Title:Advancing the Molecular Trapdoor Mechanism

Speaker:Associate Professor Shang Jin from School of Energy and Environment,City University of Hong Kong

Time:9:30 a.m.,Tuesday,June 24,2025

Venue:Room 105 of the Shaw Engineering Building

Inviter:Researcher Xiao Jing

Organizing Unit:School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Speaker Profile:

Chemical separations are major energy consumers globally. Adsorption-based separation especially molecular-sieving separation presents a more sustainable alternative to conventional distillation. However, traditional molecular sieving via size exclusion becoming ineffective when separating gases with similar molecular dimensions. This lecture presents the molecular trapdoor mechanism, a novel approach based on selective interactions between gas molecules and pore-keeping groups, rather than size exclusion. Recent advances including trapdoor zeolites achieving size-inverse Xe/Kr separation and same-size CO₂/C₂H₂ sieving will be highlighted. These findings underscore the transformative potential of molecular trapdoor zeolites in addressing long-standing challenges in adsorption-based gas separations.

Abstract:

Jin Shang is a tenured Associate Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, specializing in adsorption-based gas separation technology, finding applications in carbon capture, carbon removal, the extraction of toxic gases etc. Prof. Shang discovered the molecular trapdoor mechanism, the fourth recognized method for adsorption-based separation showing the highest CO2 selectivity in natural gas purification. He has received the 2024 Carbon Capture Award for Excellent Research and the 2022 ISTP-Bogen Young Scientist Award. With over 130 papers published and an h-index of 52, Prof. Shang is among Stanford's top 2 % most highly cited scientists in 2022, 2023, and 2024.