Developments in thermoelectric energy harvesting techniques have tended to focus on the materials themselves. Many of those developments are centered on simplistic assumptions of the materials or determining thermal exchanges between different parts of the devices. Very few studies have thought to assess those assumptions to improve the efficiency of devices or the fundamentals behind thermoelectric system-level optimization.

On September 14, a research team led by Associate Professor Guixin Li (Materials Science and Engineering) and the Université de Bordeaux Professor Etienne Brasselet published cutting-edge research findings. Their findings provide a novel scheme for generating spin-orbit angular momentum of nonlinear optical waves through a cascade process. Their paper, titled “Harmonic spin-orbit angular momentum cascade in nonlinear optical crystals,” was published in the high-impact academic journal, Nature Photonics (IF = 31.5).

On August 20, Professor Xugang GUO (Materials Science and Engineering) published a Comment in the high-impact academic journal, Nature Materials (IF = 38.663), with the Chief Technology Officer Dr. Antonio Facchetti in Flexterra, Inc. Their Comment, titled “The journey of conducting polymers from discovery to application,” examined the progress of conducting polymers over the 20 years since the groundbreaking accomplishments of Shirakawa, MacDiarmid, and Heeger in 1977. Nature Materials published an Editorial on this topic titled “Conducting polymers forward.”

Harvesting electricity from renewable energy sources is an ongoing goal for the world working to move away from fossil fuels. The ability to use electrons derived from renewable energy to drive chemical transformations offers opportunities for the sustainable production and regeneration of carbon-based chemicals and fuels.

Ground-breaking international research directed by scholars at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) has demonstrated the first metasurface optical chip for generating cold atomic ensembles. It provides a novel scheme for the realization of a single beam Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT). Their research could have broad applications in quantum metrology, quantum information processing, and atomic physics.

Research led by scholars Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) has taken the first steps towards the potential development of a new platform for high-efficiency nonlinear frequency conversion. It could lead to the miniaturization of nonlinear optical devices that are important for optical information processing and switching.

A group of researchers led by Associate Professor Chun Cheng (Materials Science and Engineering) has focused their research on nanoscientific advances, with the applications of their advances being published recently in several high-impact academic journals.<br/><br/>

New progress in n-type organic semiconductors (OSCs) could lead to cheaper, more flexible, and more efficient electronic devices that will benefit society for years to come. Researchers at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) have published a series of papers that could pave the path for a series of new commercial applications of OSCs.

Associate Professor Leilei Tian (Materials Science and Engineering) led her research team to publish two ground-breaking papers in high-impact academic journals, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (Angew Chem Int Ed) (IF = 12.257) and CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

Associate Professor Meng Gu (Materials Science and Engineering) and Associate Professor Hu Xu (Physics) worked with their colleagues at Oregon State University (Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering) to publish a breakthrough paper on single-atom catalysis.