He received his PhD in polymer chemistry in 2010 with Professor Tien-Yau Luh from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, CAS. During the period from 2010 to 2018, he pursued research in Sir Fraser Stoddart’s group at Northwestern University as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In September 2018, he joined Westlake University as the first faculty in chemistry to start his independent academic career. To date, he has published 69 high profile scientific papers and been an inventor of 12 patents. For his research into the isolation of gold, he was the co-recipient of two prestigious Awards―the North America Chemical Engineering Project of the Year Award and the Highly Commended in Sustainable Technology Award for Innovation & Excellence―from the Institution of Chemical Engineers. Dr Liu is also the co-founder of a startup company—named Cycladex—which focuses on gold purification.
liuzhichang@westlake.edu.cn
Shenglong An earned his BS degree from Qingdao University of Science and Technology in 2019. He then pursued his doctoral studies under the guidance of Prof Zhiyun Zhang at East China University of Science and Technology, where he obtained his PhD in 2024. Currently, he is undertaking postdoctoral research at Westlake University with Prof Zhichang Liu. His primary research interests lie in the construction of molecular knots utilizing the contra-helices approach.
anshenglong@westlake.edu.cn
Baoshan Hou received his BS degree from Changchun University of Technology in 2018. Then he earned his PhD in Physical Chemistry under the guidance of Professor Xinlong Wang from Northeast Normal University in 2023. Starting from July 2023, he has immersed himself in postdoctoral research at Westlake University, working with Dr Zhichang Liu. His research is centered around the field of molecular-strain engineering involving the construction of metal-organic complexes based on strained topological linkers.
houbaoshan@westlake.edu.cn
Zheng-Bin Tang received his B.S. in Guangzhou University in 2018, and three years later he obtained the M.S. in Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay Area at the same university. Currently, he is a doctoral student in Prof. Liu’s SOFA LAB.
tangzhengbin@westlake.edu.cn
Kejiang Liang received his BS degree from College of Chemistry & Materials Engine, Wenzhou University in 2019, and his M.S. degree from department of Chemistry, Shanghai University. He joined Dr. Liu’s group as a doctoral candidate in August, 2022. His research interests are focused on Porphyrin Chemistry and Molecular-Strained Engineering.
liangkejiang@westlake.edu.cn
Zhen Peng received her bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Engineering in 2023 from Hunan University of Science and Engineering. During her undergraduate period, she majored in organic synthesis methodology, published 2 SCI papers, ranked first in her major, won a national scholarship and 4 provincial chemistry competition awards. From September 2023, she will pursue her PhD degree under the guidance of Professor Liu at Westlake University. She is engaged in the investigation of molecular-strain engineering.
pengzhen@westlake.edu.cn
Renyi Pang completed his MS degree at Shanghai University of Electric Power in 2020. Following that, he worked as an assistant engineer at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2020 to 2023. Starting in September 2023, Renyi will begin pursuing his PhD degree under the supervision of Professor Liu in SOFA LAB at Westlake University. His research interests center around Molecular-Strain Engineering.
pangrenyi@westlake.edu.cn
Jin Yin completed her undergraduate studies at Huzhou University, earning her Bachelor’s degree in 2020. She further pursued her academic journey under the guidance of Professor Yijun Jiang and recently obtained a Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Ningbo University in 2023. Staring from July 2023, she will embark on a dynamic and promising PhD journey at Westlake University, under the guidance of Professor Liu. Her research interest lies in the field of Molecular-Strain Engineering, where she aims to explore and contribute to the development of innovative approaches in this exciting area of study.
yinjin@westlake.edu.cn
Menglu Li completed her undergraduate studies in Applied Chemistry at Changzhou University in 2024. In August of the same year, she embarked on her academic journey as a PhD candidate in Professor Liu's SOFA Lab. Her research interests center on the fascinating field of molecular-strain engineering, with a particular focus on the self-assembly of strained porphyrin building blocks. Menglu is dedicated to exploring the intricate interplay between molecular strain and self-assembly, aiming to uncover novel strategies for designing and synthesizing functional materials. Her work holds great promise for advancing the understanding and application of molecular-strain engineering across various fields.
limenglu@westlake.edu.cn
Lijun Xu earned her B.S. degree from Jiangsu University of Technology in 2019 and went on to receive her M.S. degree from Hangzhou Normal University in 2023. Following her studies, she joined the SOFA Lab at Westlake University as a research assistant.
