Index - Assistant Professor

Name

Chen Tiankai （陈添锴）

Title

Assistant Professor

Education Background

Ph. D. (National University of Singapore)
B. Sc. (Peking University)

Research

Nanochemistry, nanomaterials, inorganic chemistry

Personal Website

chentiankai@cuhk.edu.cn

Office Address

RA212

Phone

Teaching Area

Other

Biography

Dr. Chen Tiankai is currently an assistant professor, presidential young fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He received his B. Sc. degree from Peking University in 2014 and Ph. D. degree from National University of Singapore in 2018. After that, he worked as a research fellow in National University of Singapore. In 2022, he joined CUHK-SZ as an assistant professor.

He has published more than 40 papers in journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Adv. Mat., CCS Chem., and ACS Nano. They have received 4000+ citations (h-index 28). His research interests include:

(1) Developing atomically precise nanomaterials like metal nanoclusters and quantum dots.
(2) Deciphering the nanochemistry associated with the nanomaterials.

(3) Integrating artificial intelligence into nanoscience research.

Positions Available

Year 2025 update: positions for PhD students or research assistants still avaiable, apply now!

We are actively looking for PhD students and Postdoctoral Researchers from chemistry or material science backgrounds (research experience in relevant fields including but not limited to metal nanoclusters, quantum dots, and eletrospray ionization mass spectrometry preferred but not required). Full financial support will be provided to successful applicants.

Interested applicants may send the CV and other application materials (if any) to chentiankai@cuhk.edu.cn, with the title of the email "PhD Application - Your Name" or "PostDoc Application - Your Name".

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Research

Ultrasmall nanomaterials (1-2 nm) features many molecular-like properties, and they can be represented by a molecular formula. We aim to introduce such atomically precise chemistry into nanoscience research. In our past research, we have successfully demonstrated these chemistry in atomically precise metal nanoclusters (metal nanoparticles below 2 nm in size). We are going further with these metal nanoclusters, as well as various different nanomaterials.

(1) Understanding the optical properties of atomically precise nanomaterials.

How atomically precise nanomaterials interact with light (e.g., absorption, emission)? Just like molecules, a small difference in the composition may lead to a significant differerence in the optical properties.

(2) Understanding the reaction mechanism associated with atomically precise nanomaterials

In chemical reactions, understanding how one nanomaterial (e.g., metal nanoclusters) transform into another is crucial for the reaction design and control. We develop mass spectrometry methods to gain mechanistic insights.

(3) Utilizing machine learning methods to accerlate nanoscience research

Chemical synthesis can be "smart" if machine learning and automation can be incorporated. This will greatly extend the nanomaterial synthesis.

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Awards and honors

Publications

Selected publications:

9. Z. Yang, Z. Chen, B. Li, R. Zhang, Y. Cao, D.-e. Jiang, Q. Yao, H. Shan, T. Chen*, P. Zhang*, J. Xie*, Integrating Sulfido Ligands into Thiolate-Gold(I) Clusters via Competing Bonding; CCS Chemistry, 2024, doi.org:10.31635/ccschem.024.202404942

8. Z. Yang, A. Shi, R. Zhang, Z. Ji, J. Li, J. Lyu, J. Qian, T. Chen*, X. Wang*, F. You*, and J. Xie*, When Metal Nanoclusters Meet Smart Synthesis; ACS Nano, 2024, 18, 27138.

7. L. Liu, T. Chen*, and Z. Chen*, Understanding the Dynamic Aggregation in Single Atom Catalysis; Advanced Science, 2024, 11, 2308046.

6. T. Chen, J. Li, P. Cai, Q. Yao, Z. Ren, Y. Zhu, S. Khan, J. Xie, and X. Wang, Identification of Chemical Compositions from “Featureless” Optical Absorption Spectra: Machine Learning Predictions and Experimental Validations; Nano Research, 2023, 16, 4188.

5. T. Chen, H. Lin, Y. Cao, Q. Yao, and J. Xie, Interactions of Metal Nanoclusters with Light: Fundamentals and Applications; Advanced Materials, 2021, 2103918.

4. T. Chen, Q. Yao, Y. Cao, and J. Xie, Studying the Growth of Gold Nanoclusters by SubStochiometric Reduction; Cell Reports Physical Science, 2020, 1, 100206.

3. J. Li, T. Chen (co-first author), K. Lim, L. Chen, S. A. Kahn, J. Xie, and X. Wang, Deep Learning Accelerated Gold Nanocluster Synthesis; Advanced Intelligent Systems, 2019, 1, 1900029.

2. T. Chen, Q. Yao, R. R. Nasaruddin, and J. Xie, Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Powerful Platform for Noble Metal Nanocluster Analysis; Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2019, 58, 11967.

1. T. Chen, V. Fung, Q. Yao, Z. Luo, D-e. Jiang, and J. Xie, Synthesis of Water-Soluble [Au₂₅(SR)₁₈]- Using a Stoichiometric Amount of NaBH₄; Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2018, 140, 11370.

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