China
Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute, Sichuan University
86-28-85460607
Wei Zhang
Address:
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering,
Polymer Research Institute,
Sichuan University Chengdu 610065,
China.
Research Interests:
Dr. Zhang’s research mainly focuses on biopolymers, particularly the nanomaterials from renewable resources, such as cellulose nanofibers, chitin whiskers, etc.
The extraction of cellulose nanofibers and their applications in green nanocomposites, energy storage, water treatment and tissue engineering have been the active topics in his research group.
- Commercialization of cellulose nanofibers production. The main obstacle for the industrialization of cellulose nanofibers from plant fibers is the vast energy consumption. He has developed an efficient pretreatment technology together with a self-designed equipment that can significantly reduce the energy consumption.
- Application of cellulose nanofibers. He has surface-modified the nanomaterials targeting the interfacial and dispersion problems in composites and a series of high performance nanocomposites have been prepared. He also uses cellulose nanofibers for some advanced applications, such as paper electronics, energy storage materials, water purification materials as well as biomedicines.
- Electrospinning of cellulose. The electrospinning of native cellulose has been extensively studied in his research group. The electrospun cellulose has been successfully applied in tissue engineering, drug delivery and water purifications, etc.
- 3D printing. He has self-developed the first equipment in China that can continuously 3D print objects at a very fast speed with photocurable resins (These print speeds allow parts to be produced in minutes instead of hours).
Biography:
- Dr Wei Zhang received his BEng (2005) and MEng (2008) and PhD (2012) degrees from Sichuan University. During 2009-2011,
- He studied in Georgia Tech as a visiting student supported by the China Scholarship Council.
- Right after graduation, he joined Sichuan University as an Assistant Professor.
- He was promoted to Associate Professor in July 2014.
- He has an H-index of 21 with a total SCI citation of 1000+.
- His research mainly focuses on biopolymers, particularly the nanomaterials from renewable resources, such as cellulose nanofibers, chitin whiskers, etc.
- The extraction of cellulose nanofibers and their applications in green nanocomposites, energy storage, water treatment and tissue engineering have been the active topics in his research group.
- His research work has been highlighted by many scientific news media, including C&EN, VeriticalNews, PharmacyChoice, Global Medical Discovery, etc.