Multidisciplinary Efforts Advance Materials Research at Beihang University.

Abstract

This special issue of Advanced Materials presents an overview of the multidisciplinary materials research being conducted at Beihang University. Through collaborations in physics, engineering, materials sciences, and chemistry, Beihang University has made numerous advances, which are reflected in the papers in this issue. 2017 is the 65th anniversary of Beihang University. The university was founded in Beijing in 1952 through a merger of the aeronautical departments from eight top Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University, Peiyang University, Xiamen University, and Sichuan University. It became the first university of aeronautical and astronautical engineering in China. Beihang University has been recognized as one of China's 16 most important universities and has received priority support from the Chinese government. Today, Beihang University is one of China's leading research universities, with preeminent science and engineering programs. It is among a few top universities supported by the National Education Excellence Initiative, which is aimed at developing world-class universities in China. In 2017, Beihang University was chosen to participate in the Double First-Class plan, which includes major support from the Chinese Ministry of Education and other government departments to build a world-class university with world-class disciplines. Since its founding, Beihang University has gained nationwide acclaim for its teaching, research, and scholarly achievement. The university has three campuses in Beijing: Xueyuan Road Campus (Figure 1), Shahe Campus (Figure 2) and Doudian Campus (which is under construction). The university has about 2480 full-time faculty members, including over 1880 full and associate professors. The faculty includes 23 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The university offers 57 undergraduate programs, 144 master's programs, and 63 doctoral programs across its 30 schools. These schools include engineering, sciences, medicine, economics, management, law, humanities and social sciences, education, and art. At present, Beihang University has 30 642 students, of whom 15 596 are undergraduates, 13 828 postgraduates, and 1218 international students. To promote collaboration with leading overseas experts, Beihang University has secured five grants through the “111 Project,” a special program jointly sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. The 111 Project brings many famous researchers from 100 prestigious universities worldwide to China to work with Chinese researchers. The visiting foreign professors and the Chinese professors jointly advance teaching and research to achieve breakthroughs in science and technology. Beihang University has also recently received government funds to establish three research centers named after Nobel Prize winners in the fields of chemistry, physics, and biology. These centers are the Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, named after Alan Heeger, Nobel laureate in chemistry; the Fert Beijing Research Institute, named after Albert Fert, Nobel laureate in physics; and the Thomas Beijing Research Institute, named after Thomas Südhof, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine. In addition, Beihang University has applied for and been awarded funds to create three innovation centers: i) the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data and Brain Computing; ii) the Beijing Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering; and iii) the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big-Data-Based Precision Medicine. The three distinct Center Groups aspire to become a global academic and technological leader in the areas of chemistry, computer science, and biology. Beihang University finds inspiration in nature for its approaches to materials research. Such bioinspired approaches have made great advances in recent years. This special issue focuses on multidisciplinary studies in materials research in the form of ten Progress Reports and nine Research News articles from different schools, including the school of chemistry, the school of materials science and engineering, the school of mechanical engineering and automation, and the school of physics and nuclear energy engineering. Four research directions are included in this special issue: i) bioinspired smart interface materials; ii) bioinspired lightweight composites; iii) energy materials and batteries; and iv) bioinspired ion channel devices. Nine articles discuss the field of bioinspired interface materials. Prof. Xuefeng Gao summarizes recent progress in bionic condensate microdrop self-propelling surfaces for energy applications (article number 1703002). Prof. Ye Tian brings readers up to date in work in superlyophilic interfaces of different dimensions and their broad applications for smart materials (article number 1703120). Prof. Kesong Liu reviews research in direct imaging of superwetting behavior on solid/liquid/vapor triphase interfaces (article number 1703009). Advances in fabrication and control methods and the potential applications of Nepenthes peristome-inspired surfaces for unidirectional liquid transport are discussed by Prof. Huawei