IQTC Seminar: Prof. Xu Hou
“Bioinspired Multi-Scale Pore/Channel Systmes“
This Thursday at 12:00h, the Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTC) will host a seminar by Prof. Hou in the Sala de Graus Eduard Fontserè.
The event is open to the entire academic community, and students are especially encouraged to attend.
For those located at the Torribera Campus or abroad, the lecture will also be available online via Zoom (link provided below).
Date: 18 sept 2025 11:30 a. m. Madrid
Zoom: https://ub-edu.zoom.us/j/99420556422?pwd=b3B8rRICw8S2Bch9yNMXBchUXbVVaz.1
Meeting ID: 994 2055 6422
Access code: 515671
ABSTRACT
“Pore” and “Channel” are everywhere, e.g., from small biological ion channels to large oil
pipelines. The difference between pore and channel is the relationship between its diameter and
its depth. If the diameter is greater than its depth, it is referred to as Pore, otherwise, Channel.
Both “Pore” and “Channel” have a wide range of significant applications on different scales.
For example, pipelines which are commonly used in the chemical industry, food industry,
agriculture, and energy-petroleum transportation, can be treated as macro-scale channels. The
problems with such channels center on energy-saving, anti-fouling, anti-corrosion, and antiblock. Another example of micro-scale pores is “liquid gating technology”, which has a great
impact in the areas of chemical synthesis, biological analysis, optics and information
technology, etc. It utilizes the capillary-stabilized functional liquid as a pressure-driven,
reversible, and reconfigurable gate to fill and seal the pores in the closed state and create
completely liquid-lined pores in the open state under pressure changes. Recently, it has already
become a reality by design of various smart materials by responsive design of the porous solid
phase and dynamic liquid phase, which expand the basic scientific issues of the traditional
membrane materials from the solid-liquid/gas interface to the solid-liquid-liquid/gas interface
and have found applications in chemistry, energy, environmental, and biomedical related
interdisciplinary fields. For nano-scale systems, we design and prepare smart
symmetric/asymmetric nanochannels by physicochemical design of responsive porous
materials and realize the regulation of mass transport in the nanoconfined spaces and focus the
new research directions on bioinspired nanofluidic iontronics.
References
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- JACS, 146 (21): 14558-14565 (2024).
- Nature, 617: 499-506 (2023).
- Nature, 610: 74-80 (2022).
- PNAS, 119: e2206462119 (2022).
- Science, 373: 628-629 (2021).
- Sci. Adv., 4: eaao6724 (2018).
- Nat. Rev. Mater., 2: 17016 (2017).
- Adv. Mater., 28:7049-7064 (2016).
- Nature, 519: 70 (2015)