On November 27th, the 4-day 2022 Future Science Prize Week concluded successfully. During the event, nearly 100 outstanding scientists and scholars from around the world gathered to focus on cutting-edge global scientific knowledge and celebrate this grand feast of science. Prof. Zhao Dongyuan, Chief Scientist of UniNano Advanced Materials and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was invited to attend the summit. At the Science Summit, Prof. Zhao delivered a speech titled "Functional Mesoporous Materials: Present and Future", introducing the functions and application scenarios of mesoporous materials in the field of chemical catalysis, as well as a series of scientific research achievements made in the field of molecular design.

Mesoporous materials, a new material system developed in the 20th century, feature regularly arranged and size-tunable pore structures, along with a high specific surface area and large adsorption capacity. They hold broad application prospects in numerous fields such as biochemistry.

Mesoporous materials—porous materials with pore sizes ranging from 2 to 50 nanometers that are not widely known to the general public—can significantly enhance heavy oil conversion efficiency when used as catalysts. If promoted nationwide, this technology could help petroleum enterprises increase the production of high-quality oil products by approximately 1.5 million tons annually. Furthermore, this technology can be extensively applied to key national economic sectors including industrial thermal insulation, supercapacitors, biological detection, environmental treatment, and electronic materials. Prof. Zhao Dongyuan is precisely the "pore architect" who continuously "designs" mesoporous materials.

The Relationship Between Synthesis-Structure-Properties of Mesoporous Materials and Their Applications in the Energy Field

In recent years, the research group led by Prof. Zhao Dongyuan has expanded mesoporous materials from inorganic compositions to organic polymers and carbon. They have revealed the organic-organic self-assembly mechanism at the molecular level, proposed a novel multi-component synergistic co-assembly strategy, and successfully synthesized ordered mesoporous carbon-silica composite materials. This new type of material is soft and lightweight, so much so that it can even rest on a dandelion. This achievement has built a bridge between inorganic and organic mesoporous materials.

As the world's first enterprise to industrialize mesoporous thermal insulation materials, UniNano Advanced Materials focuses on high-efficiency and energy-saving mesoporous thermal insulation material series. Its products are widely applied in aerospace, petrochemicals, industrial furnaces, refrigeration, fire protection and other fields, significantly improving energy utilization efficiency. The company has always adhered to its mission of "Mesoporous Insulation, a Greener Earth".