Molecular design is the design of new molecules from the molecular, electronic level through a large amount of experimental data such as databases, combined with modern theoretical methods through computer design. The field is the hot spot of contemporary research work in the field of materials science and technology, involving physics, chemistry, mathematics, especially symmetry knowledge. The new composites, functional and smart materials and other basic materials born from the field of molecular design cover fields ranging from daily life to aerospace and national security, which have a significant impact on society and economy.
The session “Innovation and Life – From Molecular Design to Material Application” was moderated by Wang linge, Professor and Associate Dean of School of Molecular Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology. The speakers on the spot include Tang Benzhong, Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor, South China University of Technology, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology; Xu Jian, Chief Scientist of National Project 863 and 973, Professor of Shenzhen University; Liu Dongsheng, “Changjiang” Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Professor of Tsinghua University; Wu dezhen, Board Chairman of Jiangsu Shino New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. and Professor of Beijing University of Chemical Technology. Online guest includes Frank Kuijpers, General Manager of Corporate Sustainability at SABIC. Delegates had in-depth scientific exchanges from molecular design and synthesis to the innovation of industrial-scale preparation means, discussed in depth the R&D and application of various types of new materials and smart materials, and showed the audience the prospects for their application in related key industries and fields.
“R&D", "light", "gene" and "application" are the core elements discussed by the guests in this session, showing the audience the "discovery-research-application" chain of molecular design and application. During the forum, delegates shared their R&D experience and research results in their respective fields, and introduced new luminescent materials born from the fusion of light and molecular materials under the leadership in R&D of Tang Benzhong, new biomaterials born from the fusion of molecular design and genetic engineering under the leadership in R&D of Liu Dongsheng, and the characteristics and research process of new materials such as polyimide (PI), which is regarded as "the most promising polymer of the 21st century", and which Wu dezhen's team has been working on. In addition to new materials, Xu Jian also shared the research methodology and focus he summarized in his research, and put forward the R&D idea of "Composite materials start from computation, and materials start from chemistry", which will double the efficiency and save half of the time for R&D, and to realize quantification, numeric quantification and modelisation in the process of basic problem-application basis-service evaluation.
Molecular Material Design should not only stop at the stage of R&D. The delegates reached a consensus on the idea that "it should be actively transformed into applications", and affirmed the statement in the discussion that "the high pricing of new material products is reasonable, which is conducive to stimulating the initiation of new research and the admission of new materials". At the same time, however, the material industry is still dominated by plastics, and Frank Kuijpers, General Manager of Corporate Sustainability at SABIC, from the perspective of an enterprise, believed that in the absence of the popularity of recyclable and reusable new materials, how to solve the climate and environmental problems caused by the excessive use of plastics is an urgent issue.
