TY - JOUR
AB - Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) is a comprehensive chemical-engineering research institute with a strong international reputation, which has made significant contributions to national economic construction, national security and the progress of science and technology (S&T). With the name of the Scientific Research Institute of Dalian University, the history of DICP began on 19 March 1949. Since then, its name changed several times and the current title of DICP was adopted in 1970. Presently, DICP has four campuses in the northeastern China coastal city of Dalian, covering an area of 1.15 million square meters. And the new Energy College is under construction. DICP is host to two state key laboratories, five research laboratories and the Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (Drafting), which includes 11 research departments. DICP has more than 200 professors, including 14 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) or Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as more than 1000 graduate students. These talented researchers are working on diverse basic and application research fields related to chemistry, energy, materials, biotechnology and more. DICP is also collaborating with multiple companies and the Dalian government to further promote technology applications. In order to support researchers with different ages and levels, DICP established a series of excellent talent support plans in line with national policies, including programs for leading scientists, for young academic leaders, for outstanding young talents and for youth reserve talent. The achievements of DICP researchers have been recognized by the academia. The technology of ‘Methanol to Olefins (DMTO)’ won the State Technological Invention Awards First Prize in 2014. DICP scientists received a number of seminal prizes in China and abroad: Cunhao Zhang received the Highest National Award of Science and Technology (2013); Xinhe Bao received the Award for Excellence in Natural Gas Conversion (2016) and the Alwin Mittasch Prize (2017); Can Li won the International Catalysis Award (2004) and the Japanese Photochemistry Association Elsevier Lectureship Award (2017); Zhongmin Liu won the AIChE Program Committee's Professional Achievement Award (2018). Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide RESEARCH DIRECTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS THE BRIGHTEST ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT SOURCE IN THE WORLD DICP developed the Dalian Coherent Light Source, which is the only free electron laser facility operating in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength all over the world. With the laser pulse energy of 210 μJ, it is considered to be the world’s brightest EUV light source. With the help of the light source and other facilities, the coherent light source team made important progress in many fields. Based on microscopic studies at atomic and molecular scales, the size effect in the structure change of the oxide nanocatalyst has been revealed and the ‘dynamic size effect’ was suggested to illustrate the stability mechanism of the oxide nanostructures. Model systems consisting of 2D overlayers on solid surfaces were applied to study the confinement effect within the 2D nanoreactor and the ‘confinement field effect’ has been suggested to explain the enhanced reactivity of reactions occurring in the confined nanospace. Open in new tabDownload slide Dalian Coherent Light Source. Open in new tabDownload slide Dalian Coherent Light Source. SYNGAS TO ETHANOL AND OTHER FOSSIL-RESOURCE-UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGIES The world's first demonstration plant for ethanol production via syngas dimethyl ether carbonylation with capacity of 100 000 tons/year has been in operation since 2017. Based on this plant, two commercial construction contacts for future 500 000- and 1 200 000-tons/year plants were signed. Other fossil-resource-utilization technologies developed by DICP are also changing China's chemical industry, including fluidized bed technology for methanol to propylene, fluidized bed technology for methanol and toluene to para-xylene and olefins, heterogeneous carbonylation of methanol to produce methyl acetate with Ir catalyst, hydrogenation of acetic acid to ethanol, acetic acid and propylene esterification and hydrogenation to produce ethanol and isopropanol, syngas to synthetic oil, ultra-deep desulfurization of diesel and ultra-deep catalytic adsorption desulfurization of gasoline. Open in new tabDownload slide The world's first demonstration plant for ethanol production. Open in new tabDownload slide The world's first demonstration plant for ethanol production. INNOVATIVE BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES DICP researchers have put much effort into advanced battery development. For lithium sulfur batteries, they developed and industrially realized high specific-energy lithium sulfur batteries and packs, whose specific energy is world-leading, reaching 609 Wh/kg for the cells and 332 Wh/kg for the packs. The first Chinese large wingspan unmanned aerial vehicle driven by a lithium sulfur battery system was also supported by DICP technologies. For fuel cells, they designed and put into operation the prototype for a 5-kW high-temperature methanol fuel-cell system and made major contributions to hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles, whose 10 000-unit production line is now under construction. For liquid-flow batteries, they built a 300-MW/year energy-storage center based on all-vanadium flow batteries and developed the first 5-kWh single zinc-bromine liquid-flow battery demonstration system in China. Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide 5 MW/10 MWh vanadium flow battery system. Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide 5 MW/10 MWh vanadium flow battery system. SOLAR-ENERGY UTILIZATION Prof. Can Li's team has been devoted to the research of catalysis, electrocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis related to photosynthetic solar fuels production for about 20 years. The team expounded the concept of dual-cocatalysts in photocatalysis, pioneered surface phase junction strategies for charge separation, demonstrated the spatial charge separation between facets in semiconductor photocatalysis, revealed the mechanism of charge separation of semiconductor phase junction in photocatalyst, realized the natural–artificial hybrid system for photocatalytic water splitting, developed a novel mononuclear manganese catalyst with extremely high water oxidation activity comparable to that of natural photosynthesis catalysts and designed a solid solution oxide catalyst for highly efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol and olefins. The team also independently developed the first instrument in the world for visually observing photogenerated charges in photocatalytic reactions. Based on the breakthroughs in water splitting and CO2 hydrogenation catalysts, a pilot demonstration for large-scale solar fuels production has been established, which is the first demonstration using solar energy to synthesize liquid solar fuels in the world. Open in new tabDownload slide Solar-to-chemicals and solar-to-electricity energy conversion. Open in new tabDownload slide Solar-to-chemicals and solar-to-electricity energy conversion. UTILIZATION OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS Straw, wood chips and other biomass can be used to synthesis-diverse useful chemicals. DICP researchers developed technologies to generate C6 diol and vitamin c-sodium with biomass sugar as the raw material. The process design and production facility construction of 1000-tons/year C6 diol synthesis and 25 000-tons/year vitamin c-sodium synthesis have been finished. The purity of the bio-based C6 diol exceeded 98%. Methods for synthesis aviation kerosene, ethanol, dibasic acid, dibasic alcohol, aromatic hydrocarbons and other chemicals using these biomass raw materials are also being studied in DICP. Open in new tabDownload slide Hydrogenolysis of sorbitol to ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. Open in new tabDownload slide Hydrogenolysis of sorbitol to ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. DIRECT CONVERSION OF METHANE AND SYNGAS TO VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS Based on the new concept of ‘nanocentric’ catalysis, a single-center iron catalyst was constructed to realize the direct and efficient conversion of methane to ethylene, aromatics and hydrogen. By optimizing the performance of the catalyst and improving the method of catalyst loading and reactor design, the conversion rate of methane was more than 30% and the selectivity of ethylene and aromatics was more than 95%. The single-pipe unit completed a 1000-hour stability test and work was done with China National Petroleum Corporation and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) to carry out preliminary exploration of enhanced research. In connection with the direct directional conversion of coal-based syngas and high selectivity of low-carbon olefin synthesis, scale preparation of the catalyst and a pilot test was completed in the laboratory. Open in new tabDownload slide Conversion mechanism of methane to ethylene. Open in new tabDownload slide Conversion mechanism of methane to ethylene. MICROREACTION TECHNIQUE Microreaction processes are chemical processes inside small volumina, typically within microchannels or other sub-millimeter dimensional structures. DICP’s achievements in this field include: a pilot test of isooctyl nitrate synthesis with a capacity of 100 tons/year, with the explosion mechanism revealed and the process safety-control strategy established; a pilot system to continuously nitrify trifluoromethoxy benzene with a throughput of 10 tons/year, with the coupling and control mechanism elucidated and the product quality target of p-nitro side-product content lower than 0.1% achieved; a microreaction system with a capacity of 10 000 tons/year to produce concentrated ammonia solution (>30%), which is expected to be put into production within 2019; the feasibility of chlorination reaction in microreactors to produce food additive and CTP as a rubber additive; a lab-test in cooperation with Karamay Petroleum Company for the regeneration of methyl nitrite, which is one unit in the process of the coal-based production route of ethylene glycol. Open in new tabDownload slide Transport phenomena of multiphase flow in microchannels. Open in new tabDownload slide Transport phenomena of multiphase flow in microchannels. MULTI-OMICS