
PhD (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Broad Area of Research: Nanomaterials Design; Bio-inspired Smart Materials and Interfaces; Sustainable Energy and Technology; Functional Ceramics. Main Research Areas: (1) Self-assembly of metal oxide nanostructures
- Molecular self-assembly of two-dimensional metal oxide nanosheets - Ref: Nature Commun. 5 (2014) 3813.
- Two-step self-assembly of hierarchically-ordered nanostructures - Ref: J. Mater. Chem A 3 (2015) 11677-11688 (Highlight article)
- 3D complex nanostructures - Ref: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133 (2011) 19314-19317; Sci. China Mater. 60 (2017) 1-24.
(2) Bio-inspired smart materials and wettability
- Self-assembly synthesis of bio-inspired nanostructures - Ref: Small 10 (2014) 3000, 3001-3006.
- Wettability of complex nanostructures - Ref: ACS Nano 11 (2017) 2477; Nano Res. 6 (2013) 726-735.
- Multifunctional bio-inspired coatings - Ref: NPG Asia Mater. 7 (2015) e232
(3) Sustainable energy
- Photovoltaics - Ref: Chem. Commun. 49 (2013) 6924; J. Mater. Chem. 22 (2012) 11711; CrystEngComm 14 (2012) 5472.
- Energy Storage - Ref: Adv. Mater., 29 (2017) 1700176; Adv. Energy Mater. 6 (2016) 1501835; Nano Energy 30 (2016) 267-275; 2D Mater. 4 (2017) 015022.
(4) Synthesis-structure-property relationships of metal oxides
- Synthesis-morphology-performance relationships in nanomaterials - Ref: Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13 (2011) 7692; Sci. Rep. 5 (2015) 8987.
- Synthesis-structure-properties relationships in bulk materials - Ref: Inter. Mater. Rev. 59 (2014) 357.
- Theoretical structure-property design - Ref: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 140 (2018) 9159; Nano Energy 32 (2017) 209.
Awards:
- 2015 TMS FMD Young Leaders Professional Development Award, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), USA, 2015
- ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), Australian Research Council, Australia, 2014 (with a grant of AU$373,536)
- The UOW Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2013 (with a grant of AU$350,000)
- The CASS ECR Travel GrantAward, The CASS Foundation, Australia, 2011
- ARC Australian Postdoctoral Research (APD) Fellowship, Australian Research Council, Australia, 2010 (with a grant of AU$330,000)
- NIMS Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, 2009 (with a grant of JP¥9,000,000 )
- Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, 2009 (with a grant of EU€54,000)
- “Shi Chang-Xu” Award, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2009
- “Outstanding Graduate Student” Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2008-2009
Education:
- 2009.7 PhD, Doctor of Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
- 2003.6 BEng, Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, China
Additional information
Work experience:
- 2020.8-present: Professor, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- 2019.3-2023.2: ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- 2018.7-2020.7: Associate Professor, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- 2015.6-2018.7: Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- 2015.6-2018.6: ARC DECRA Fellow, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- 2013.6-2015.6: VC Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow, University of Wollongong, Australia
- 2010.6-2013.6: ARC APD Fellow, University of Wollongong, Australia
- 2009.7-2010.6: NIMS Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan
- 2015.7-2018.6: Honorary Fellow, University of Wollongong, Australia
Community service:
- Editor - Sustainable Materials and Technologies, Elsevier
- Editor - Physics Open, Elsevier
- Principal Editor - Journal of Materials Research, MRS
- Associate Editor - Surface Innovations, ICE Science
- Editorial Board Member – Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group
- Editorial Board Member – Journal of Materials Science and Technology, Elsevier
- Vice-chair/Chair/past Chair: Energy Committee, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS)
- Lead organizer: Symposium of the Energy Technology and Carbon Dioxide, TMS2018, Phoenix, AZ, March 11-15, 2018, USA
- Lead organzer: Symposium of Responsive Materials for Sustainable Energy, Materials Science and Technology 2017 (MS&T2017), Pittsburgh, PA USA, Oct. 9-12 2017
- Member of Organizing Committee: Symposium of Ceramics for Energy and Environment, 7th International Congress on Ceramics (ICC7), June 17-21 2018, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil
- Member of Organizing Committee: 13th International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Osaka, Japan, 26-28 Oct. 2017
- Member: Best Paper Selection Committee, LMD/EPD, TMS, 2015-2016
- Co-organizer: Materials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries, the 5th International Conference on Electronic Materials and Nanotechnology for Green Environment, Nov 11-14 2018, Jeju Korea
- Co-organizer: Symposium on Graphene and 2D Materials, 12th International Conference on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Applications (CMCEE-12), Sigapore, 22-27 Jul. 2018
- Co-Organizer: Symposium of Energy Technology and Carbon Dioxide, TMS2017 Conference, San Diego, CA USA, 26 Feb - 2 March 2017.
- Co-organizer: Symposium of Carbon Nanostructures and 2D Materials and Composites, 3rd Pacific Rim Engineering Ceramics Summit, 41st International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC2017), Daytona Beach, Florida, USA, Jan. 22-27, 2017.
