(2ct) Molecular Engineering and Structural Design of Polymeric Materials for Energy-Water-Environment Nexus

The world has undergone an unparalleled transformation in the past centuries. The population explosion, the industrial revolution, and our lifestyle changes have all created problems and imbalances. For instance, water scarcity, melting glaciers, intense heat waves, and air pollution continue to threaten our lives. During my doctoral study at UT Austin, I worked on solutions to global water scarcity by developing polymeric materials for solar-powered water purification systems. Specifically, I designed solar-absorbing hydrogel composites to efficiently harvest solar energy and power water evaporation. Taking advantage of polymer-solvent interactions and chemical functionalization, I then rationally tailored the surface topography and wettability of hydrogel evaporators to regulate water evaporation behavior, which further boosted clean water yield. Furthermore, I exploited molecular engineering of polymers to endow hydrogel evaporators with heavy metal ion adsorption and antibacterial features for practical application. My doctoral research highlighted the potential of hydrogel-based materials for next-generation solar purification systems with high clean water production, low cost, and broad applicability in various conditions.

Continuing postdoctoral training at UT, I worked on another sustainable strategy to enable access to fresh water by capturing ubiquitous moisture from the air regardless of geographical and hydrologic conditions. I developed a novel super hygroscopic polymer film to rapidly capture water vapor in arid environments. The thermoresponsive polymer backbone further facilitates the fast release of captured water, allowing multiple operating cycles per day with low energy input. Notably, this polymer film is synthesized from renewable biomasses via a user-friendly casting method, which is scalable for future implementation.

My current postdoctoral research at MIT focuses on mitigating global warming via carbon dioxide capture technologies. I designed structured low-cost polymeric nanocomposite electrodes to enhance the kinetics of electro-swing carbon dioxide separation cells. I am also working on direct air capture by developing amine-functionalized hydrogels. In addition to fast kinetics enabled by hierarchical porous structure, solid polymer materials offer advantages in low energy input and minimal corrosion for carbon dioxide capture compared to the traditional solution-based processes.

Research Interests

My future research will focus on developing porous polymeric materials for applications in energy and environmental sustainability, especially in water harvesting, purification, quality monitoring, carbon capture and utilization, and solar energy conversion and management by leveraging fundamental principles of chemical engineering, polymer chemistry, surface engineering, (photo-)/electrochemistry, materials science, and advanced characterization techniques.

Teaching Interests

With my undergraduate and graduate background in chemical engineering, I am motivated and would love to teach core chemical engineering classes, including heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, chemical reaction engineering, separation processes, etc. I am also highly interested in teaching new or existing courses related to polymer chemistry and soft materials.