Research

Emergent Materials and Intelligent TEM (EMIT) Lab aims to advance the construction and characterization of chemically assembled materials with sophisticated structures and emergent properties. Our research interests revolve around three intertwined directions:

1. Chemically Assembled Emergent Materials: we design mesoscale hybrid / hierarchical materials with specific motifs and electronic structures, construct them through controllable self-assembly, and explore their applications in energy and quantum technologies.

2. Intelligent Characterization: we develop intelligent TEM (transmission electron microscopy) techniques, such as the combination of in situ liquid-cell TEM and computer vision analysis, to reveal the governing rule for hierarchical chemical assembly.

3. Artificial Intelligence: we employ AI techniques to help the design of hierarchical materials, predict their structures and properties, and develop intelligent structural recognition methods for analyzing complex characterization data (especially for in situ experiments).



Multiscale hybridization of nanocrystals (e.g., quantum dots and nanosheets) and soft matrix (e.g., elastomers and liquid crystals), prepared through controllable self-assembly with emphasis on topology and strong electronic coupling, applications shown in the outer ring.
Combination of liquid-cell TEM and low-dose techniques enables the real-time in-situ imaging of synthesis and self-assembly of nanocrystals with atomic resolution and can also be used for e-beam sensitive materials such as soft matter and energy materials.
Artificial intelligence research in our lab consists of two interactive directions: developing algorithms to automatically identify materials structures from raw TEM data and optical spectra; developing learning networks to predict the products of chemistry in different environments.