Dr Zhu Liu

Zhu Liu received a BSc in Materials Science from the Northeastern University, China in 1985 and a PhD in Laser Surface Engineering from the University of Liverpool in 1991. Between 1991 and 1999 she was a postdoctoral Research Associate at Liverpool University working on laser surface alloying and cladding techniques for improving the corrosion and wear resistance of engineering materials. In 1999 she was appointed as a Research Scientist with the British Royal Mint and since 2000 she has held the position of Lecturer in Corrosion Science and Engineering at UMIST. Her main research interests are laser surface modification for high performance materials and micro/nano engineering using lasers. Her current research laboratory is equipped with high power laser processing facilities. Research collaborations include Rolls-Royce, BNFL, The Welding Institute and various academic research groups.

• Investigation into corrosion performances of various laser-processed components
• Nanostructured ceramic thin film synthesis by lasers
• Laser synthesis and coating of nano-structured metallic-inorganic nitride composite
• Laser cleaning of engineering components
• Laser surface alloying for protection against metal dusting
• Novel hybrid laser/flame large area cladding
• Cermet coatings by HVOF and laser assisted technique for high-temperature applications
• Laser processing for bio-engineering
• Applications of next generation industrial lasers for micro- and nano-technology

• Ji LF, Li L, Devlin H, Liu Z, Jiao J, Whitehead D, 2011, “Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser ablation of dental enamel, dentine, and cementum”, Lasers in Medical Science, Online First, May 2011.
• Joya Y, Liu Z, Wang T, 2011, “Characterization and antibacterial functions of Ag–TiO2 and W–TiO2 nanostructured thin films prepared by sol-gel/laser-induced technique”, Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, Online First, June 2011.
• Ji LF, Li L, Devlin H, Liu Z, Whitehead D, Wang ZB, Wang W, Jiao J, 2011, “Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser interaction with human dental dentine”, Surface Engineering, Online First, June 2011.
• Rakhes M, Koroleva E, Liu Z, 2011. “Improvement of corrosion performance of HVOF MMC coatings by laser surface treatment”, Surface Engineering, Vol. 27, No. 6, Online First, July 2011.
• Wang ZB, Guo W, Li L, Luk'yanchuk B.S, Khan A, Liu Z, Chen Z, Hong M. 2011. "Optical virtual imaging at 50 nm lateral resolution with a white light nanoscope". Nature Communications. Vol. 2. pp 218.
• Joya Y, Liu Z, 2011, “Effect of the excimer laser irradiation on sol–gel derived tungsten–titanium dioxide thin films” App Phys A: Materials Science & Processing, Vol. 102, No. 1, pp 91-97.
• Chen HC, Li L, Pinkerton A, Liu Z, Mistry A T. 2011. "Gap-free fibre laser welding of Zn-coated steel on Al alloy for light-weight automotive applications". Materials and Design. Vol. 32. No. 2. pp 495-504.
• Pasupuleti R, Wang Y, Li L, Shabalin IL, Liu Z, Grove S, 2011, “Modelling of Moisture Diffusion in Multilayer Woven Fabric Composites “, Computational Materials Science, Vol. 50, pp 1675-1680.
• Khan, S Z; Liu, Z; L, Li, 2011, Characteristics of γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles generated by continuous-wave laser ablation in liquid, Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing, Vol. 101, No.4, pp 781-787.
• Coy AE, Viejo F, Garcia-Garcia FJ, Liu Z, Skeldon P, Thompson GE, 2010, “Effect of excimer laser surface melting on the microstructure and corrosion performance of the die cast AZ91D magnesium alloy”, Corrosion Science, Vol. 52, Issue 2, pp 387-397.
• Viejo F, Coy AE, García-García FJ, Merino MC, Liu Z, Skeldon P, Thompson GE, 2010, “Enhanced performance of the AA2050-T8 aluminium alloy following excimer laser surface melting and anodising processes”, Thin Solid Films, Vol. 518, Issue 10, pp 2722-2731.
