Enlightened by the princples of phylosophy, we are keenly inspired by art, biology and mathematics. During a joyful scientific endeavor we try to stay curious and rebellious.

In our research group, we focus on elaborating the principles of molecular and supramolecular chirality, and the search of novel supramolecular materials with emergent properties.

Current Research Themes

1. Molecular chains and chainmail architectures from mechanically interlocked building blocks:

·Developing polymerization strategies for cage- and macrocycle-based monomers to construct advanced molecular chains and complex chainmail;

·Investigating polymerization mechanisms and theoretical principles governing mechanically interlocked chains;

·Fabricating 3D-printed macroscopic analogues to elucidate the fundamental correlations between topological entanglement and mechanical properties.

2. Rational design and novel synthetic strategies of dissymmetric cages, double- and multiple-cavity cages, and catenated cages.
3. Hierarchical self-assembly of cages with various shapes and topologies.

4. Emerging properties of cage-like molecules, including their spontaneous polarization, nonlinear optical properties, proton conduction, and fluorescence enhancement.

We are building up a highly interdisciplinary, enthusiastic yet friendly atmosphere within the research group, and we collaborate with research groups from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, other departments at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and different research groups at various institutions around the world.