ANALYSIS IN TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE DICP developed deep coverage analysis methods of metabolome, proteome and modified proteome, which greatly improved the coverage of these biotechnologies. A number of original results have been achieved in functional human organ chips and application systems, some of which were among the world’s best. In the research of metabolic markers for liver cancer, a serum glycolic acid detection-liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry reagent kit developed by DICP was licensed by the Zhejiang branch of the China Food and Drug Administration (Zhexiezhuzhun20172401284), which is the first licensed mass spectrometry detection kit for hepatobiliary diseases in China. From natural products, DICP researchers found several compounds with target activity for typical chronic diseases and obtained lead compounds with clinical first-line drug activity. Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide Development and application of high sensitive and high coverage clinical metabolomics technology system. OLIGOSACCHARIDE-BASED AGRICULTURAL PREPARATIONS Oligosaccharide-based agricultural preparations are efficient and environmentally friendly. DICP systematically performed the research, development and application of these novel chemical products. The action mechanism of oligosaccharide-induced plant resistance was revealed; eight kinds of highly effective polysaccharide-degrading enzymes were obtained; new biopesticides and biofertilizers were developed; two new large-scale production processes for oligosaccharides were established; a number of standards for oligosaccharides-based agricultural preparations have been drafted. Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUMENT DICP developed many practical environmental chemical monitoring instruments. The trace harmful gas analytical instrument weighs less than 6 kg and can analyse more than 30 kinds of volatile organic compounds in the closed cabin of a space station. The portable mass spectrometer for roadside identification of drugs can simultaneously identify several illegal drugs in a mixture within 3 seconds at the pg level. Its long-term demonstration application was carried out in Yunnan province, China. Other instruments developed by DICP include: a vehicle-mounted instrument for the detection of 15 kinds of statutory drugs; rapid-detection equipment for five kinds of common pesticides; a vehicle-mounted time-of-flight mass spectrometer that can analyse 57 photochemical precursors in the atmosphere on urban roads; and an incineration flue-gas and atmospheric dioxin sampler that can perform real-time assessment of flue-gas dioxin toxicity equivalency quantities. Open in new tabDownload slide Detector of trace illegal drugs. Open in new tabDownload slide Detector of trace illegal drugs. TRANSFORMATION OF SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS DICP closely cooperates with local governments and enterprises, constantly explored new cooperation channels, and has built an all-factor multi-party S&T cooperation system. DICP built a national demonstration base for entrepreneurship and innovation, a research platform of catalyst amplification and more than 10 achievement transfer bases across the country. These will help to build a bridge between academia and industry, promote the transformation of scientific achievements and serve the local economy. Open in new tabDownload slide The all-factor multi-party S&T cooperation system Open in new tabDownload slide The all-factor multi-party S&T cooperation system At present, DICP holds 37 companies, covering the fields of the coal chemical industry, catalysis, new energy, membrane separation, environmental protection, instruments, biotechnology, fine chemicals and more, thus forming a high-tech industrial company cluster with relatively complete industrial layout. In order to provide better financial support for the transformation of scientific achievements, DICP is exploring a new mode that combines scientific research and finance. DICP has set up four types of achievement transfer funds with a total scale of 105.2 billion Yuan. These funds will achieve profitability and support scientific research and their commercial applications. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION There have been nine joint research units established by famous scientific research institutions in France, Britain, the Netherlands and other countries at DICP, including the DICP-BP Energy Innovation Laboratory established in 2007 and the SABIC-DICP Research Center for Advanced Chemicals Production Technology established in 2014. In 2016, the 16th International Congress on Catalysis was held in Beijing, hosted by DICP. More than 2500 attendees from more than 50 countries attended the conference. In 2017 and 2018, DICP held the International Forum on Clean Energy for two consecutive years. In 2018, more than 300 experts and scholars worldwide attended the meeting. Open in new tabDownload slide The 2nd International Forum on Clean Energy. Open in new tabDownload slide The 2nd International Forum on Clean Energy. PUBLIC SCIENCE DAY DICP holds the annual Public Science Day, which lasts for two days and is free and open to the public. Public Science Day aims to raise people's interests in science by displaying