• Liu H, Viejo F, Guo RX, Glenday S, Liu Z, 2010, “Microstructure and corrosion performance of laser-annealed electroless Ni–W–P coatings”, Surface & Coatings Technology, Vol. 204, pp 1549–1555.
• Viejo F, Aburas Z, Coy AE, Garcia-Garcia FJ, Liu Z, Skeldon P, Thompson GE, 2010, “Performance of Al alloys following excimer LSM – anodising approaches”, Surface and Interface Analysis, Vol. 42, Issue 4, pp 252-257.
• Liu H, Guo RX, Zong Y, Liu Z, 2010, “Comparative study of microstructure and corrosion resistance of electroless Ni-W-P coatings treated by laser and furnace-annealing”, Transactions of nonferrous metals society of China, Vol. 20, Issue 6, pp 1024-1031.
• Liu Z, Liu H, Viejo F, Aburas Z, Rakhes M, 2010, “Laser-induced microstructural modification for corrosion protection”, Proceedings of the Institution of mechanical Engineers part C-Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, Vol. 224, Issue C5, pp 1073-1085.
• Joya Y, Liu Z, 2010, “Generation of Ce and W doped titanium oxide thin films by pulsed excimer laser irradiation”, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp 589-594.
• Joya Y, Liu Z, 2009, “Formation of ultraviolet laser-annealed mesoporous anatase films by a sol-gel process”, Scripta Materialia, Vol. 60 Issue 6, pp 467-470.
• Abdolvand A, Lloyd R, Schmidt MJJ, Whitehead D, Liu Z, Li L,2009, “Formation of highly organised, periodic microstructures on steel surfaces upon pulsed laser irradiation”, Applied Physics A : Materials Science and Processing, Vol. 95, Issue: 2, pp 447-452.
• Liu Z, Yuan Y, Khan S, Abdolvand A, Whitehead D, Schmidt M, Li L, 2009, “Generation of metal-oxide nanoparticles using continuous-wave fibre laser ablation in liquid”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Vol. 19, Issue 5 Article Number: 054008.
• Li L, Guo W, Wang ZB, Liu Z, Whitehead D, Luk'yanchuk B, 2009, “Large-area laser nano-texturing with user-defined patterns”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Vol. 19, Issue: 5, Article Number: 054002.
• Liu Z, Guzman C, Liu H, Anacleto A, Francisco I, Abdoalshafie M, Ma L, Abodunrin O, Skeldon P, 2009, “Corrosion performance and restoration of laser-formed metallic alloy sheets”, Journal of Laser Applications, Vol. 21, Issue 2, pp 76-81.
• Khan S, Yuan Y, Abdolvand A, Schmidt M, Crouse P, Li L, Liu Z, Sharp M, Watkins KG, 2009, “Generation and characterization of NiO nanoparticles by continuous wave fiber laser ablation in liquid”, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Vol. 11, Issue 6, pp 1421-1427.
• Wang ZB, Guo W, Lukyanchuk, B, Whitehead DJ, Li L, Liu Z, 2008, “Optical Near-field Interaction Between Neighboring Micro/Nano-particles”, Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering,, Vol. 3, Issue 1, pp 14-18.
• Guo W, Wang ZB, Li L, Liu Z, Luk'yanchuk, B, Whitehead DJ, 2008, “Chemical-assisted laser parallel nanostructuring of silicon in optical near fields”, Nanotechnology, Vol. 19, Issue 45, Article Number: 455302.
• Wang ZB, Guo W, Pena A, Whitehead DJ, Luk'yanchuk BS, Li L and Liu Z, 2008, “Laser micro/nano fabrication in glass with tunable-focus particle lens array”, Optics Express, Vol. 16, Issue 24, pp 19706-19711.
• Wang ZB, Guo W, Luk'yanchuk BS, Pena A, Li L, Liu Z, 2008, “Laser ablation on nanoscales” - art. no. 70050S, HIGH-POWER LASER ABLATION VII, PTS 1-2 Book Series: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF PHOTO-OPTICAL INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERS (SPIE), Vol. 7005, S50-S50, Part: Part 1-2.
