020). Tuning the interfacial electronic structure via Au clusters for boosting photocatalytic H2 evolution. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 9(3). 1759–1769. 44 indexed citations
17.
18.
Xu, Kaiqiang, Jie Shen, Difa Xu, et al.. (2019). Molten-salt-mediated synthesis of bulk W doped BiOCl with highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performances. Applied Surface Science. 495. 143595–143595. 23 indexed citations
19.
Zhang, Shumin, Liang Chen, Jie Shen, et al.. (2019). TiO2 @ MoSe2 line-to-face heterostructure: An advanced photocatalyst for highly efficient reduction of Cr (VI). Ceramics International. 45(14). 18065–18072. 21 indexed citations
20.
Zhang, Xiangchao, Zhuo Luo, Difa Xu, & Shiying Zhang. (2018). Preparation of mesoporous AgAlO2 by a two-step method with visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity. Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Rapid Communications. 12. 125–129. 1 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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