and promoting scientific knowledge and achievements. By 2018, DICP had successfully held the event 19 times and received more than 100 000 visitors over the years. In 2018, the event attracted 13 881 visitors from all sectors of society, including government agencies, enterprises and institutions, as well as primary, secondary schools and universities, making it the biggest Public Science Day ever held by the institute. Open in new tabDownload slide Open in new tabDownload slide INTERVIEWS Open in new tabDownload slide Zhongmin Liu, Director of DICP Doctoral degree obtained in 1990; joined DICP in 1990. Open in new tabDownload slide Zhongmin Liu, Director of DICP Doctoral degree obtained in 1990; joined DICP in 1990. NSR: Please describe DICP with several keywords. Liu: DICP adheres to a philosophy of ‘Diligence, Innovation, Creativity, Collaboration, and Persistence’. I think these words aptly summarize what DICP stands for. NSR: What are the innovative organization models of DICP? Liu: DICP implemented a number of group systems, each including several sub research groups. There are two kinds of group systems: one centers on significant S&T tasks, while the other takes full use of the advantages of interdisciplinary collaboration to perform innovative researches. The director of a group system is responsible for the system. We hope the group systems can provide a strong basis for research and systematic integration. DICP encourages the young scholars to set us their own special research groups. In the fifth year of a special group, the academic committee will evaluate the group and decide whether if it can be recognized as a formal research group. DICP offers multiple funds for its researchers. It allocates additional funds to further support the national funded projects. In order to cultivate talents, DICP established different types of scientific research innovation funds, including Talent Fund, Exploration Fund, Youth Fund, Fusion Fund and Special Fund. In order to accelerate technology industrialization, DICP cooperated with several financial companies and set up a number of Achievement Transformation Funds. Through all these explorations, DICP has been able to form a whole-chain development model that consists of basic and applied research, technology transformation and financial cooperation. NSR: What are your future expectations about DICP? Liu: The global energy structure is fast changing and as an institute engaged in energy research for a long time, DICP is responsible for the reform of China's energy technology system. DICP plans to establish a CAS Clean Energy Innovation Institute and to form a strong energy research group with multiple helps from CAS. We aim to integrate fossil energy, renewable energy and nuclear energy and make major breakthroughs for the building of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient new energy system. These approaches will enable the construction of the Dalian National Lab of Clean Energy and make DICP a world-class research institute with sustainable energy research as its key strength. Open in new tabDownload slide Can Li Doctoral degree obtained in 1989; joined DICP in 1989. Open in new tabDownload slide Can Li Doctoral degree obtained in 1989; joined DICP in 1989. NSR: Please describe DICP with three keywords. Li: Preciseness, authentic, sureness. NSR: What are your research directions? How does DICP support your work? Li: My research area is catalysis and currently focusing on photocatalysis and electrocatalysis for solar fuels production. I have worked in DICP for almost 30 years. My research group in DICP has been well supported by the institute as well as CAS, National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST). NSR: You have visited laboratories in many countries. What are the characteristics of DICP compared with other institutes? Li: The most significant characteristic of DICP is that it features both fundamental and applied researches, which are intimately correlated with each other, especially in catalysis researches. Open in new tabDownload slide Ping Chen Doctoral degree obtained in 1997; joined DICP in 2008. Open in new tabDownload slide Ping Chen Doctoral degree obtained in 1997; joined DICP in 2008. NSR: Why did you join DICP? Chen: DICP has great vision on clean energy and ploughed into the National Laboratory for Clean Energy 10 years before, which tallies with my research interests and plan. I am pleased to see that such a strategic plan (Clean Energy) has been implemented constantly through the years. As a leading institute in physical chemistry, DICP has a galaxy of distinguished researchers, talented students, advanced research platform and supportive administrative management, which are indispensable to research. The natural beauty and distinct seasons here are bonuses. NSR: What are your research directions? How does DICP support your work? Chen: My research group has been engaged in hydrogen storage and heterogeneous catalysis for hydrogen production and conversion, which are among the key technical challenges in the implementation of hydrogen energy. DICP are building a full chain of hydrogen production-storage-conversion, and thus very supportive to our research via providing a pretty sum of starting-up funding and assisting recruitment of talented researchers. NSR: What are