xulijun@westlake.edu.cn
Helei Gao graduated from the College of Materials Science & Engineering at Huaqiao University in 2021. In 2024, he obtained his MS degree in organic chemistry under the guidance of Professor Xiang Wang from the Department of Chemistry at Shanghai University. Subsequently, he joined SOFA Lab as a research assistant in July 2024. His current research primarily revolves around Molecular-Strain Engineering, with a specific focus on porphyrin bows.
gaohelei@westlake.edu.cn
Na Li obtained her Bachelor's degree from Xinyang University in 2018, followed by a Master's degree in inorganic chemistry from Xinyang Normal University in 2022. Throughout her master's program, she demonstrated exceptional research abilities and published five SCI papers as the first author. Na Li recently joined SOFA Lab in July 2023, where she serves as an administrative assistant.
lina@westlake.edu.cn
Yimin Liang received his MS Degree in surface science from Hokkaido University with Professor Shen Ye in 2016. Then he received his PhD Degree from Kyushu University in 2019 with Professor Nobuo Kimizuka on supramolecular thermo-electrochemical cells. Now he is carrying out postdoctoral research with Dr Zhichang Liu at Westlake University. His current research interests focus on the syntheses of fully conjugated carbon nanobelts.
liangyimin@westlake.edu.cn
Shunan Zhao completed her undergraduate studies in 2019, earning a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Henan Normal University. She continued her academic research under the guidance of Professor Ziwei Gao and Associate Professor Yajun Jian, specializing in the research area of transition metal catalysis, and she completed her Master's degree at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Shaanxi Normal University in 2023. In August 2023, she joined the SOFA Lab of Professor Zhichang Liu at Westlake University as a research assistant, her research focus within the lab was molecular-strain engineering based on porphyrin bows.
zhaoshunan@westlake.edu.cn
Yuan Lin earned a bachelor degree in education from Hangzhou Dianzi University in 2022. She joined the Liu's Lab as a administrative assistant in June 2022.
linyuan@westlake.edu.cn
Liang Jiang graduated from school of chemistry and chemical engineering, Nanjing University in 2015. He earned a MS degree in inorganic chemistry from Nanjing University in 2019. SubsequentlyI, he studyed for his PhD degree under the guidance of Prof. Liu at Westlake University, and engaged in the synthesis and property research of tension macrocyclic molecular bows. Now, he is a PhD candidate in the SOFA Lab.
jiangliang@westlake.edu.cn
Jiali Liu earned a BS degree in pharmacy in 2016 and a MS degree in medicinal chemistry in 2019 from Soochow University. Now she is a PhD candidate in the SOFA Lab of Professor Liu. Her research interest focuses on the synthesis chemistry and supramolecular chemistry.
liujiali@westlake.edu.cn
Lifang Bian received a bachelor degree from Taiyuan Normal University in 2016, and a master degree from Nanjing Tech University in 2019. Her master thesis work focused on ultralong organic phosphorescence. Now she is a PhD candidate in the SOFA Lab of Professor Liu. She joined the group in Aug 2019, and her research interest focused on synthesis and application of topological networks structure.
bianlifang@westlake.edu.cn
Min Tang received a BE degree from the Hunan University of Chinese Medicine in 2014. From 2014 to 2015, he worked at Jiuzhitang Co., Ltd as a technician. Then, he obtained MS Degree from Hunan University of Science and Technology in 2018. In September 2018, he joined the SOFA Lab of Professor Zhichang Liu at Westlake University as a PhD candidate, where he was focusing on molecular-strain engineering based on porphyrin bows. He has graduated and received his PhD degree as one of the first batche of doctorates from the Department of Chemistry of Westlake University in June 2022.
tangmin@westlake.edu.cn
Shangshang Wang received the B.S. in Henan University of Engineering in 2015. Then he obtained his master degree in Shanghai University of Electric Power in 2018. Now he is doctoral student in Prof. Liu’s group and his interest focuses on the construction and properties of azulene-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
wangshangshang@westlake.edu.cn
Lin Wu received his M.S. degree from the Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology in 2015 then obtained MSc. in chemistry from the university of Zhejiang Normal university in 2018. He is currently a PhD student at Westlake University where he is interested in the synthesis of topological structures under the supervision of Prof. Liu. Now he get his PhD degree in 2022.06.
wulin@westlake.edu.cn
Letian Yuan is currently an undergraduate student majored in chemistry in Jilin University. The summer vacation in 2022, he joined in SOFA Lab as a visiting student to do some organic syntheses related to strained molecular. His research interests focus on supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology.