HELLO

Hello, I'm Yifan Zhang. 

My PhD research work is about long linear carbon chains (LLCC) encapsulated in carbon nanotubes. Through the new strategy, my research work has realized improving the preparation of LLCC in two different approaches: cooling and magnetic enhancement. It also provides the potential to a selective growth of LLCC in different band structures.

To implement systematic study on sp hybridized carbon allotropes, I attended the research activity on polyyne molecules handled by my colleagues and contributed to Raman measurement and mechanism study.

In addition, I participated in an industrial project to develop the technique to improve the mechanical performance of magnesium alloy by doping carbon nanotubes and graphene. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of alloy part was enhanced by 10 and 20 percent, respectively. Besides, a wide range of applied researches on carbon nanotubes largely expanded my experimental experience in different area such as new energy, sensor and microwave absorption.

In my first postdoctoral work, I was awarded a scholarship under the International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program 2019 handled by Guangdong Prov. in China, which supports me to research abroad in electronic properties of materials group at University of Vienna. I got a further training on Raman spectroscopy study and extended by research on carbon nanotube confined graphene nanoribbons. I used carbon nanotube as ideal nanoreactor to synthesize graphene nanoribbons inside and found that the width of graphene nanoribbons can be controlled by carbon nanotubes with certain diameter. 

After the visiting research I came back to Sun Yat-sen University to help to build a new Raman study platform for state key laboratory of optoelectronic materials and technologies.

Recently, I won a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral fellowship entitled ‘Stabilization of Carbon Chain and Application on Metal-free Catalyst’. It supports me to work in Polimi as a post doctor. For now, I’m working on green synthesis of new sp-based carbon materials and developing the application on green energy.