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Honorary Professor Zhi-Gang Chen
Honorary Professor

Zhi-Gang Chen

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Overview

Background

Prof. Dr Zhigang Chen is currently an Honorary Professor in the School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, the University of Queensland, and a founding director for the ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality (ZeroPC), ARC Future Fellow, Academic Reseach Lead, and a Capacity Building Professor of Energy Materials at the School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Dr Chen received his PhD from the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008 under the supervision of Professor Hui-Ming Cheng, and Professor Gaoqing (Max) Lu. His research focuses on thermoelectrics for power generation and cooling; next-generation optoelectronic devices and functional System; topological insulators for next-generation chips; and high-speed sensors. In total, Dr Chen received ~A$40,000,000 in research grants to support the research, including one prestigious UQ postdoctoral fellowship (2009), ARC APD Fellowship (2009), five ARC Discovery Grants (four as lead CI, one as ARC APD fellowship, and one as ARC Future Fellowship), two ARC Research hub, four ARC Linkage Grant (one as lead CI), four ARC LIEF Grant, >10 Industry Investments (eight as sole CI), two Queensland Smart Futures Funds (sole CI), and >10 University Grants. Currently, Dr Chen is leading one ARC Research Hub, two ARC discovery projects, one sub project at ARC Research Hub, one ARC Linkage project, and four industry investments. Dr Chen is one Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (Top 0.1% researcher in the world). He has authored over 330 high-impact journal publications including 1 Nature Energy, 1 Nature Nanotechnology; 3 Nature Communications; 1 Chemical Reviews; 2 Progress in Materials Science; 4 Energy & Environmental Science; 1 Joule; 11 Advanced Materials; and 4 Journal of the American Chemical Society. These publications have attracted >35000 times (Scopus, www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57188708630) and an H index of 70. His google scholar citation is >25,000 with an H index of 100 (https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=vkRX_vgAAAAJ&hl=en). Particularly, in the last three years, Dr Chen has published more than 40 articles per year and attracted over 5,000 citations per year. Dr Chen has delivered over 50 plenary/keynote/invited talks in the international/national conferences. Dr Chen has authored four commercialized patents, which have been attracted industry investments.

Availability

Honorary Professor Zhi-Gang Chen is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Chinese Academy of Science

Research interests

  • Design inexpensive, abundant, low-toxic and high-efficiency thermoelectric nanomaterials

    Thermoelectric materials directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy, offering a green and sustainable solution for the global energy dilemma. This proposal aims to develop inexpensive, abundant, and low-toxic thermoelectric nanomaterials for high-efficiency energy conversion using novel industry-level approach, coupled with nanostructure and band engineering strategies.

  • Topological Insulators

    High-Speed Hard Drive: Topological Insulators Open a Path to Room-Temperature Spintronics

Research impacts

Thermoelectric materials for power generation and cooling

Identifying new approaches to develop energy-saving methods and tap into new renewable energy sources is set to be the greatest challenge of the 21st Century. Thermoelectric (TE) energy is one of the approaches that offers great promise as it can be used in multiple applications for power generation and refrigeration. It can create electricity from waste heat at any scale, it can significantly improve energy efficiency at a medium industrial scale, including significantly improving vehicular weight and emissions, and it can even generate electricity or cooling at the nanoscale. For instance, it could potentially be used to convert body heat into electricity in clothing or to charge a cell phone. The thermoelecric materials developed by Dr Chen have extremely high hopes for this technology.

Topological insulators for high speed chips

Imagine if the "information superhighway" had HOV lanes so that data could be stored, processed and disseminated many times faster than possible with today's electronics. New topological insulators developed by Dr Chen will be used for this new generation devices, such a speedway for future devices, an exotic type of electrical conductor.

