Dr. Ying Zhu | Bio Materials | Best Paper Award

Lecturer at Central South University of Forestry and Technology | China

Dr. Ying Zhu is a dedicated Chinese researcher and lecturer at the Central South University of Forestry and Technology, specializing in Wood Science and Engineering with a strong academic background from Northeast Forestry University and a joint doctoral training experience at the University of Göttingen in Wood Technology and Wood-Based Composites. Her research focuses on the molecular-scale design, modification, and functionalization of biomass cellulose to develop sustainable and high-performance materials for advanced applications, including flexible lithium-ion battery separators and electronic skins. She has contributed extensively to the field through a series of influential publications that explore innovative bio-based material strategies and their applications. Her works include a general strategy for synthesizing biomacromolecular ionogel membranes via solvent-induced self-assembly published in Nature Synthesis, the development of a non-Newtonian fluidic cellulose-modified glass microfiber separator for flexible lithium-ion batteries presented in EcoMat, and the establishment of the time-temperature-moisture superposition principle of hydrophilic polymer amorphous cellulose discussed in Newton. Ying Zhu has also co-authored research on bio-inspired multiscale designs for strong and tough biological ionogels in Advanced Science, sustainable cellulose and its derivatives for biomedical applications in Progress in Materials Science, as well as studies on dynamic gels with reversible and tunable topological networks in Matter, and cellulose-based flexible functional materials for emerging intelligent electronics in Advanced Materials. Her contributions exemplify a commitment to advancing the sustainable transformation of biomass into multifunctional materials that bridge green chemistry, renewable resource utilization, and next-generation functional technologies.

Profile: Orcid 

Featured Publications:

Cheng, W., Zhu, Y., Jiang, G., Cao, K., Zeng, S., Chen, W., Zhao, D., & Yu, H. (2023). Sustainable cellulose and its derivatives for promising biomedical applications. Progress in Materials Science, 138, Article 101152.

Chen, S., Jiang, G., Zhou, J., Wang, G., Zhu, Y., Cheng, W., Xu, G., Zhao, D., & Yu, H. (2023). Robust solvatochromic gels for self-defensive smart windows. Advanced Functional Materials, 33(—), Article 2214382.

Zhu, Y., Guo, Y., Cao, K., Zeng, S., Jiang, G., Liu, Y., Cheng, W., Bai, W., Weng, X., Chen, W., et al. (2023). A general strategy for synthesizing biomacromolecular ionogel membranes via solvent-induced self-assembly. Nature Synthesis, 2(—), Article e00315.

Cheng, W., Liu, Y., Tong, Z., Zhu, Y., Cao, K., Chen, W., Zhao, D., & Yu, H. (2023). Micro-interfacial polymerization of porous PEDOT for printable electronic devices. EcoMat, 5(—), Article e12288.

Jiang, G., Wang, G., Zhu, Y., Cheng, W., Cao, K., Xu, G., Zhao, D., & Yu, H. (2022). A scalable bacterial cellulose ionogel for multisensory electronic skin. Research, 2022, Article 9814767.