Overview:
Center of Rare Earth and Inorganic Functional Materials (“Rare Earth Center”) integrates Nankai University’s advantage in scientific subjects and embodies the interdisciplinary characteristic of science and engineering subjects. Prof. Chunhua Yan, who is the academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the famous expert in the field of rare earth and inorganic functional materials, is the director of the Rare Earth Center. In response to national major demand and world frontier of scientific development, center focuses on the synthesis, structure-function relationship and application of rare earth and inorganic functional materials, and provides scientific and technological support and talents for China’s development and application of strategic resource of rare earth as well as sustainable development of rare earth and inorganic high-tech industries. Under the leadership and support of Prof. Chunhua Yan, all the teachers and students made abundant achievements, and the Rare Earth Center applied for Tianjin Key Laboratory in November 2018 (“ Tianjin Key Laboratory for Rare Earth Materials and Applications”).
Rare Earth Center established on April 12th 2018
Tianjin Key Laboratory for Rare Earth Materials and Applications was unveiled on December 27th 2018
Tianjin Key Laboratory for Rare Earth Materials and Applications
It would be a great opportunity to complete the development of world-class discipline through the foundation of the Rare Earth Center based on College of Materials Science and Engineering. The center will contribute to Nankai University’s development of “emerging engineering education” by pushing the research from Chemistry to Materials, from Materials to Engineering. The laboratory covers an area of nearly 2000 square meters, and has the conventional instruments and equipment for material synthesis and characterization. Currently, there are four professors, one associate professor, two lecturers and one research assistant. Among them, one is the academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, two people obtained the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars and another one achieved the Thousand Youth Talents Plan in Tianjin.
Team Members:
Features and Achievements of the Center:
The research on rare earth and inorganic functional materials is the basis for discovering the new properties of rare earth and expanding the application range of rare earth materials. The establishment of Rare Earth Center is of significance in promoting the domestic academic exchanges of rare earth studies and promoting the development of material science of Nankai University as first-class discipline, and the center will emerge as a world-class scientific research center and talent cultivation base.
The laboratory of Rare Earth Center
Touch rare earth and turn it into gold – be able to perform wonders
Aromaticity and antiaromaticity in Zintl clusters
On November 17th, 2023, according to the latest research published online by Science, Nankai University has made a significant breakthrough in the field of inorganic synthesis and coordination chemistry. The research, titled An all-metal fullerene: [K@Au12Sb20]5-, reports the synthesis and bonding mechanism of the first-ever all-metal fullerene [K@Au12Sb20]5- (see Figures 1-2). This study showcases a novel compound synthesis technique and precise manipulation of metal-metal bonds' structural chemistry applications, offering fresh perspectives for the creation of new materials. This groundbreaking achievement underscores Nankai University's crucial position in the fields of synthetic chemistry and main group metal element coordination chemistry.
Molecular structure of the [K@Au12Sb20]5- cluster. Color scheme: K (cyan), Au (gold), Sb (blue).
Academic Activities:
Under the support of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, the Rare Earth Center has invited many influential academic experts and held various rare earth related academic forums to expand the international influence of the center. At the same time, the Rare Earth Center expects to take the market as the orientation, promotes the transformation of materials science and technology achievements and hopes to facilitate the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Academic report by Prof. Jiannian Yao
(The Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Academic report by Prof. Wenxiong Zhang from Peking University