Dr. Qingchen Shen

Postdoc
Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials
+49 331 567-9246
K-1.234

Main Focus

Given that cellulose is the most abundant polymer in nature, developing functional materials based on it could have a significant impact on society. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), extracted from natural cellulose resource through acid hydrolysis, can self-assemble into a cholesteric structure, producing brilliant structural color. This creates opportunities for the development of sustainable photonic materials. The molecular structure of cellulose results in low solar absorption and high thermal radiation within the atmosphere window, making it an ideal candidate for radiative cooling materials.

I am particularly interested in:

  • Enhancing the photonic properties of CNC-based sustainable photonic materials
  • Exploring scalable methods for fabrication of CNC-based sustainable photonic materials
  • Developing radiative cooling materials based on cellulose

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Qingchen Shen is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Sustainable and Bio-Inspired Materials, headed by Prof. Silvia Vignolini, at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. His research focuses on developing advanced photonic and thermal materials based on sustainable cellulose.

Qingchen received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China under the supervision of Prof. Tao Deng. His research primarily focused on thermal management, thermal sensing, and thermal energy conversion.

Recognizing the close relationship between heat and light, he joined the University of Cambridge as a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Prof. Silvia Vignolini, where he worked on bioinspired, structurally colored materials. His research centered on sustainable cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) derived from natural cellulose sources.

Publications

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FZ8WsmYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

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