Prof. Baoling HUANG and Prof. Zhiyong FAN together Awarded RMB 4.9 Million from Foshan-HKUST Projects
Two HKUST engineering professors have been awarded an overall grant of RMB 4.9 million by the Foshan-HKUST projects. They are Prof. Baoling HUANG, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Prof. Zhiyong FAN, Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering as well as Chemical and Biological Engineering.
Prof. Huang was awarded RMB 2.8 million for his project “The Development and Integration of High-safety Smart Aqueous Lithium-ion Battery with High-rate Performance”. In this two-year project, Prof. Huang’s team aims to develop a new type of high-safety smart aqueous lithium-ion secondary battery based on environmentally-friendly thermal responsive hydrogel. This flexible aqueous battery can provide fast-charging as well as self-protection capabilities under high temperatures. Its design considers the impact of lithium salts on the thermally-responsive hydrogel and the performance of battery. It adopts high-concentration 1 M LiNO3 solution as the electrolyte, which can maintain the smart thermal responsive behavior of the hydrogel while providing stable charging/discharging performance. The thermal switching temperature can be tuned by modifying the concentration of hydrophilic functional groups in the hydrogel, thus providing great adaptability to different application scenarios. The new battery is expected to be a promising energy storage technology for wearable electronics.
Prof. Fan was awarded RMB 2.1 million for the project “Research of Flexible and Wearable Intelligent Environment Sensing System”. In this project, Prof. Fan’s team aims to develop a new generation of flexible and wearable environment sensing system for special industries. It adopts advanced intelligent sensing technology to monitor, feedback, warn accurately and in real time the working environment parameters such as temperature, humidity and related harmful gas concentration around operators. By so doing, it aims to reduce the risk of accidents and play a comprehensive role in safeguarding the life of special operators. The wearable detection equipment developed features fast detection speed, high accuracy, multiple gas detection, high safety factor, strong anti-interference capability, excellent dust proofness, small size, flexibility and light weight etc. It is ideal for on-site leak detection and mobile use, which can provide real-time insight of the status and safety of operators in hazardous areas and help on-site operators and companies respond to safety accidents in a more scientific and decisive manner.
More importantly, Prof. Fan’s project on environment sensing system will be perfectly integrated with Prof. Huang’s project on high-safety water-based battery. The joint efforts aim to ultimately achieve safe and reliable environmental sensing under harsh conditions.
Funded by the Foshan Government, the University-Enterprise Collaborative R&D Program under Foshan HKUST Projects supports substantive R&D cooperation among HKUST and its mainland platforms and enterprises in Foshan. It focuses on R&D, application of technology, and exploration of effective mechanisms for technology collaboration. With Foshan’s manufacturing technologies and innovative achievements in industrialization, the R&D Program further boosts the city’s industrial transformation and development.
