Toward advanced materials research and emerging engineering education at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University

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Abstract

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University (MSE-NKU), Materials Horizons has published this collection showcasing some of the recent and impactful research from the faculties and the alumni at MSE-NKU.

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Moyuan Cao

Dr Moyuan Cao is currently a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University. He also serves as the deputy director of the National Institute of Advanced Materials at Nankai University. He received his BEng Degree (2010) and MSc Degree (2013) from Zhejiang University, and his PhD degree (2016) under the supervision of Prof. Lei Jiang at Beihang University. He has published over 80 scientific papers in journals such as Matter, Adv. Mater., Mater. Horiz., with an H-index of 42. He serves as an editorial board member of Polymers etc. and advisory board member of Mater. Horiz. His current scientific interests focus on the design, integration, and application of bioinspired fluid-manipulating interfaces.

Yaping Du

Dr Yaping Du is the professor and the vice Dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering in Nankai University. He is also the executive director of the Rare Earth and Inorganic Functional Materials Research Center in Nankai University. He obtained his doctoral degree in Peking University in 2009 (supervised by Academician Chun-Hua Yan). He has won the National Natural Science Foundation of Excellent Youth Fund, etc. Besides, he has also been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Vice-Chairman of the Crystals Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths, and Associate Editor of RSC Adv. His research mainly focuses on novel rare earth functional materials. He has published more than 160 papers as the corresponding author in journals such as Sci. Adv., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Adv. Mater., Chem. Soc. Rev., with a total citation over 18 000 times.

Jiajie Liang

Dr Jiajie Liang received his BS degree in chemistry from Nankai University in 2006. He obtained his PhD degree in polymer chemistry and physics at Nankai University in 2011, supervised by Prof. Yongsheng Chen. From 2011 to 2016, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Qibing Pei's group at the University of California, Los Angeles. He then returned to Nankai University as a full professor and established the Lab for Printed and Wearable Electronics at the School of Materials Science & Engineering. He has published over 50 papers, including in top journals such as Nat. Photonics, Nat. Commun., and Adv. Mater., with citation counts exceeding 11 000 times.

Zhong-Yong Yuan

Dr Zhong-Yong Yuan received his PhD degree in Physical Chemistry from Nankai University in 1999. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, from 1999 to 2001. He then moved to Belgium, working as a research fellow at the University of Namur from 2001 to 2005, before joining Nankai University as a full professor. In 2016, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). He is currently the director of the Institute of New Catalytic Materials Science in MSE. He has published over 400 papers in journals such as Chem. Soc. Rev. and Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., with citations exceeding 22 000. His research mainly focuses on the self-assembly of hierarchically nanoporous and nanostructured materials for energy and environmental applications.

Shuqi Chen

Dr Shuqi Chen is a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering and the School of Physics, Nankai University in China. In 2009, he received his joint training PhD from the University of Arizona, USA, and Nankai University, China. In 2024, he was appointed Dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Nankai University. He has published over 170 papers in journals such as Phys. Rev. Lett., Light: Sci. & Appl., and Adv. Mater. His current research interests include nonlinear optics, photonics, acoustics metasurfaces, and subwavelength electromagnetics.

Xian-He Bu

Dr Xian-He Bu received his BS and PhD degrees from Nankai University in 1986 and 1992, supervised by Prof. Yun-Ti Chen. He was promoted to full professor in 1995. He has served as a visiting professor at Tokyo University (1999), Kyoto University (2002), and other institutions. In 2021, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and has served as an associate editor for Chem. Soc. Rev. and other journals. He was the Dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Nankai University from 2016 to 2024. He has published over 600 scientific papers in journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. and Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., with over 30 000 citations. His research focuses on functional coordination chemistry, MOFs, crystal engineering, molecular magnetism, and related fields.

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Nankai University, one of China's most prestigious institutions, was established in 1919. During World War II, it merged with Peking University and Tsinghua University in Kunming to create the renowned Southwest Associated University, famously called “The North Star of Higher Learning.” Over the years, Nankai University alumni have played key roles in fields such as mathematics, chemistry, politics, and education. Among its most notable alumnus is former Premier Zhou Enlai.

In 1999, Nankai University combined its expertise in chemistry and physics to create a new discipline in advanced materials. In line with the national strategy to develop new materials and support emerging engineering education, the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE-NKU) was officially established at the Jinan Campus in June 2015. At the same time, following the country's innovative mixed-ownership economic model, the National Institute of Advanced Materials (NIAM) at Nankai University was also founded.

The School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Nankai University is committed to six cutting-edge research areas aligned with China's national strategic priorities. Each area is linked to a specialized academic unit: the Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, the Institute of New Catalytic Materials Science, the Research Center for Rare Earth and Inorganic Functional Materials, the Research Center for Optical, Electrical, and Magnetic Materials, the Research Center for Carbon Nanotechnology and Polymer Composites, and the Research Center for Photonics and Electronic Materials.

MSE has assembled a distinguished faculty team of over 100 scholars, many of whom are among the most accomplished experts in China. According to the latest Essential Science Indicators, MSE-NKU ranks 54th globally (top 0.035%), reflecting its outstanding achievements and growing international academic influence. This collection aims to highlight the broad range of research at MSE-NKU, including energy materials, rare-earth elements, catalytic materials, advanced porous materials, and polymeric materials. We hope that this compilation of more than 30 publications will serve as a representative showcase of the school's contributions to materials science.

