editorial www.MaterialsViews.com
Nanostructured Materials for a Sustainable Future
Sustainability
has never been so important for our society, and it is believed that nanostructured materials could play a vital role in the sustainable future of our planet. Nanoscience, the science of the extremely small, has offered much promise regarding contributions to sustainability. When Nobel laureate Feynman described his visionary ideas half a century ago, about creating devices and processing information at the atomic scale, it was not possible for him to foresee how nanotechnology would revolutionize science and engineering today. Another Nobel laureate, Smalley, has predicted that nanotechnology may provide solutions to cope with global challenges such as the fast-growing energy demands of the modern word. Nowadays, new kinds of nanostructured materials are being designed every day for various applications contributing to sustainability efforts, including energy provisions, environmental protection, food safety, green engineering, and healthcare.
the environment, and establish international coalition. For this purpose, we have organized this special issue with collected visions and innovative ideas from chemists, physicists, and materials scientists on how nanostructured materials could generate exciting applications that may revolutionize our future lives.
W
e are also honored to dedicate this special issue to Professor Hulin Li from Lanzhou University in China on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Professor Li is one of the most distinguished electrochemists and materials scientists in China. Over the past 55 years, Professor Li has not only made many outstanding contributions to electrochemistry, catalysis, and energy materials himself, but also trained a large group of researchers to promote research in China.
I
t is recognized that sustainability problems exhibit a high complexity, and finding solutions relies on multidisciplinary cooperation. To increase the pace towards building an eco-friendly future, scientists from a broad variety of fields are required to work together through collaborative education and scientific research to encourage innovation, improve human resources, preserve Prof. H.-L. Zhang State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Lanzhou University Lanzhou 730000, PR China E-mail: [email protected] Prof. J. Liu Department of Chemistry Duke University Durham, NC 27708–0354, USA E-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1002/smll.201501300
3204 www.small-journal.com
Professor Hulin Li (1936.6-
P
)
rofessor Li started working in Lanzhou University after his graduation from Northwest University (China) in 1960, which was the most difficult period in China for researchers. When China started interacting with western countries, he traveled to the USA in 1985 to work in the University of Tennessee as a visiting scholar. There, he developed his interest in energy research. In 1989, he was involved in
the challenging mission of validating the controversial results of cold nuclear fusion, and the experimental results from Li and his colleagues, along with a few other groups, reached the important conclusion that cold nuclear fusion was not feasible under the reported conditions. Later, he was appointed as an adjunct professor in the Chemistry Department of the University of Tennessee, which was the first time such a title was given to a Chinese person.
T
he next phase of Professor Li’s career started in 1990, when he moved back to Lanzhou University and established his own research group. His interests stemmed from a passion for fundamental knowledge of electrochemical reactions and expanding the applications of this knowledge to much broader fields related to environmental preservation, catalysis, and energy storage.
The first pioneering contribution Li’s group made to the community is on electron transport through self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). His group experimentally proved that the electron tunneling rate constant is independent of the measuring potential and the terminal group of the alkylthiolate SAM. These results have become a background knowledge for the fundamental investigation of charge transport within molecular assembly systems, which plays an essential role in dealing with kinetics using Marcus’ electron transfer theory. His group also developed highly sensitive hydrazine sensors using molecular assembly systems, which was successfully applied by one of the satellite launching bases in China.
I
n the late 1990s, Professor Li barged into the nano world. His group devoted great efforts to the fabrication of highly ordered nanostructures using electrochemical methods. They introduced anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) templates to China, and made fantastic achievements toward the fabrication
© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
small 2015, 11, No. 27, 3204–3205
www.MaterialsViews.com
of regular arrays of uniform nanowires using an electrochemical deposition method. By optimizing the preparation conditions to produce nearly perfectly ordered pore arrays, the AAO templates from Li’s group offered ideal model systems to investigate many fundamental issues in the nano world. The most well-known results from Professor Li’s group include unveiling the magnetic reversal mechanism through studying arrays of magnetic nanowires and controlling anisotropic surface plasmon resonance using noble metal nanorods and nanowires.
E
nergy-related issues have always been Professor Li’s research passion throughout his career in the US and China. Facilitated by a deep insight into electrochemistry and an interdisciplinary vision of the field, Professor Li made significant achievements in the field of energy materials. Li’s group reported a series of novel nanocatalysts for fuel cells and highly efficient electrode materials for lithium batteries and supercapacitors. Professor Li has devoted considerable effort toward the industrial application of his discoveries, and transferred many of his inventions into battery products.
D
uring his distinguished and productive career spanning over 55 years, Professor Hulin Li has been an author on around 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications, most of which are highly cited, and his recent h index was 52 according to the ISI. He has received numerous awards, and has remained active in research on nanostructured materials even after his retirement from Lanzhou University. He has been appointed as an adjunct professor by several Chinese universities and was still authoring scientific publications last year. In February 2015, Professor Li was listed as one of the 2014 Most Cited Chinese Researchers by Elsevier. His legacy continues through the work of his students: Professor Li has
small 2015, 11, No. 27, 3204–3205
had 49 PhD and 16 Masters students. He is known to share with his students his vision and the challenges of materials science, and to encourage them to develop independent ideas toward resolving problems. Over 40 of his students have now received professorships in universities or academic institutions worldwide, and several of them are serving as academic editors for scientific journals.
appreciation to all the authors for their dedicated efforts and contributions. We sincerely hope that the readers of Small will enjoy this special issue.
