Dr. Zhen Wang

Zhen is from Heilongjiang, China. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Renmin University of China under the supervision of Prof. Yapei Wang, where he mainly worked on the self-assembly of biocompatible and biodegradable linear block copolymers, the preparation of double emulsions, and the light utilization via photothermal conversion.
He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry in the Bio-inspired Photonics group at the University of Cambridge supervised by Prof. Silvia Vignolini. During his Ph.D. study, he was seeking a line of interdisciplinary research combining polymer self-assembly, emulsions, and light manipulation together. He developed a series of biocompatible bottlebrush block copolymers and explored their confined self-assembly within microfluidic droplets, leading to the fabrication of structurally colored pigments. By analyzing their optical response, these photonic pigments can be understood and optimized through either changing the polymer design or the processing conditions.
Transitioning to postdoctoral research, Zhen is addressing the end-of-life pathway of these bottlebrush block copolymer materials by incorporating degradable linkages, which allow for their controlled breakdown under mild conditions. His research interest focuses on the design, synthesis, and application of sustainable polymers in photonics and also recently on high refractive index polymers and soft photonics.