Two-Dimensional Materials and Ice Control

Ice nucleation and growth remain difficult to study because well-defined experimental platforms are limited. In this talk, I will present two-dimensional materials as model interfaces for investigating how surface chemistry, confinement, and electrostatic interactions regulate ice formation. We further use ice and confined water as programmable environments for materials fabrication. By controlling water–ice phase transitions within graphene oxide membranes, molecular assembly and subsequent reactions can be separated in time, enabling precise regulation and stabilization of interlayer channels. The resulting membranes combine high water transport, long-term desalination stability, and exceptional ion selectivity, including the separation of Rb⁺ from K⁺ despite a hydrated-size difference of less than 0.1 Å. This work connects fundamental ice physics with nanofluidics and precision membrane engineering.

Dr. Wang serves as Deputy Director of the 6th Academic Committee of Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (TIPC, CAS); Committee Member of the National Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology; Consultant to Korea University; and Editorial Board Member of the Chinese Journal of Polymer Science. He received his PhD from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2006, later worked at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, and joined TIPC, CAS in 2023 to lead an interdisciplinary research center. He has received major honors, including the Beijing Natural Science First Prize and the 2025 CAS Innovative Scholar award, and has led key NSFC and CAS projects. His research focuses on crystal formation mechanisms and biomedical applications. He experimentally probed transient and nanosized critical ice nucleus and developed DMSO-free ice-controlling materials certified by the FDA and NMPA, with related reproductive cryopreservation reagents entering clinical trials. His work also includes drug crystal regulation for tumor therapy and antibacterial applications. Dr. Wang has published in leading journals such as Nature, Nature Photonics, Science Advances, PNAS. He holds numerous authorized patents with industrial applications, and his achievements have been featured by Nature, the BBC, and APS.