the proportions of female researchers and students in DICP? Is DICP friendly for female researchers? Chen: In academic research, the key to success somehow depends strongly on people's ambition, vision, intelligence and mental/physical strength, etc. Although male researchers are the main stream in DICP, I do see an increase in young female researchers in recent years. I also have a few excellent female students who are among the top students I have had. Open in new tabDownload slide Dehui Deng Doctoral degree obtained in 2013; joined DICP in 2013. Open in new tabDownload slide Dehui Deng Doctoral degree obtained in 2013; joined DICP in 2013. NSR: Why did you join DICP? Deng: I joined DICP in 2007, as a recommended postgraduate. I was deeply attracted by the academic atmosphere, and encouraged by numerous great achievements of DICP. After my Ph.D. period, I still chose DICP to continue my research career. One of the most important reasons is that the international first-class research platform and the profound cultural deposit of DICP would help me to realize self-worth. Benefiting from the policy of exceptive talents selection of DICP, I was fortunately selected as a ‘100 Talents Program’ researcher and joined as an associate professor upon getting my Ph.D. degree in 2013. NSR: How does DICP support young researchers? Deng: The DICP has a number of opportunities and polices accelerating the growth of young researchers. For young researchers, ‘100 Talents Program’, ‘Excellent Doctoral Talents Program’ and ‘Youth/Excellent scholar of Zhang Dayu’ programs offer sufficient financial support for the earlier research of those fresh doctoral graduates. In particular, for those outstanding young researchers, they are encouraged to establish their own research groups and will get a start-up funding of at least 5 million Yuan. NSR: What are your research directions? How does DICP support your work? Deng: My research focuses on the modulation of the surfaces and interfaces of 2D materials for the efficient activation and conversion of energy molecules, such as CH4, CO, CH3OH and H2O at mild conditions. I got great support from the exceptive talents selection of ‘100 Talents Program’ by DICP and thus being funded 1 million Yuan of research funding, which is the first pot of gold in my research life. I was also succeeded in applying the project of the DNL Cooperation Fund and successfully selected as ‘Excellent scholar of Zhang Dayu’. These fundings and awards greatly promoted the subsequent research running of my team in order. Open in new tabDownload slide Kaifeng Wu Doctoral degree obtained in 2015; joined DICP in 2017. Open in new tabDownload slide Kaifeng Wu Doctoral degree obtained in 2015; joined DICP in 2017. NSR: Why did you join DICP? Wu: My major is physical chemistry. Since DICP is a very prestigious research institute in this area, it is a straightforward and good choice for me to join it. Moreover, the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics at DICP, led by famous scientists like Xueming Yang and Donghui Zhang, is a top notch platform for dynamics research around the world. To be able to work with these great scientists is very helpful for my career. NSR: How does DICP support young researchers? Wu: The reason why DICP continues to thrive in the past 70 years is in part because it supports talented researchers of all ages, particularly young researchers. As a young scientist, you can either choose to join a big, well-established group or build your own research group as a principle investigator. In the former case, you can use the best equipment, interact with resourceful colleagues and do cutting-edge research under the guidance of the group leader. In the latter case, DICP gives a very good start-up package to help you build your lab and recruit your crew, with almost 100% freedom, and the group is called a ‘special innovative group’. There is a qualification test for this type of group at the fifth year to determine whether it can become a formal group at DICP, similar to the tenure-track system in the universities in the USA. NSR: What are your research directions? How does DICP support your work? Wu: I work on the time-resolved spectroscopy of optoelectronic materials using ultrafast lasers. In doing so, we aim at elucidating the ultrafast dynamics, such as excited state relaxation and charge and energy transfer, that either contribute to or limit the performance of these optoelectronic materials in various light harvesting and emitting related applications. Using the DICP start-up package, I have now established a ‘special innovative group’. DICP also helps us recruit graduate students and postdoctoral fellows by providing them very good payment. For example, the postdoc salary at DICP is, as far as I know, among the highest in China, which helps me attract some highly qualified Ph.D.s to the join the group. Editor: Yan Zhang and Weijie Zhao; Art editor: Xiaoling Yu. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)
TI - Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
JF - National Science Review
DO - 10.1093/nsr/nwz086
DA - 2019-07-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/dalian-institute-of-chemical-physics-chinese-academy-of-sciences-eM9wpXQJRr
SP - 843
EP - 853
VL - 6
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve
ER -