In the functional materials engineering lab, we combine materials science, engineering and data science to offer practical solutions to real world challenges.
We strive to engineer at the interface between hybrid porous materials, polymers and biomaterials for applications in energy, biocatalysis, resource and membrane separation.
Our interest lies in the step that decides whether a promising material ever leaves the laboratory: how it is made, shaped and put to work. We develop new ways to process hybrid materials into forms that are stable, scalable and ready to be built into devices.
These materials underpin three areas of our work. We build membranes that separate one molecule or ion from a mixture, for cleaner energy, critical minerals and water. We create light-emitting and imaging materials for optical and healthcare technologies. And we design protective environments for biological catalysts so they can operate outside their natural setting.
Across all of these, we use data-driven methods to guide materials design, and we work closely with industry partners and collaborators in Australia and overseas to move discoveries towards use.
wengang.huang@uq.edu.au
Focus: MOF glasses and their applications
j.powell1@uq.edu.au
Focus: Responsive metal–organic framework materials and MOF synthesis through waste upcycling
zixi.xie@uq.edu.au
Focus: Amorphous and glassy functional membrane materials, light-emitting materials and piezoelectric materials
yuelei.chen@uq.edu.au
Focus: MOF nanocomposites for light-emitting applications
yichen.hsu@uq.edu.au
Focus: Controlled synthesis of quantum dots in MOF glasses for lighting, imaging and sensing
uqnkhoir@uq.edu.au
Focus: MOF-based membranes for gas separation
yudiran.lu@uq.edu.au
Focus: Metal-modified MOF glasses and related porous materials for gas transport and separation
zhanheng.lyu@uq.edu.au
Focus: Tailoring lithium separation through pore structure engineering in metal–organic framework membranes
a.qi@uq.edu.au
Focus: Porous MOF-based composites and membranes for gas separation
hanyu.qu@uq.edu.au
Focus: Molten salt-assisted melting and functionalisation of ionic-conductor MOF glasses
yan.wang5@uq.edu.au
Focus: Gas separation via mixed matrix membranes
k.wanta@uq.edu.au
Focus: MOFs for selective metal ion separation
runtian.xin@uq.edu.au
Focus: Continuous structure modification of lead halide perovskites encapsulated in MOF glasses
jie.yang1@uq.edu.au
Focus: MOF-derived glass membranes with tailored microstructures
x.zha@uq.edu.au
Focus: Pore-persistent metal–organic cage glasses
shuke.zhao@uq.edu.au
Focus: MOF glass membranes
bo.li1@uq.edu.au
Focus: Separation processes in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmaceuticals
ying.zhao1@uq.edu.au
Focus: Coordination-driven assembly of interlocked architectures and MOFs
Focus: Bimetallic metal–triazolate frameworks for reactive oxygen species generation
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UQ News | Light conversion tech to power wearable X-rays for children
Associate Professor Jingwei Hou has been awarded a $1.6 million NHMRC Investigator Grant to develop a flexible, quantum dot hybrid glass X-ray detector that can be worn in a hoodie or blanket, making lung scans more comfortable for young children.
ABC News | Composite glass breakthrough by Queensland researchers could help make phone screens 'unbreakable'
UQ Researchers have developed a composite glass that is practically unbreakable
COSMO Magazine | Cracking the code of unbreakable phone screens
Perovskite breakthrough could make tougher phone screens and more efficient solar panels.
South China Morning Post | Inventors of unbreakable glass with high image quality for devices say it may change vision of the future
27 researchers from around the world report new composite glass from zinc minerals and nanocrystal can be made into a self-illuminating, antibacterial display
Auspreneur | Compound glass-Queensland researchers could help make phone screen 'unbreakable'
A group of researchers at the University of Queensland develop a composite glass that is nearly unbreakable.
Get in touch
Location
Level 8, Andrew Liveris Building
The University of Queensland
Contact us
Dr Jingwei Hou
e: jingwei.hou@uq.edu.au