I have been deeply interested in precision instrument, RF MEMS, AI and machine vision, nanophotonics for bio-X, biosensing and biotracking, and integrated photonics for optical communications and space computing since I entered Xi'an Jiaotong University for my undergraduate study in ECE department in 2000.
I started my research study on fast algorithm design and finite-element-analysis of electromagnetic fields using HFSS in 2002. Meanwhile, I also started to work on design a high quality factor (Q), tunable, integrated microresonators for applications in many wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) photonic integrated circuits. Their applications include WDM photonic integrated circuits such as on-chip channel add-drop filters, compact nonlinear optical devices, and optical sensors.
From 2004, I started to study carbon nanotube, cavity QED systems and quantum dot photonics from 2004 as a graduate student at Fudan University. Meanwhile, I spent much time on single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and terahertz device technology at IMP, Fudan University.
Since 2009, I focused on the quantum dot photonics, magnetic functional metallic glasses and RF MEMS.
From 2011, I started to study ternary metallic glasses and their application in MEMS, in Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, I spent much time in developing terahertz micromachined waveguide filters, RF MEMS, and sub-terahertz wireless communication technology. I developed the first 140GHz and 0.17THz rectangular waveguide filters based on MEMS technology. And in 2017 and 2018, we have developed a series of low loss 0.34THz rectangular waveguides.
I have also started to study optomechanics, nanophotonics, nanomechanics and topological insulators since 2011. In 2013 and 2014, I proposed the scheme to genereating two-mode squeezed light in optomechanical systems and Near-Room-Temperature Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect based on 2-D honeycomb lattice materials.
With the rapid development of nuclear energy, radioactive iodine gas released during Fukushima accidents and nuclear fuel reprocessing poses a potential threat to environmental safety and human health. Therefore, developing reliable, easy‑to‑operate, and portable iodine gas detection devices is of critical importance. Currently, commercial iodine sensors are mainly of two types: solid‑state oxide sensors, which require high‑temperature operation, and fuel‑cell‑type sensors, which suffer from short lifetimes and susceptibility to fouling. These shortcomings severely limit their practical application in iodine‑containing environments. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), owing to their high specific surface area, large pore volume, and readily tunable structures, have shown great promise as sensing materials for electrical detection of iodine gas when combined with impedance spectroscopy. However, MOF‑based iodine sensors often require ultra‑low measurement frequencies (e.g., 10⁻² Hz) and long response times to achieve high sensitivity. Moreover, the underlying sensing mechanism of MOFs toward iodine remains poorly understood. We have performed high throughput computational screening to select several chemically stable MOFs with high iodine adsorption capacity—such as Zn(1,3‑BDP), UiO‑66, and UiO‑66‑NH₂. These materials were synthesized and deposited onto interdigitated electrodes, and novel iodine sensors were successfully fabricated by integrating impedance spectroscopy measurements. All these sensors exhibited similar electrical response characteristics during iodine sensing. Among them, the UiO‑66‑based sensor achieved an excellent impedance response ratio exceeding 10³ , which was recognized with the 2024 Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Award in Nanomaterial Self-Assembly1. After functionalization with amino groups (–NH₂), the UiO‑66‑NH₂‑based sensor showed further enhanced sensitivity, with an impedance response ratio above 10⁴, along with a significantly increased iodine uptake capacity.
The Zn(1,3‑BDP)‑based sensor, in particular, demonstrated outstanding overall sensing performance, featuring high sensitivity (impedance response ratio up to 1.4 × 10⁶), excellent cycling stability, fast response (an impedance change ratio of 250 within 3 minutes), low detection limit (achieving an impedance response of ~29‑fold under 300 ppm iodine gas at 25 °C), and strong anti‑interference capability. And density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the sensing mechanism originates from the introduction of new electronic states by adsorbed iodine molecules, which reduces the electronic bandgap of the MOF and thus enhances its electrical conductivity. The integrated research strategy developed in this study—“computational screening → sensor fabrication → impedance detection → mechanistic analysis”—provides systematic guidance for the design and optimization of highly sensitive iodine gas sensors.