Time: 16:00, December 24, 2025

Venue: Room 345, Building 25, Wushan Campus, South China University of Technology

Lecture 1:

Title: Chemically Driven Supramolecular Soft Matter Membranes: From Molecular Engineering to Water-Energy Applications

Speaker: Dr. Lu Gang

Speaker Profile: Dr. Lu Gang is dedicated to the cutting-edge research of supramolecular soft materials and interface engineering. His research focuses on key fields such as water treatment, energy conversion, and health monitoring, aiming to develop sustainable material systems with practical application potential. He has published 9 first-author papers in prestigious journals, including Nature Communications, Science Advances, Energy & Environmental Science, Matter, and Advanced Functional Materials , and holds 2 U.S. patents. Centered on molecular engineering, his research conducts systematic exploration around the following directions: Supramolecular Membrane Materials, Intelligent Soft Materials, Bioinspired Interface Systems.

Abstract: 

Supramolecular soft materials,with their programmable non-covalent interactions and dynamic structural characteristics, offer a highly promising platform for the development of next-generation sustainable technologies. However, traditional membrane materialsfor water purification and energy conversion applications generally face the trade-off dilemma between permeability and selectivity, as well as insufficient stability in harsh chemical environments, which severely restrict their practical applications.

This lecture will focus on introducing chemically driven molecular engineering strategies designed to fundamentally overcome these limitations through precise molecular design and controlled assembly. Specifically, a nano-confined controlled crystallization method has been developed to successfully fabricate ultrathin crystalline membranes with long-range ordered and robust sub-nanometer channels. Multi-scale characterizations have clearly revealed the highly ordered nano crystalline domain structure within the membranes and their excellent mechanical strength,which are directly correlated with significant performance enhancements,including efficient seawater desalination and outstanding osmotic energy conversion efficiency.

To further clarify the origin of performance, density functional theory calculations are employed to reveal the crucial guiding role of interfacial hydrogen bonds in directing the precise assembly of molecules. Meanwhile, molecular dynamics simulations are utilized to elucidate the solute transport mechanism at the atomic level: the highly ordered channels not only enable rapid water permeation but also construct high-energy barriers for ion transmembrane transport, thereby achieving both high selectivity and high flux simultaneously.

This research highlights the importance of understanding the structure-performance relationship at the molecular level fordesigning advanced functional materials. It not only provides a chemical basis and design paradigm for the systematic development of supramolecular softmatter membranes but also opens up new technical path ways to address global water security and sustainable energy challenges.

Lecture 2:

Title: Polymer Synthesis and Material Development Based on Molecular Design

Speaker: Dr. Li Feng

Speaker Profile: Dr. Li Feng is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University,Japan. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Chemistryand Molecular Engineering, Peking University in 2011, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Organic Chemistry from Tohoku University, Japan in 2016. After obtaining his doctoral degree, he conducted postdoctoral research in polymer chemistry at Yale University, USA and École Polytechnique Fédérale deLausanne (EPFL), Switzerland from 2017 to 2020. In late 2020, he joined Kanazawa University, Japan as a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor. Since May 2022, he has worked at the Faculty of Engineering,Hokkaido University.

Dr. Li Feng's research background covers polymer chemistry and organic chemistry. His current research focuses on sustainable polymer synthesis, including the high-value utilization of renewable biomass resources, the development of chemically recyclable polymer materials, and the construction of environmentally friendly catalytic systems.He was awarded the Polymer Research Award by the Society of  Polymer Science,Japan (2024), the Kanto Chemical Research Planning Award by the Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan (2024), and was named one of the Rising Stars in Polymer Science 2025 by the journal Polymer Journal.

Abstract:

From the perspective of the basic elements influencing polymer synthesis and material performance, structural regulation at the molecular level is crucial. The structural design of both mono mermolecules and catalyst molecules will significantly affect the process and regulation mode of polymerization reactions, determine the microscopic composition and structure of the resulting polymers, and ultimately reflect in the differences in the macroscopic performance of the materials. Based on the understanding of the structure-performance relationship of polymers, the speaker has developed various novel controlled polymerization methods starting from the most fundamental level of molecular design, and has efficiently synthesized a series of novel polymer materials using cellulose degradation products as raw materials. The main research work includes:

By designing and synthesizing a new type of comonomer inibramer combined with the reversible-deactivation radical polymerization strategy, site-specific initiation and controlled synthesis of hyperbranched polymers are realized.

A new type of surface boron-initiating reagent is designed and developed, and the surface-controlled polymerization modification of polyethylene (polymethylene) is successfully achieved by utilizing the C1 polymerization reaction of sulfur ylides.

Using levoglucosenone (LGO) anddihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene), the degradation products of cellulose, as platform molecules, chemically recyclable unnatural (1→6) polysaccharide materials, as well as novel polyether and polyester materials with high glasstransition temperatures, are efficiently synthesized and developed.

Based on the in-depth understanding of thering-opening polymerization mechanism, safer, more efficient organic catalysts and polymerization systems with excellent chemo selectivity are developed.

Lecture 3:

Title: High-performance Functional Polymer Devices Based on Microstructure Design

Speaker: Dr. Yu Zhaohan

Speaker Profile: Dr. Yu Zhaohan, female,born in 1996, received her Bachelor of Engineering and Doctor of Engineering degrees from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2017 and 2022. Since 2023, she has been working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University. Her research field is functional polymer devices, focusing on how to improve the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of devices by regulating the microscopic polymer network and macroscopic porous structure of polymer materials. She has published 28 academic papers, with more than 600 citations. Among them, as the first/corresponding first author, she has published 8 papers, including 3 in the top energy journal Nano Energy, 1 in the well-established materials journal Advanced Science, and 2 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. She also published a Perspective article in Science as the first author. She has participated in international academic conferences 4 times and delivered presentations, and holds 10 authorized invention patents. In addition, she serves as a reviewer for journals such as Nature Reviews Materials and Science Advances, and a guest editor for the JCR-Q1journal Gels.

Abstract: Functional polymer devices are widely used in cutting-edge fields such as sensing, energy conversion, and bioinspired robotics, among which microstructure design is the key determinant of their performance and functions. This work focuses on achieving the synergistic improvement of the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of devices by regulating the microscopic polymer network structure and macroscopic porous architecture of polymer materials. Based on the above structural design strategies, we have prepared soft robots with high response sensitivity, energy conversion devices with high efficiency, high-performance solid-state refrigeration materials, and polymer material systems with excellent fracture and fatigue resistance,providing new ideas and methods for the integrated structure-performance design of high-performance functional polymer devices.