Switchable π Systems Lab
Research Field
I am trained as a synthetic organic chemist. I acquired my master and bachelor degree in organic chemistry from National Taiwan University. Then, I obtained my PhD from MPIP and Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz focusing on bottom-up approached nanographenes. After further building up my solid background in the fields of molecular photoswitch and dynamic molecular crystals during my postdoc stays in Germany, UAE, and Japan, in 2025, I joined the Institute of Chemistry at Academia Sinica and started my own research group.
I have been contributing to the fields of nanographene chemistry, molecular photoswitches, supramolecular chemistry, azulene chemistry, and dynamic molecular crystals.
Currently, being the youngest PI at Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, I am actively participating in all kinds of activity. Together with several other PIs, we are building Institute of Chemistry into an internationally important research center for nanocarbon material.
The Switchable π Lab at IoC, Academia Sinica assembles under “switchable molecular systems at multiscale”, with a special focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), of which rich structure–property relationship is the playground. We study special PAH structures with abnormal π-basicity and excited state dynamicity, and use such information to extrapolate the influence of defect nanostructures in graphene. The structural dynamicity is employed for the development of novel molecular switches. PAHs are excellent component for designing supramolecular assembly in (supramolecular) polymer, liquid crystals, and molecular crystals. Structural switching PAHs can impact these supramolecular behavior. Inversely, the supramolecular interaction can alter/create/improve the switchability at molecular level. This mutual intercorrelation is at the heart of our research interest. With all these efforts in novel material development, we aim at creating the next generation molecular informatics that integrate switchable functions for a more sustainable and adaptive (molecular) device application.
1. Organic Synthesis of Nanostructures at Defects in Graphene. (Nano)graphene-based next-generation semiconductors and functional materials lie in engineering and understanding nanostructures at dislocation and grain boundary defect in graphene. Yet, there are two great bottlenecks: 1) defect nanostructures in graphene cannot be controlled at atomic level by the current techniques and 2) lacking proper molecular model compounds as basis for the understanding of anomalous graphene properties that would arise from the defects. Azulene has a skeleton of fused pentagon and heptagon that is exactly the nanostructure at (1,0) dislocation defect in graphene. Novel azulene chemistries will be developed to break through both of the two bottlenecks.
2. Molecule-based Switchable Systems. The daily act of switching indoor lighting on and off, driven either directly by human intervention or indirectly, through sensor technology, exemplifies the three fundamental attributes of a switch: (1) a system that can exist in distinct states, (2) application of a specific stimulus to the system beyond a certain threshold leads to a directional, abrupt, and complete transition among the states, and (3) the transition between the states is reversible. We are working on switchable systems based on isomerization and phase transition of molecules, with a special aim on being able to completely switch between enantiomers by light irradiation in advanced manufacturing, displaying, and imaging processes, or even revolutionize asymmetric catalysis, informatics, and optoelectronics.
3. Graphene Nanoribbons as Next Generation Semiconductor. Graphene exhibits exceptionally high electron mobility. Its zero-band-gap nature, however, limits its application as semiconducting material. Narrow graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with widths of 2–10 nm are believed to be the ideal size for achieving an optimal balance of electronic properties, making them appealing candidates as next generation semiconductors. Utilizing carefully designed scaffolds that each undergo highly efficient graphitization, our chance of obtaining high-quality GNRs wider than 2 nm will be significantly increased.
4. Molecular Martensites. We are interested in the emerging Martensitic-transition-like behavior in molecular crystals. This phenomenon relates to shape memory alloy and several mechanical properties such as superelasticity, thermoelasticity, and ferroelasticity.
-2030 cross-generation young scholars program. (2025)
-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Early Stage Researcher, ERC, EU. (2015)
-College Students Research Training Fellowship, National Science Council, Taiwan (R.O.C.). (2009)
-Jin Wei Xi Foundation Scholarship. (2008)
07/2015–09/2020 Doctor of Science, Max-Planck Institut für Polymerforschung and Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Department of Synthetic Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
07/2015–07/2018 Early-Stage Researcher, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Network “iSwitch” (EU Horizon 2020 No. 642196)
07/2011–11/2013 Master of Science, Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
09/2007–06/2011 Bachelor of Science, Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Job Description
none
Preferred Intern Educational Level
2+ year chemistry related undergraduate or master student who has an interest and passion in research
Skill sets or Qualities
the trainee need to have great interest in organic chemistry and the synthesis and properties of novel pi-conjugated systems.