• Lloyd R, Abdolvand A, Schmidt M, Crouse P, Whitehead D, Liu Z, Li L,2008, “Laser-assisted generation of self-assembled microstructures on stainless steel, Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing, Vol. 93, Issue 1, pp 117-122.
• Wang ZB, Luk'yanchuk BS , Guo W, Edwardson SP, Whitehead DJ, Li L , Liu Z, Watkins KG, 2008, “The influences of particle number on hot spots in strongly coupled metal nanoparticles chain”, Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 128, Issue 9, Article Number: 094705.
• Yuan Y, Aburas Z, Liu Z, Skeldon P, Thompson GT, 2008, “Microstructure Analysis and Corrosion Study of Excimer Laser Modified AA2024-T351”, The Electrochemical Society Transactions, Vol.11, Issue 15, pp 49-58.
• Abdolvand A, Khan S, Yuan Y, Crouse PL, Schmidt M, Sharp M, Liu Z, Li L, 2008, “Generation of titanium-oxide nanoparticles in liquid using a high-power, high-brightness continuous-wave fiber laser”, Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing, Vol. 91, Issue 3, pp 365-368.
• Ezz T, Crouse P, Li L, Liu Z, 2007, ”Synthesis and coating of micro-metal-matrix composite by combined laser sol–gel processing”, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 201, No. 12, pp 5809-5814.
• Waheed Ul Haq Syed, Pinkerton AJ, Liu Z and Li L, 2007, “Coincident wire and powder deposition by laser to form compositionally graded material”, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 201, Issues 16-17, pp 7083-709.
• Di Gabriele F, Stott FH, Liu Z, 2007, “Effect of experimental conditions on the metal dusting phenomenon in several commercial nickel-base alloys”, Materials and corrosion : Werkstoffe und Korrosion, Vol. 58, No. 2, 81-86.
• Guo W, Wang ZB, Li L, Liu Z, Luk'yanchuk BS, and Whitehead DJ, 2007, “Laser parallel nanopatterning of lines and curves by micro-particle lens arrays”, Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering, Vol. 2, No.3, pp 212-215.
• Wang, ZB, Luk'yanchuk, B S, Li L, Crouse P L, Liu Z, Dearden G and Watkins KG. 2007, “Optical near-field distribution in an asymmetrically illuminated tip-sample system for laser/STM nanopatterning”, Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing, Vol. 89, Issue 2, pp 363-368.
• Safdar S, Li L, Sheikh MA, Liu Z, 2007, “Finite element simulation of laser tube bending: Effect of scanning schemes on bending angle, distortions and stress distribution”, Optics & Laser Technology, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp 1101-1110.
• Ezz T, Crouse P, Li L, Liu Z, 2007, “Synthesis of TiN thin films by a new combined laser/sol-gel processing technique”, Applied Surface Science, Vol. 253, pp 7903–7907.
• Syed Waheed Ul Haq, Pinkerton, AJ, Liu Z, Li L, 2007, “Single-step laser deposition of functionally graded coating by dual 'wire-powder' or 'powder-powder' feeding - A comparative study”, Applied Surface Science, Vol. 253, Issue 19, pp 7926-7931.
• Safdar Shakeel, Li L, Sheikh MA, Liu Z, 2007 “The effect of nonconventional laser beam geometries on stress distribution and distortions in laser bending of tubes”, Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, Transactions of the ASME, Vol. 129, Issue 3, pp 592-600.
• Guo W, Wang ZB, Li L, Liu Z, 2007, “Near-field laser parallel nanofabrication of arbitrary-shaped patterns, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 90 Issue 24 , Article Number: 243101.
• Liu Z, Cabrero J, Niang S, Al-Taha ZY, 2007, “Improving corrosion and wear performance of HVOF-sprayed Inconel 625 and WC-Inconel 625 coatings by high power diode laser treatments”, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 201, Issues 16-17, pp 7149-7158.