Polymer Supramolecular Nanotechnology
Polymer, supramolecular chemistry, nanomaterials
Developing approaches for defined-synthesis of functional nanomaterials in terms of their morphology, architecture and chemical composition is of paramount importance in nanotechnology, but remains a challenging task. Inspired by natural self-assembled systems (e.g. cells), a multidisciplinary research frontier of supramolecular chemistry has emerged to address this challenge for nanotechnology innovations.
As a polymer supramolecular group, we strive to develop new synthetic strategies for supramolecular functional nanomaterials by using polymers as building blocks. Particularly, we are interested in the self-assembling behaviour of metallopolymers for a new generation of processible and tunable nanomaterials with optical, magnetic, electronic, redox and catalytic properties due to the presence of metal elements. The resulting materials are expected to have useful applications in modern technologies such as nanobiomedicine, nanoelectronics, sensors, energy storage and conversion. Current research interests lie in the following two discrete but related topics:
- Block copolymer-assisted supramolecular hybrid colloid synthesis for functional nanomaterials.
- Synthesis and self-assembly of functional polymer building blocks, e.g. metallopolymers.
Several positions are available for graduate and undergraduate students.