On May 21, Liu Zhongfan, a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Director of Beijing Graphene Institute and Peking University Boya Chair Professor, gave the tenth lecture of "Opportunities and Challenges of Materials Science", a general elective course of Nankai University. The theme of the lecture is "Graphene: A Material Striving for New Progress".

Liu reviewed the development of carbon materials and introduced the concept and structure of graphene, highlighting the broad prospect of its application in electronic information, optical communication, energy, biomedicine, energy conservation and environment protection, aerospace, and other various industries. He also illustrated the categories and preparation method of graphene, as well as the challenges and status quo of graphene-based new material industry.

Combining his team's continuous exploration of graphene material preparation methods and technological breakthroughs, Liu believes that the future of graphene industry is determined by preparation, but the current research and development status of graphene materials is far from ideal. The ideal graphene film is a perfect two-dimensional single crystal, while the reality is often a defect-rich polycrystalline film composed of single crystal fragments piled up like a ragged piece of clothing.

The course "Opportunities and Challenges of Materials Science" was presented by the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Nankai University at the beginning of 2022. The course focuses on the frontiers of new materials research, and invites academicians and famous scholars to teach undergraduates the progress and cutting-edge technologies, and opportunities and challenges in materials science in an easy-to-understand way.

(Edited and translated by Nankai News Team)