“Forum of Outstanding Young Scholars at Home and Abroad” was held successfully at B4-308 of School of Environment and Energy in South China University of Technology on the morning of April 26^th.Dr. Zhang Wei, postdoctoral researcher from University of Tokyo and Dr. Zhao Yun, postdoctoral researcher from Leibniz Institute for Catalysis of Germany were invited to give an academic report. Heads of School of Environment and Energy, teachers and students of interest attended the activity.

    Dr. Zhang Wei made an academic report on the topic of “Ion transportation in electrode materials of lithium batteries: Research on in-situ Spherical Aberration Corrected Transmission Electron Microscope”. His research illustrated the process of dynamic transportation of lithium ions in electrode materials was the crucial scientific problem in lithium battery research. For the first time, an in-situ micro lithium battery device was invented, which can function normally in Transmission Electron Microscope so that there was a guarantee not only a constant current charge-discharge curve like commercial batteries could be obtained, but also the lithium ion occupancy information at the corresponding atomic scale could be collected for each point on the charge-discharge curve at the same time.This helped us to understand the working mechanism of the battery in essence and provided theoretical guidance for improving and designing key materials for batteries.The new in-situ experimental technology associated real working state of electrode materials with lithium ion transportation and structural transformation inside the structure simultaneously, which provided a new direction and strategy for studying the ion transportation dynamics process in lithium battery.

    Dr. Zhao Yun gave an academic report on the theme of “Study on catalysis theory of nanometer surface and interface”. Through theoretical calculations, he focused on several important surface-interface catalytic systems:1) Mechanism of promoting the reactivity of metal-oxide interface;2) Formation of monoatomic catalysts and their effects on hydrogenation activity;3) Study on mechanism of oxygen-free dehydrogenation of propane on metal oxide. He would clarify the importance of surface and interface structures and electronic properties to the understanding of catalytic process from atomic and molecular scale with theory and experiments.

    A strong academic exchange atmosphere was spread throughout the forum. The teachers and students present conducted a further discussion with the reporters on the research direction and problems of their interest, and the atmosphere was very active. Through this platform, we were informed of the latest research results and trends in the research field, reflecting the latest progress in these areas.

    It is reported that the “Forum of Outstanding Young Scholars at Home and Abroad” of South China University of Technology aims to invite young talents at home and abroad to discuss and exchange ideas about the frontiers and hotspots of international scientific research, as well as the key technical issues of the industry, thereby inspiring each other, broadening their horizons and promoting international exchange and cooperation.

Attachment: Introduction to the reporter

    Dr. Zhang Wei, researcher from University of Tokyo, graduated from the Department of Materials Physics of Beijing University of Science and Technology in 2006. Later, he studied electron microscopy under the guidance of Ye Hengqiang Academician from the Institute of Solid Atomic Image Research, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. After graduating from the Ph.D. in 2013, he worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory and University of Tokyo. Dr. Zhang has been engaged in the research of spherical Aberration Corrected Transmission Electron Microscope for more than 12 years and is especially committed to the study of ion transportation phenomena in various materials. For example, a new in-situ micro lithium battery is designed, and the in-situ electron microscopy and in-situ synchrotron radiation techniques are used to study the lithium ion dynamic transportation process and phase transition reaction in the electrode materials from macroscopic to atomic scale;The dynamic motion of doped ions and a series of induced crystal structural changes are analyzed in real-time using in-situ HAADF imaging under the energized state of oxide.Dr. Zhang has published 23 academic papers in international journals such as Physical Review Letters, JACS, Advanced Energy Materials, Nano Letters, Nature Communications, and Science Advances. In 2018, he won the Postdoctoral Scholar Award at the American Electron Microscope Annual Conference.

    Dr. Zhao Yun received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Xiamen University in 2016. He is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Germany.Dr. Zhao has been engaged in the theoretical research of catalytic chemistry for a long time. His research area includes the design and improvement of new catalysts closely related to chemical engineering, energy and environment, and the study of catalytic reaction mechanisms at the catalyst surface and interface, and has achieved a series of scientific innovations. So far, he has published 15 papers in SCI journals including Nature Communications and Journal of Catalysis, 7 of which are published as the first author.