The Organic photovoltaics section highlights advances in high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs) through innovative material design and device engineering, aiming to overcome key challenges such as limited efficiency, operational stability, and scalability. Kan's group reported a novel medium-bandgap dimeric electron acceptor, DYO-1, featuring an elevated lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level and a blue-shifted absorption spectrum. Binary OSCs based on PM6:DYO-1, processed with o-xylene, achieved an exceptionally high open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.02 V along with outstanding thermal stability. Additionally, incorporating DYO-1 as a guest component into the PM6:L8-BO-X host blend effectively suppressed excessive aggregation of the small-molecule acceptor within the active layer. This approach yielded a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.6% for o-xylene-processed small-area devices and 15.8% for a 13.5 cm² mini-module. These findings underscore the potential of medium-bandgap dimeric acceptors in developing efficient and stable OSCs, offering valuable molecular design insights for next-generation electron acceptors (https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MH00129C).

The Zeolite catalysis section offers a detailed overview of recent advances in the synthesis, structural analysis, and catalytic uses of nanosheet zeolites. Dai's group systematically reviewed methods such as surfactant-templated in situ hydrothermal growth, seed-assisted crystallization, exfoliation, pillaring, and intergrowth, highlighting the significant impact of nanosheet structures on catalytic performance. The review assesses improvements in catalytic efficiency for key reactions like methanol conversion, catalytic cracking, isomerization, alkylation, carbonylation, and oxidation. By establishing clear links between nanosheet shape and better catalytic results, this work emphasizes the key role of zeolite nanosheets as versatile functional materials with strong potential to advance next-generation catalytic technologies (https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MH00579E).

The Energy storage materials section focuses on developing materials and structures that meet essential requirements for safety, energy density, and stability in next-generation rechargeable batteries. It highlights the creation of innovative polymer architectures and interfacial engineering methods for high-performance energy storage. For instance, Liu's group created a comb-like poly(β-amino ester)-modified PEO-based solid polymer electrolyte with a flexible backbone, multifunctional groups, and dynamic hydrogen bonding. This design allows for high ionic conductivity, reduces dendrite growth, and supports long-term cycling, making it suitable for safe, high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries. This work shows a practical and scalable approach to multifunctional polymer electrolytes for safe, durable solid batteries (https://doi.org/10.1039/d4mh01181c).

The Battery anode design section of the all-solid-state lithium battery (ASSLB) focuses on fundamental research and developing highly stable batteries. Its goal is to solve key scientific challenges in designing high-performance anodes, promote the practical use of ASSLBs, and link basic research with technical applications. Du's group enhanced lithium–indium (Li–In) anodes by adding rare earth (RE) elements (Ce, Y, La, Pr, Sm, and Yb), which greatly prevent the formation of Li–In dendrites. The growth of Li–In dendrites was observed in situ using specialized solid cells. The fabricated Li–In-RE-based ASSLBs show excellent cycling stability, and a correlation between electrochemical performance and metal bond strength has been established. This method offers promise for advancing high-performance anodes in ASSLBs (https://doi.org/10.1039/d5mh00466g).

The CO₂ capture and conversion section focuses on developing catalytic systems for sustainable energy applications, especially visible-light-driven CO₂ reduction. By using metal–organic framework (MOF)-based catalysts, a Z-scheme heterojunction mimicking natural enzymatic structures was built to boost photocatalytic efficiency. For example, Wang's group designed a TiOF₂@PCN-222-Fe heterojunction with L-cysteine as a biomimetic linker, replicating the structural features of cytochrome c oxidase. In this system, the –SH group of L-cysteine coordinates axially with Fe³⁺ in the ferroporphyrin unit of PCN-222-Fe, while the –COOH group attaches to Ti⁴⁺ in TiOF₂. This work opens new possibilities for sustainable photocatalytic systems through thoughtful heterojunction engineering (https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MH00272A).

The global mandate for carbon neutrality presents significant opportunities and challenges for advanced membrane technologies, especially in the vital energy and environmental sectors. Crystalline porous membranes are a key type of functional materials ready to address these challenges. Therefore, innovations in new membrane materials, fabrication processes, and high-performance devices are crucial to achieving these ambitious goals. Liang's group offers a comprehensive review of the categories and fabrication methods of crystalline porous membranes, with a special focus on their growing applications in energy and environmental fields. Their work also clarifies important structure–property–performance relationships, highlights the benefits of crystalline porous membrane devices, and explores future research directions to unlock their full potential in supporting carbon neutrality (https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MH00766F).

The guest editors are excited to see the creative works and comprehensive review articles in this collection, and we gratefully thank all the authors, publishing editors, and reviewers for their invaluable contributions. We hope that readers of Materials Horizons, as well as those of other materials-related journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry, will find these articles—covering polymeric materials, functional materials, energy materials, etc.—insightful and inspiring. Meanwhile, we are eager to showcase the scientific achievements of MSE-NKU and warmly welcome continued engagement and collaboration with our school. Building on the momentum of the past decade, we hope that in the next 10 years, MSE-NKU can provide more innovative materials and techniques, aiming to become a world-class college of materials science.

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