T
his special issue of Small, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Professor Hulin Li, represents a tribute to his outstanding scientific contributions and an opportunity to express congratulations to his good health as well as best wishes from all of his students, colleagues, and friends.
This issue contains 13 papers with a concept article, six reviews, three communications and three full papers, all contributed by Li’s group members, alumni, and collaborators. The papers were peer reviewed and assembled as a cutting edge showcase of the very best research in the field. The content of these papers covers a broad range of nanostructured materials related to sustainability, including the controlled synthesis of low-dimensional nanomaterials, applications of engineered nanostructures for water treatment and catalysis, controlling nanomaterial morphology for highly efficient photovoltaics and fuel cells, and functionalizing nanostructures for energy storage and conversion, sensors, and nonlinear optics.
W
e have received great support and cooperation from Dr. José Oliveira, Editor-in-Chief of Small, and Dr. Guangchen Xu, a Deputy Editor of Small, in organizing this special issue. Our gratitude goes to the whole editorial office of Small. Without their professional and enthusiastic work, this special issue could not possibly have become a reality on time. We would also like to express our sincere
© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Hao-Li Zhang received a B.S. from Lanzhou University in 1994. He obtained a PhD in 1999 under the joint supervision of Prof. H. Li (Lanzhou University) and Prof. Z. Liu (Peking University). He then worked in the University of Leeds and the University of Oxford. Since 2004, he has been at the State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry (SKLAOC) of Lanzhou University as a full professor. In 2006, he became the deputy director of the SKLAOC. Dr. Zhang’s expertise lies in the design and synthesis of functionalized organic materials and hybrid nanomaterials for electronic and optoelectronic applications.
Jie Liu is currently the George B. Geller Professor of Chemistry at Duke University. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Shandong University in 1987 and a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1996. His research interests include the synthesis and chemical functionalization of nanomaterials, nanoelectronic devices, scanning probe microscopy, and carbon nanomaterials. Prof. Liu received the DuPont Young Professor Award, Outstanding Overseas Young Investigator Award from NSF-China, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, and Bass Professorship from Duke University for excellence in teaching and research.
www.small-journal.com
3205
Nanostructured Materials for a Sustainable Future
Sustainability
has never been so important for our society, and it is believed that nanostructured materials could play a vital role in the sustainable future of our planet. Nanoscience, the science of the extremely small, has offered much promise regarding contributions to sustainability. When Nobel laureate Feynman described his visionary ideas half a century ago, about creating devices and processing information at the atomic scale, it was not possible for him to foresee how nanotechnology would revolutionize science and engineering today. Another Nobel laureate, Smalley, has predicted that nanotechnology may provide solutions to cope with global challenges such as the fast-growing energy demands of the modern word. Nowadays, new kinds of nanostructured materials are being designed every day for various applications contributing to sustainability efforts, including energy provisions, environmental protection, food safety, green engineering, and healthcare.
the environment, and establish international coalition. For this purpose, we have organized this special issue with collected visions and innovative ideas from chemists, physicists, and materials scientists on how nanostructured materials could generate exciting applications that may revolutionize our future lives.
W
e are also honored to dedicate this special issue to Professor Hulin Li from Lanzhou University in China on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Professor Li is one of the most distinguished electrochemists and materials scientists in China. Over the past 55 years, Professor Li has not only made many outstanding contributions to electrochemistry, catalysis, and energy materials himself, but also trained a large group of researchers to promote research in China.
I
t is recognized that sustainability problems exhibit a high complexity, and finding solutions relies on multidisciplinary cooperation. To increase the pace towards building an eco-friendly future, scientists from a broad variety of fields are required to work together through collaborative education and scientific research to encourage innovation, improve human resources, preserve Prof. H.-L. Zhang State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Lanzhou University Lanzhou 730000, PR China E-mail: [email protected] Prof. J. Liu Department of Chemistry Duke University Durham, NC 27708–0354, USA E-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1002/smll.201501300
3204 www.small-journal.com
Professor Hulin Li (1936.6-
P
)
rofessor Li started working in Lanzhou University after his graduation from Northwest University (China) in 1960, which was the most difficult period in China for researchers. When China started interacting with western countries, he traveled to the USA in 1985 to work in the University of Tennessee as a visiting scholar. There, he developed his interest in energy research. In 1989, he was involved in
the challenging mission of validating the controversial results of cold nuclear fusion, and the experimental results from Li and his colleagues, along with a few other groups, reached the important conclusion that cold nuclear fusion was not feasible under the reported conditions. Later, he was appointed as an adjunct professor in the Chemistry Department of the University of Tennessee, which was the first time such a title was given to a Chinese person.
