Joint Seminar with the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering – ISIC
Abstract
Controlled charge flow is fundamental to many areas of science and technology, serving as charge carriers of energy and information, and probes of material properties and reaction kinetics. In nanoscale systems, particularly those with confinement below 2 nm, classical continuum theories, such as the Navier–Stokes, Kelvin, and Hertz–Knudsen equations, begin to fail, and a range of non-classical ionic phenomena emerge, including electrical double layer (EDL) overlap, ionic Coulomb blockade, and ultra-low resistance ion transport. Figure: Controlled Charge Flow in Nanoconfined Iontronics via EDL Regulation
Nanoconfined iontronics, which harnesses ions as charge carriers, offers a promising platform to manipulate charge flux, enabling tunable directionality and magnitude of ionic currents in ways reminiscent of biological neural signaling. In this talk, Wei will present recent advances from his group in the design and understanding of nanoconfined iontronic systems, highlighting their potential in energy, information, and probing chemical reaction kinetics.
Bio
Prof. Di Wei serves as the Principal Investigator at BINN and heads the Iontronics Laboratory. As Member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts (MEASA), Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (FEurASc), Life Fellow of National Academy of Inventors (FNAI) USA, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) UK, Fellow of Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (FIMMM) UK and Life Senior Member of Wolfson College at Cambridge University, he has published over 130 papers including Nat. Energy, Nat. Commun., Sci. Adv., PNAS, Joule, Matter, Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Energ. Environ. Sci., Chem. Soc. Rev. etc. as the first/corresponding author. Prof. Wei also has a portfolio of over 200 international patents (including PCT). Notably, over 100 patents have been successfully granted, many of which have been transferred to leading companies like Nokia in Finland and Lyten in the USA. Additionally, Prof. Wei has edited 6 English books, published by Wiley, Nature Springer and Cambridge University Press etc., focusing on nanotechnology for energy and information technology. His achievements have been recognized by the first prize of the Nokia Global Innovation and Excellence Award, Brian Conway Prize in Physical Electrochemistry from the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) and various other prizes from ISE and RSC.
