On 16th December, Prof. Jiawen Chen from South China Normal University visited IAPME and gave a talk on “Light-driven Molecular Motor: From Molecular Machines to Responsive Materials”. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2016 has been awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, and Ben L. Feringa for the development of molecular machines. Molecular machines are molecules that can perform mechanical movement like motion upon stimulation. In particular, molecular motors are molecules that are able to rotate unidirectionally. In Prof. Jiawen Chen’s lecture, he introduces light-driven molecular motors based on over-crowded alkenes and describes their application in controlled molecular motion, dynamic self-assembled system, and smart materials.
Prof. Jiawen Chen obtained his bachelor and master degrees at department of chemistry of Nanjing University. In 2010, he moved to Netherlands to continue his Ph.D study at University of Groningen, with the supervision of Prof. Ben L. Feringa, who is a Noble Laureate in Chemistry. After another 4 years postdoc at the same group, Prof. Chen joined the National Young Thousand Talent Program and returned to South China Normal University as a full professor in 2019. His research interest focuses on photo- and thermo- responsive materials.
