Topic: Architectural Diversity of π-Conjugation: From Conjugated Polymers for Clean Energy Conversion to Metal-Free Carbon Catalysts for Environmental Remediation

Speaker: Prof. Liming Dai

Host: Prof. Ben Zhong Tang

Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Time: 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Venue: SIN Wai Kin International Conference Centre (W201), Administration Building

Language: English

Abstract: 

Despite the diversity of their molecular architectures, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene possess a common building block containing a graphitic honeycomb network with conjugated alternating C-C single and C=C double bonds. Due to the conjugated all-carbon structure allowing for delocalization of π-electrons throughout their unique molecular architectures, these low-dimensional carbon allotropes show distinguished electronic, photonic, and magnetic properties similar to inorganic semiconductors or metals. Just like these π-conjugated carbon architectures, various conjugated polymers with alternating single and double bonds can also be synthesized with unusual electrical, optical, magnetic, and catalytic properties. The combination of the unique physicochemical properties of graphitic carbon nanomaterials with comparable optoelectronic properties of appropriate conjugated polymers has yielded some interesting synergetic effects for energy conversion in optoelectronic devices and electro-/photo-catalysis for clean production of chemicals to reduce/eliminate carbon emissions.

In this talk, I will outline our work on rational design and development of advanced conjugated polymers and graphitic carbon nanomaterials for energy-chemical conversions, along with an overview on recent advances, current challenges, and future perspectives in this exciting field.

Speaker Profile:

Liming Dai joined University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2019 as an Australian Laureate Fellow (ARC), Scientia Professor and SHARP Professor at UNSW. He is also Director of the Australian Carbon Materials Centre (A-CMC) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation. Before joining UNSW, he spent 2 years in the Cavendish Laboratory (1990-1992) and 10 years with CSIRO (1992-2002). He was then an associate professor of polymer engineering at the University of Akron (2002-2004), the Wright Brothers Institute Endowed Chair Professor of Nanomaterials at the University of Dayton (2004-2009), and the Kent Hale Smith Professor in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (2009-2019).  Dr. Dai has published more than 600 referred papers with over 140,000 citations and an h-index of 186 (Google Scholar) and held about 20 issued patents. He has also published a research monograph on intelligent macromolecules and 5 edited/co-edited books on carbon nanomaterials for advanced energy systems, environmental and biomedical applications, including a 2-volume edited book on Carbon-based Metal-free Catalysts by Wiley-VCH. He is a ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ (Materials Science, Chemistry). Among his many awards and recognitions, he received the IUMRS-Somiya Award from the International Union of Materials Research Societies (2019), an Australian Laureate Fellowship (2019), NASA-Langley Henry J.E. Reid Award (2018), Advanced Materials Hall of Fame (2018). He serves as an Associate Editor of Nano Energy, the Special Chief Editor for Energy Materials of Frontiers in Materials, and Advisory Committee Member of the American Carbon Society. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (USA), Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, Member of the Academia Europaea, Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.