Works

Search Professor Zhi-Gang Chen’s works on UQ eSpace

515 works between 2005 and 2025

401 - 420 of 515 works

2015

Journal Article

Structural evolution of graphene quantum dots during thermal decomposition of citric acid and the corresponding photoluminescence

Wang, Shujun, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Cole, Ivan and Li, Qin (2015). Structural evolution of graphene quantum dots during thermal decomposition of citric acid and the corresponding photoluminescence. Carbon, 82 (C), 304-313. doi: 10.1016/j.carbon.2014.10.075

Structural evolution of graphene quantum dots during thermal decomposition of citric acid and the corresponding photoluminescence

2015

Journal Article

Rational design of Bi2Te3 polycrystalline whiskers for thermoelectric applications

Han, Guang, Chen, Zhi-gang, Yang, Lei, Hong, Min, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2015). Rational design of Bi2Te3 polycrystalline whiskers for thermoelectric applications. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 7 (1), 989-995. doi: 10.1021/am5078528

Rational design of Bi2Te3 polycrystalline whiskers for thermoelectric applications

2015

Book Chapter

Fabrication, characterization, and application of boron nitride nanomaterials

Chen, Zhi-Gang, Zou, Jin and Cheng, Hui-Ming (2015). Fabrication, characterization, and application of boron nitride nanomaterials. Nanotubes and nanosheets: functionalization and applications of boron nitride and other nanomaterials. (pp. 91-111) edited by Ying (Ian) Chen. Boca Raton, FL, United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/b18073-6

Fabrication, characterization, and application of boron nitride nanomaterials

2015

Conference Publication

Feasibility test of non-iterative reconstruction for high spatiotemporal resolution DCE, investigation of acoustic noise reduction method for MRI-LINAC hybrid system

Chen, Z., Yang, M., Kang, L. and Liu, F. (2015). Feasibility test of non-iterative reconstruction for high spatiotemporal resolution DCE, investigation of acoustic noise reduction method for MRI-LINAC hybrid system. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Toronto, Canada, 30 May - 5 June 2015. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Feasibility test of non-iterative reconstruction for high spatiotemporal resolution DCE, investigation of acoustic noise reduction method for MRI-LINAC hybrid system

2014

Journal Article

N-doped mesoporous carbon spheres as the oxygen reduction reaction catalysts

Yang, Tianyu, Liu, Jian, Zhou, Ruifeng, Chen, Zhigang, Xu, Hongyi, Qiao, Shi Zhang and Monteiro, Michael J. (2014). N-doped mesoporous carbon spheres as the oxygen reduction reaction catalysts. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2 (42), 18139-18146. doi: 10.1039/c4ta04301d

N-doped mesoporous carbon spheres as the oxygen reduction reaction catalysts

2014

Journal Article

Observations of a metal-insulator transition and strong surface states in Bi2-x Sbx Se3 thin films

Zhang, Cheng, Yuan, Xiang, Wang, Kai, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Cao, Baobao, Wang, Weiyi, Liu, Yanwen, Zou, Jin and Xiu, Faxian (2014). Observations of a metal-insulator transition and strong surface states in Bi2-x Sbx Se3 thin films. Advanced Materials, 26 (41), 7110-7115. doi: 10.1002/adma.201402299

Observations of a metal-insulator transition and strong surface states in Bi2-x Sbx Se3 thin films

2014

Journal Article

Anisotropic Electrical Properties from Vapor-Solid-Solid Grown Bi2Se3 Nanoribbons and Nanowires

Zou, Yichao, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Huang, Yang, Yang, Lei, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2014). Anisotropic Electrical Properties from Vapor-Solid-Solid Grown Bi2Se3 Nanoribbons and Nanowires. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 118 (35), 20620-20626. doi: 10.1021/jp505407j

Anisotropic Electrical Properties from Vapor-Solid-Solid Grown Bi2Se3 Nanoribbons and Nanowires

2014

Journal Article

Long wavelength emissions of Se4+-doped In2O 3 hierarchical nanostructures

Han, Guang, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Zou, Yichao, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2014). Long wavelength emissions of Se4+-doped In2O 3 hierarchical nanostructures. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2 (32), 6529-6535. doi: 10.1039/c4tc01025f

Long wavelength emissions of Se4+-doped In2O 3 hierarchical nanostructures

2014

Journal Article

Indium selenides: structural characteristics, synthesis and their thermoelectric performances