T
he next phase of Professor Li’s career started in 1990, when he moved back to Lanzhou University and established his own research group. His interests stemmed from a passion for fundamental knowledge of electrochemical reactions and expanding the applications of this knowledge to much broader fields related to environmental preservation, catalysis, and energy storage.
The first pioneering contribution Li’s group made to the community is on electron transport through self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). His group experimentally proved that the electron tunneling rate constant is independent of the measuring potential and the terminal group of the alkylthiolate SAM. These results have become a background knowledge for the fundamental investigation of charge transport within molecular assembly systems, which plays an essential role in dealing with kinetics using Marcus’ electron transfer theory. His group also developed highly sensitive hydrazine sensors using molecular assembly systems, which was successfully applied by one of the satellite launching bases in China.
I
n the late 1990s, Professor Li barged into the nano world. His group devoted great efforts to the fabrication of highly ordered nanostructures using electrochemical methods. They introduced anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) templates to China, and made fantastic achievements toward the fabrication
© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
small 2015, 11, No. 27, 3204–3205
www.MaterialsViews.com
of regular arrays of uniform nanowires using an electrochemical deposition method. By optimizing the preparation conditions to produce nearly perfectly ordered pore arrays, the AAO templates from Li’s group offered ideal model systems to investigate many fundamental issues in the nano world. The most well-known results from Professor Li’s group include unveiling the magnetic reversal mechanism through studying arrays of magnetic nanowires and controlling anisotropic surface plasmon resonance using noble metal nanorods and nanowires.
E
nergy-related issues have always been Professor Li’s research passion throughout his career in the US and China. Facilitated by a deep insight into electrochemistry and an interdisciplinary vision of the field, Professor Li made significant achievements in the field of energy materials. Li’s group reported a series of novel nanocatalysts for fuel cells and highly efficient electrode materials for lithium batteries and supercapacitors. Professor Li has devoted considerable effort toward the industrial application of his discoveries, and transferred many of his inventions into battery products.
D
uring his distinguished and productive career spanning over 55 years, Professor Hulin Li has been an author on around 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications, most of which are highly cited, and his recent h index was 52 according to the ISI. He has received numerous awards, and has remained active in research on nanostructured materials even after his retirement from Lanzhou University. He has been appointed as an adjunct professor by several Chinese universities and was still authoring scientific publications last year. In February 2015, Professor Li was listed as one of the 2014 Most Cited Chinese Researchers by Elsevier. His legacy continues through the work of his students: Professor Li has
small 2015, 11, No. 27, 3204–3205
had 49 PhD and 16 Masters students. He is known to share with his students his vision and the challenges of materials science, and to encourage them to develop independent ideas toward resolving problems. Over 40 of his students have now received professorships in universities or academic institutions worldwide, and several of them are serving as academic editors for scientific journals.
appreciation to all the authors for their dedicated efforts and contributions. We sincerely hope that the readers of Small will enjoy this special issue.
T
his special issue of Small, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Professor Hulin Li, represents a tribute to his outstanding scientific contributions and an opportunity to express congratulations to his good health as well as best wishes from all of his students, colleagues, and friends.
This issue contains 13 papers with a concept article, six reviews, three communications and three full papers, all contributed by Li’s group members, alumni, and collaborators. The papers were peer reviewed and assembled as a cutting edge showcase of the very best research in the field. The content of these papers covers a broad range of nanostructured materials related to sustainability, including the controlled synthesis of low-dimensional nanomaterials, applications of engineered nanostructures for water treatment and catalysis, controlling nanomaterial morphology for highly efficient photovoltaics and fuel cells, and functionalizing nanostructures for energy storage and conversion, sensors, and nonlinear optics.
W
e have received great support and cooperation from Dr. José Oliveira, Editor-in-Chief of Small, and Dr. Guangchen Xu, a Deputy Editor of Small, in organizing this special issue. Our gratitude goes to the whole editorial office of Small. Without their professional and enthusiastic work, this special issue could not possibly have become a reality on time. We would also like to express our sincere
© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Hao-Li Zhang received a B.S. from Lanzhou University in 1994. He obtained a PhD in 1999 under the joint supervision of Prof. H. Li (Lanzhou University) and Prof. Z. Liu (Peking University). He then worked in the University of Leeds and the University of Oxford. Since 2004, he has been at the State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry (SKLAOC) of Lanzhou University as a full professor. In 2006, he became the deputy director of the SKLAOC. Dr. Zhang’s expertise lies in the design and synthesis of functionalized organic materials and hybrid nanomaterials for electronic and optoelectronic applications.
Jie Liu is currently the George B. Geller Professor of Chemistry at Duke University. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Shandong University in 1987 and a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1996. His research interests include the synthesis and chemical functionalization of nanomaterials, nanoelectronic devices, scanning probe microscopy, and carbon nanomaterials. Prof. Liu received the DuPont Young Professor Award, Outstanding Overseas Young Investigator Award from NSF-China, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, and Bass Professorship from Duke University for excellence in teaching and research.
www.small-journal.com
3205
