Zhengtao Zhu from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, USA, is a materials scientist interested in conjugating polymer and nanomaterial composites, their interesting optical and charge transport properties, and their applications in flexible electronics and sensors.

 What inspired you to become a scientist? 

I was encouraged by my advisor Dr. Musfeldt during my graduate studies to become a scientist and teacher. I started to be interested in science when I was in middle school, partially because physical science and mathematics were popular in China at that time. I have been fortunate to work with mentors and colleagues with great personalities whilst pursuing my scientific career. 

 What was your motivation behind the work described in your ChemComm article? 

My research in the past several years has focused on electronically-active conjugated polymer and nanomaterial composites, with the goal of understanding the unique optical and charge transport properties of these materials at the nanometer scale and to explore the applications of these materials in flexible electronics and sensors. 

The idea of a sensor based on electrospun nanofibers came up when I had my regular afternoon coffee break with my colleague Dr. Fong, the other corresponding author for the article, who is a well-known expert in electrospinning. We thought it would be cool to demonstrate a general and simple approach to produce one-dimensional semiconducting nanomaterials readily integrated into optoelectronic devices. 

 Why did you choose ChemComm to publish your work? 

ChemComm is a high-quality journal that is well respected in the science community. I like the broad audience, the quick peer-review and publication process, and the high impact of the journal. 

 Where do you see your research heading next? 

In this work we developed a general and simple approach to fabricate ultraviolet sensors from the electrospun ZnO nanofibers. We are interested in the charge transport details of the ZnO nanofibers, and how the charge transport may be affected by the surface functionalization of the ZnO nanofibers. In addition, we plan to develop chemical sensors based on our electrospun ZnO approach, by incorporating chemical-specific functional groups on the surface of the material. 

 What do enjoy doing in your spare time? 

I enjoy playing with my two little kids in my spare time. In the summer we often go hiking in the beautiful Black Hills. 

 If you could not be a scientist, but could be anything else, what would you be? 

I would like to be a tennis player.