Han, Guang, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2014). Indium selenides: structural characteristics, synthesis and their thermoelectric performances. Small, 10 (14), 2747-2765. doi: 10.1002/smll.201400104

Indium selenides: structural characteristics, synthesis and their thermoelectric performances

2014

Journal Article

Insight into the liquid state of organo-lead halide perovskites and their new roles in dye-sensitized solar cells

Wang, Qiong, Yun, Jung-Ho, Zhang, Meng, Chen, Hongjun, Chen, Zhi-Gang and Wang, Lianzhou (2014). Insight into the liquid state of organo-lead halide perovskites and their new roles in dye-sensitized solar cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2 (27), 10355-10358. doi: 10.1039/c4ta01105h

Insight into the liquid state of organo-lead halide perovskites and their new roles in dye-sensitized solar cells

2014

Journal Article

Scalable low-cost SnS2 nanosheets as counter electrode building blocks for dye-sensitized solar cells

Bai, Yang, Zong, Xu, Yu, Hua, Chen, Zhi-Gang and Wang, Lianzhou (2014). Scalable low-cost SnS2 nanosheets as counter electrode building blocks for dye-sensitized solar cells. Chemistry - A European Journal, 20 (28), 8670-8676. doi: 10.1002/chem.201402657

Scalable low-cost SnS2 nanosheets as counter electrode building blocks for dye-sensitized solar cells

2014

Journal Article

A new type of carbon nitride-based polymer composite for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

Xing, Zheng, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Zong, Xu and Wang, Lianzhou (2014). A new type of carbon nitride-based polymer composite for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production. Chemical Communications, 50 (51), 6762-6764. doi: 10.1039/c4cc00397g

A new type of carbon nitride-based polymer composite for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

2014

Journal Article

Purification, preliminary characterization and in vitro immunomodulatory activity of tiger lily polysaccharide

Chen, Zhi-Gang, Zhang, Dan-Ni, Zhu, Qu, Yang, Qiu-Huizi and Han, Yong-Bin (2014). Purification, preliminary characterization and in vitro immunomodulatory activity of tiger lily polysaccharide. Carbohydrate Polymers, 106, 217-222. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.02.004

Purification, preliminary characterization and in vitro immunomodulatory activity of tiger lily polysaccharide

2014

Journal Article

In-doped Bi2Se3 hierarchical nanostructures as anode materials for Li-ion batteries

Han, Guang, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Ye, Delai, Yang, Lei, Wang, Lianzhou, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2014). In-doped Bi2Se3 hierarchical nanostructures as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2 (19), 7109-7116. doi: 10.1039/c4ta00045e

In-doped Bi2Se3 hierarchical nanostructures as anode materials for Li-ion batteries

2014

Journal Article

A novel bottom-up solvothermal synthesis of carbon nanosheets

Wang, Wentai, Chakrabarti, Sandip, Chen, Zhigang, Yan, Zifeng, Tade, Moses O., Zou, Jin and Li, Qin (2014). A novel bottom-up solvothermal synthesis of carbon nanosheets. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2 (7), 2390-2396. doi: 10.1039/c3ta13593d

A novel bottom-up solvothermal synthesis of carbon nanosheets

2014

Journal Article

Paramagnetic Cu-doped Bi2Te3 nanoplates

Chen, Zhi-Gang, Yang, Lei, Ma, Song, Cheng, Lina, Han, Guang, Zhang, Zhi-dong and Zou, Jin (2014). Paramagnetic Cu-doped Bi2Te3 nanoplates. Applied Physics Letters, 104 (5) 053105, 053105. doi: 10.1063/1.4863966

Paramagnetic Cu-doped Bi2Te3 nanoplates

2014

Journal Article

A new crystal: Layer-structured rhombohedral In3Se4

Han, guang, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Sun, Chenghua, Yang, Lei, Cheng, Lina, Li, Zhifeng, Lu, Wei, Gibbs, Zachary M., Snyder, G. Jeffery, Jack, Kevin, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2014). A new crystal: Layer-structured rhombohedral In3Se4. CrystEngComm, 16 (3), 393-398. doi: 10.1039/c3ce41815d

