Can Li is a distinguished scientist for his seminal contribution to both fundamental and applied research in catalysis, especially in the field of artificial photosynthesis of solar fuels. He is a pioneer scientist in developing in-situ and operando spectroscopy, time-resolved spectroscopy and charge imaging spectroscopy for better understand the essential relationship between catalyst structures and catalytic reactions and mechanisms. In fundamental research, Can Li has contributed significantly to the development of fundamental sciences of photocatalysis for water splitting and CO₂ reduction. Particularly, he proposed and developed important scientific concepts now widely accepted in the field of photocatalysis, such as dual cocatalysts, surface phase junctions and spatial facet charge separation. Especially, his recent work published in Nature for spatiotemporal imaging of charge transfer in photocatalyst particles provided the full picture of the complicated process of photocatalytic reaction processes for the first time. These concepts and findings now serve as basic principles for the rational design and synthesis of efficient artificial photosynthesis systems. In applied research, he provided the first demonstration of the “Liquid Sunshine” program in China for large-scale production of solar methanol with renewable energy.