Liang Yuan
Graphical Abstract
“My favorite material is rosin. It is sustainably available from the extrusion of pine trees and from papermill waste and has so many successful commercial applications … My favorite thing about my lab group is when a student excitedly tells me something unexpected and describes puzzling experimental observations.” Find out more about Liang Yuan in his Introducing … Profile.
Liang Yuan
The author presented on this page has published his first article as a submitting corresponding author in Angewandte Chemie:
“Thiol-Aldehyde Polycondensation for Bio-based Adaptable and Degradable Phenolic Polymers”: Y. Jin, C. Hu, J. Wang, Y. Ding, J. Shi, Z. Wang, S. Xu, L. Yuan, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202305677.
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Position, Location:
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Professor, Biomass Molecular Engineering Center, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei (China)
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Homepage:
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ORCID:
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Education:
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2005–2009 B.Sc. in Chemistry of Materials, Nankai University (China)
2009–2012 M.Sc. in Polymer Chemistry and Physics with Prof. Hanying Zhao, Nankai University (China)
2012–2016 PhD with Prof. Chuanbing Tang, University of South Carolina (USA)
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Research:
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Sustainable polymers, sulfur chemistry, dynamic chemistry, recyclable and degradable materials, macromolecular antioxidants and adhesives, dispersants
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Hobbies:
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Hiking, swimming, watching movies, reading books, travelling and food hunting
My first experiment in a research lab was making dithiobenzoic acid from phenyl bromide, magnesium, and carbon disulfide. The red stinky liquid was then oxidatively coupled to yield an odorless pink powder. The drastic change in its physical state and smell was so fascinating.
The most exciting thing about my research is devising facile strategies with mechanistic understanding to bring biobased building blocks together into sustainable polymers for recyclable use and easy after-use degradation.
A turning point in my career was joining Anhui Agricultural University in 2020 after working as an R&D scientist for four years at Ingevity Corporation, Charleston, South Carolina.
My favorite material is rosin. It is sustainably available from the extrusion of pine trees and from papermill waste and has so many successful commercial applications. The best lesson I learned from working on rosin is that Mother Nature has given us so many blessings and their fullest potential is far from being reached.
My science “heroes” are Herman Staudinger for demonstrating the existence of macromolecules, Wallace Carothers for inventing nylon, Charles Goodyear for developing vulcanized rubber, Dmitriy Mendeleev for devising the Periodic Table of the Elements, and many others.
The most important thing I have learned from my students is that each one of them is willing to go the extra mile, and the mentor has the responsibility to get them inspired and fired up.
My favorite thing about my lab group is when a student excitedly tells me something unexpected and describes puzzling experimental observations.
The best advice I have ever been given is “Being a PI is a very challenging role, and you have to work very hard and rack your brains to find some unique research topics.”
A good day at work starts with getting up early, enjoying a couple of quiet hours all to myself, and planning out the day.
If I could have dinner with a well-known historic figure, I would invite the classical Chinese poet Su Shi and I would ask him how to keep your head up and dwell on this earth poetically when life tries to bring you down.
My favorite place on earth is the campus of Nankai University. The education I received there shaped my future, and her motto “Dedication to public interests, acquisition of all-around capability, and aspiration for progress with each passing day” is rooted deep within my soul.
My favorite food is Sichuan Crispy Fried Pork; my dear mom will make it every time when I visit my parents.
My favorite drink is ice-cold Classic Coca Cola.
My favorite author is Arthur Schopenhauer.
My top three films of all time are Shawshank Redemption, The Pursuit of Happiness, Pride and Prejudice (2005 version).
Behind the Science
I visited a company specialized in phenolic resins, and they were looking for degradable versions from sustainable raw materials. Yu Jin, an outstanding PhD student in my group, found several catalysts to promote the polycondensation between polymercaptans and vanillin, a phenolic compound with an aldehyde group that can be produced from lignin. Linear and cross-linked phenolic polymers can thus be easily obtained. The reaction was previously reported to be unsuccessful in 1950 and 1996. The major challenge was elucidating the degradation mechanism of the dithioacetal groups within the cross-linked networks. We are actively exploring milder and more practical degradation routes.