A new crystal: Layer-structured rhombohedral In3Se4

2014

Journal Article

New electroless plating method for preparation of highly active Co-B catalysts for NaBH4 hydrolysis

Muir, Sean S., Chen, Zhigang, Wood, Barry J., Wang, Lianzhou, Lu, G.Q. (Max) and Yao, Xiangdong (2014). New electroless plating method for preparation of highly active Co-B catalysts for NaBH4 hydrolysis. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39 (1), 414-425. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.10.022

New electroless plating method for preparation of highly active Co-B catalysts for NaBH4 hydrolysis

2014

Conference Publication

Au-catalyzed and catalyst-free growth of one-dimensional Bi2Se3 nanostructures

Zou, Yichao, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Huang, Yang, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2014). Au-catalyzed and catalyst-free growth of one-dimensional Bi2Se3 nanostructures. Conference on Optoelectronic and Microelectronic Materials and Devices, Perth, WA, Australia, 14-17 December 2014. Perth, WA, Australia: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. doi: 10.1109/COMMAD.2014.7038638

Au-catalyzed and catalyst-free growth of one-dimensional Bi2Se3 nanostructures

2013

Journal Article

Thermal stability and oxidation of layer-structured rhombohedral In3Se4 nanostructures

Han, Guang, Chen, Zhi-Gang, Yang, Lei, Cheng, Lina, Jack, Kevin, Drennan, John and Zou, Jin (2013). Thermal stability and oxidation of layer-structured rhombohedral In3Se4 nanostructures. Applied Physics Letters, 103 (26) 263105, 263105.1-263105.5. doi: 10.1063/1.4857655

Thermal stability and oxidation of layer-structured rhombohedral In3Se4 nanostructures

Funding

Past funding

  • 2018 - 2021
    High Performance, Low-cost Integrated System for Low-grade Wast Heat Recovery
    HBIS Group Co, Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Development of High Performance Nanostructured (Bi, Sb)2Te3 Nanomaterials
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2015
    Smart Futures Fellowship (Early): Development of high-efficiency thermoelectric nanowire arrays for power generation devices
    Queensland Government Smart Futures Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2013
    Queensland International Fellowship: Towards power generation devices for converting waste heat into power energy
    Queensland International Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    Epitaxial Growth of Nanostructured Thermoelectric Zn4Sb3 p-n Junction Heterostructure Arrays for Power-Generation Devices
    UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards - DVC(R) Funding
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    An integrated system for measuring thermoelectric properties of advanced materials
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    Development of Nanostructured Sensors for Ultra-sensitive, Label-free and Selective Detection of Biological and Chemical Species
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2010
    Development of Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials for Power-Generation Devices
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2012
    Development of silicon nanowire sensors for detection of chemical species
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    Epitaxial growth of Zn-VI/III-N nanowire-based structures for future device applications
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Honorary Professor Zhi-Gang Chen is:
Available for supervision

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Available projects

  • Design low-cost, low-toxic and high performance thermoelectric materials

    The direct energy conversion between heat and electricity, based on thermoelectric effects without moving parts, has been considered as a green and sustainable solution to the global energy dilemma. This project aims to develop novel band-engineered metal selenides for high-efficiency energy conversion using novel microwave assisted wet chemistry approach, coupled with nanostructure and band engineering strategies. The key breakthrough is to design high performance metal selenide thermoelectrics for satisfying the high efficiency solid-state devices. The expected outcomes will lead to an innovative technology that waste heat recovery and refrigeration, which will place Australia at the forefront of practical energy technologies.

  • Design low-cost and high performance two dimensional topological insulators

    Superfast information technology had HOV lanes so that data could be stored, processed and disseminated many times faster than possible with today's electronics. This project aims to develop new topological insulators using chemical vapor depostion and coupling unique nanostructure and band engineering strategies. The ultimate target is to be used for this new generation devices, such a speedway for future devices, an exotic type of electrical conductor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Honorary Professor Zhi-Gang Chen directly for media enquiries about:

  • Engineering
  • Light electronics
  • Lights
  • Nanomaterials
  • Nanostructures
  • Optoelectronic devices

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