- Co-organizer: Symposium of Responsive Materials for Sustainable Energy, Materials Science and Technology (MS&T) 2016 (MS&T2016), Salt Lack City, UT, USA, Oct. 23-27, 2016
- Co-organizer: 5th Global Young Investigator Forum, 40th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC2016), Daytona Beach, Florida, USA, Jan. 24-29, 2016
- Co-organizer: Symposium 4: The World Wide Increasing Demand in Energy, The 9th International Meeting of Pacific Rim Ceramic Societies (PACRIM9), Cairns, Australia, July 10-14, 2011
- Session Chair: 2016 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition (TMS2016), Orlando, FL USA, February 14-18, 2016
- Session Chair: 39th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC2015), Daytona Beach, Florida, USA, January 25-30, 2015
- Member: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), USA
- Member: The American Ceramics Society, USA
- Member: Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
- Type
- Fellowships
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- JSPS Invitational Fellowship for Senior Researcher to perform collaboration and research in Japanese institute for 2 months.
- Type
- Recipient of an Australia Council Grant or Australia Council Fellowship
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- ARC Discovery Project 2020, DP200103568, 2D heterostructures for sustainable energy applications, $330K
- Type
- Recipient of an Australia Council Grant or Australia Council Fellowship
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- ARC Future Fellowship, Step 2, FT180100387, "Bioinspired 2D nanomaterials for sustainable applications", $898K, a prestigious fellowship to support outstanding mid-career researchers to conduct world-class research in Australia.
- Type
- Appointment to Prestigious Positions
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Chair (2018-2020) and past Vice-Chair (2016-2018) of Energy Committee of TMS in USA; Member of Award Committee of TMS (2015-2020)
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Editor-in-Chielf of SCIE indexed Q1 journal Sustainable Materials and Technologies (CiteScore = 8.43) published by Elsevier; Associate Editor of SCI indexed Surface Innovations (IF = 2.333) published by ICE Science UK; Principal Editor of SCI-indexed Journal of Materials Research, Materials Research Society; Editorial Board Member of SCI indexed Journal of Materials Science and Technology published by Elsevier (IF = 5.44); and SCI indexed Q1 journal Scientific Reports (IF = 4.259) published by Nature Group.
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- TMS FMD YOUNG LEADERS DEVELOPMENT AWARD
- Type
- Recipient of an Australia Council Grant or Australia Council Fellowship
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- ARC DECRA Fellowship: DE150100280,"Bio-inspired Multifunctional Inorganic Nanostructured Interfaces" 2015.6 -2018.6, $373,536.
- Type
- Recipient of an Australia Council Grant or Australia Council Fellowship
- Reference year
- 2010
- Details
- ARC APD Fellowship: DP1096546, "Directed assembly and photoelectric properties of core-shell nanowire networks of PbSe-TiO2 heterostructures for high efficiency low-cost solar cells" 2010.6-2013.6, $300,000.
- Dong, H., Xu, F., Sun, Z., Wu, X., Zhang, Q., Zhai, Y., Tan, X., He, L., Xu, T., Zhang, Z., Duan, X. & Sun, L. (2019). In situ interface engineering for probing the limit of quantum dot photovoltaic devices. Nature Nanotechnology, 14(10), 950–956. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/135141
- Zhang, Y., Mei, J., Yan, C., Liao, T., Bell, J. & Sun, Z. (2020). Bioinspired 2D nanomaterials for sustainable applications. Advanced Materials, 32(18). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/197275
- Mei, J., Liao, T., Liang, L., Qiao, Y., Dou, S. & Sun, Z. (2020). Toward Promising Cathode Catalysts for Nonlithium Metal-Oxygen Batteries. Advanced Energy Materials, 10(11). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/135147
- Sun, Z., Liao, T., Li, W., Qiao, Y. & Ostrikov, K. (2019). Beyond Seashells: Bioinspired 2D Photonic and Photoelectronic Devices. Advanced Functional Materials, 29(29), 1–9. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/135148
- Mei, J., Liao, T., Ayoko, G., Bell, J. & Sun, Z. (2019). Cobalt oxide-based nanoarchitectures for electrochemical energy applications. Progress in Materials Science, 103, 596–677. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/127454
- Wu, Z., Li, L., Liao, T., Chen, X., Jiang, W., Luo, W., Yang, J. & Sun, Z. (2018). Janus nanoarchitectures: From structural design to catalytic applications. Nano Today, 22, 62–82. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/126750
- Liao, T., Kou, L., Du, A., Gu, Y. & Sun, Z. (2018). Simplest MOF units for effective photodriven hydrogen evolution reaction. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 140(29), 9159–9166. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/126818
- Mei, J., Liao, T., Kou, L. & Sun, Z. (2017). Two-dimensional metal oxide nanomaterials for next-generation rechargeable batteries. Advanced Materials, 29(48), 1–25. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/117622
- Sun, Z., Liao, T., Dou, Y., Hwang, S., Park, M., Jiang, L., Kim, J. & Dou, S. (2014). Generalized self-assembly of scalable two-dimensional transition metal oxide nanosheets. Nature Communications, 5, 1–9. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94598
- Sun, Z., Kim, J., Zhao, Y., Bijarbooneh, F., Malgras, V., Lee, Y., Kang, Y. & Dou, S. (2011). Rational design of 3D dendritic TiO2 nanostructures with favorable architectures. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 133(48), 19314–19317. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94625
- Title
- 2D Heterostructures with Ultrafast Interlayer Transport for Energy Devices
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP200103568
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Bio-inspired two-dimensional nanomaterials for sustainable applications
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- FT180100387
- Start year
- 2019
- Keywords
- Title
- Multifunctional 2D Materials for Sustainable Energy Applications
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP160102627
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Bio-inspired Multifunctional Inorganic Nanostructured Interfaces
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DE150100280
- Start year
- 2015
- Keywords
- Bio-inspired Interfaces; Multiscale structure design; Solidophobicity