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Colloid and Interface Science, Polymer Science and Engineering

My PhD research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (advisors: T. Alan Hatton and Gregory C. Rutledge, Department of Chemical Engineering) focuses on the rational design of polymer-based electrochemical interfaces, by engineering the three key constituents, including functional, electrochemically active, polymeric materials, the electrode and the electrolyte.

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The primary research thrust in my PhD is a systematic investigation of electrochemically active polymer (EAP) systems, ranging from their synthesis methodology to mechanistic understanding to real-world applications and device operation, such as:

A second research topic I’ve worked on is the structural manipulation of polymer-derived carbon electrodes to modulate their electronic properties and electrochemical activities (e.g., Adv. Mater. 2013, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2014, Nano Today 2014, Chem. Mater. 2015, Chem. Mater. 2016).

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Furthermore, I examined the design of novel electrolyte systems, a less explored field in the development of electrochemical interface. My work focuses on understanding the unique interfacial behavior and electrochemical properties of amphiphilic liquid systems showing long-range ordering, and offers insights into the design principles for high-energy-density electrolytes based on spontaneous self-assembly behavior (e.g., Nat. Mater. 2019).

Superresolution Reaction Imaging, Single Molecule Techniques 

- Photo(electro)catalysis, Polymerization Catalysis, Energy Transfer in Bioinorganic Hybrid Systems

My postdoc work at Cornell University (advisor: Peng Chen, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology) focuses on the development of single-molecule catalysis imaging techniques that can accelerate the discovery of materials design principles for energy, environmental and biomedical applications.

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To date my work has been concentrated on i) studying photoelectrochemical energy conversion processes using single-molecule/single-particle approaches (e.g., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, Nano. Lett. 2019), ii) comparing nanoparticle catalysis and enzyme catalysis from a single-molecule perspective (ACS Catal. 2019), and, most importantly, iii) developing a first-of-its-kind technique, COMPEITS, that allows for imaging nonfluorescent reactions at super-resolution (Nat. Chem. 2019, featured on the front cover). Other ongoing efforts include the development of single-molecule/single-particle techniques to study photo(electro)catalysis, polymerization chemistries, and fundamental energy transfer processes in emerging bioinorganic hybrid systems.

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