Chen and co-workers (article number 1702995). Prof. Jianjun Wang and co-workers summarize recent work in antiadhesion organogel materials for dealing with liquid or solid deposition problems (article number 1703032). Progress in dynamic wetting on natural and bioinspired artificial multiple fibers that show various liquid-manipulation capabilities is reviewed by Prof. Huan Liu (article number 1703042). Prof. Jingming Wang discusses recent work in reliable and effective manipulation of gas-bubble wettability and behavior by cooperating interfacial microstructures and chemical compositions (article number 1703053). Research advancing external-field-induced liquid wetting from movement on the surface to penetration into the surface for controllable liquid transport is covered by Prof. Dongliang Tian and co-workers (article number 1703802). Lastly, Prof. Masao Doi and co-workers examine progress in self-assembled structure formation in soft-matter solutions induced by solvent evaporation for thin-film processing (article number 1703769). Four papers review the field of bioinspired lightweight composites. Prof. Qunfeng Cheng discusses advances in natural-material-inspired nanocomposites based on the logical route of “discovery, invention, creation” (article number 1702959). Prof. Lin Guo examines recent work in novel strategies for the synthesis of nacre-inspired materials with exceptional mecha­nical properties (article number 1702903). Advances in bioinspired hydrogels with well-ordered nanocomposite structures are discussed by Prof. Mingjie Liu and co-workers (article number 1703045), while Prof. Antoni P. Tomsia and co-workers review the recent progress in assembling bioinspired structural materials by the freeze-casting technique (article number 1703155). In the field of energy materials and storage, Prof. Lidong Zhao summarizes current studies in promising bulk thermoelectric materials with 2D layered structures for power generation using temperature difference (article number 1702676). Prof. Hua Wang and co-workers review work in smart electrochemical energy-storage devices with self-protection and self-adaption abilities (article number 1703040). The latest advances in using conducting-polymer-based materials as electrocatalysts for fuel cells and as electrodes for supercapacitors are examined by Prof. Ying Zhu (article number 1703044). Prof. Yu Zhang and Prof. Yujie Zhu summarize advances in flexible electrodes based on various substrates for flexible sodium-ion batteries (article number 1703012). In the field of bioinspired ion-channel devices, Prof. Jin Zhai and co-workers review advances in design and synthesis of bioinspired smart nanochannels and their applications in energy conversions (article number 1702983) and Prof. Wei Guo and co-workers discuss the recent progress, current challenges, and future perspectives in bioinspired nanofluidic energy conversion from the viewpoint of material evolution (article number 1702773). Although this special issue cannot cover all the materials research at Beihang University, it reflects how various disciplines, including chemistry and physics, interplay in the university's materials research work. We sincerely hope that this special issue will inspire readers to discover more breakthroughs at Beihang University and stimulate further exciting collaborations between the university and many institutions worldwide. Last but not least, we greatly appreciate Dr. Peter Gregory, Dr. Till von Graberg, and Dr. James Cook, editors of Advanced Materials, for their great support and kind cooperation. Our warm gratitude also goes out to the whole editorial team of Advanced Materials. We are very grateful to all the contributing authors at Beihang University and their coauthors at other institutions for their important contributions to this special issue. Qunfeng Cheng is currently a full professor at Beihang University. He received his Ph.D. degree from Zhejiang University under the super­vision of Prof. Zhengping Fang, and Prof. Xiao-su Yi in 2008. From 2008 to 2009, he worked with Prof. Shoushan Fan at Tsinghua University and Prof. Zhiyong Liang at Florida State University as a postdoctoral research fellow. In 2010, he joined the School of Chemistry at Beihang University. His research interests focus on bioinspired functional nanocomposites. His group homepage is: http://chengresearch.net/en/home/. Lei Jiang is currently a full professor at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (TIPCCAS) and Dean of the School of Chemistry at Beihang University. He received his Ph.D. degree from Jilin University of China in 1994. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Akira Fujishima's group in Tokyo University. In 1996, he became a senior researcher at Kanagawa Academy of Sciences and Technology under Professor Kazuhito Hashimoto. He joined the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS) as part of the Hundred Talents Program in 1999. In 2009, he was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2016, he was elected foreign member of the United States National Academy of Engineering. His scientific interests are focused on bioinspired surfaces and interfacial materials. His group homepage is: http://sourcedb.ipc.cas.cn/cn/lhsrck/201509/t20150901_4419133.html.