Professional & Research Experiences
- 2024.7 – now Early Career Advisory Board Member of JACS Au
- 2021.9 – now Assistant Professor, PI, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University
- 2017.9 – 2021.9 Postdoc Fellow, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (Advisor: Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore)
- 2011.8 – 2017.9 Ph.D. in Chemistry, Indiana University Bloomington (Advisor: Prof. Amar H. Flood)
- 2007.8 – 2011.8 B.S. in Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University (advisor: Prof. Peiqiang Huang & Prof. Yunbao Jiang)
Research Interests
Research of the Liu Group straddles between physical organic chemistry and polymer science to explore and exploit new structures, properties, and functions of macromolecules. By leveraging the rational molecular design, our effort will open doors to novel preparation, conversion, and characterization of polymers that will contribute to their circular economy. Currently, we strive to establish a diverse array of synthetic methods for sulfur-containing polymers, to enable skeletal editing and modification of polymers by mechanochemistry, and to develop molecular probes for different microenvironments in polymeric materials.
Selected Awards and Honors
- International Leading Young Scientist of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan (2024)
- Peking University Junior Faculty Teaching Award (2023)
- ACS PMSE Future Faculty Scholar (2019)
- IUPAC International Award for Young Chemists, Honorable Mention (2018)
Selected Publications
- Ding, S.; Wang, W.; Germann, A.; Wei, Y.; Du, T.; Meisner, J.*; Zhu, R.*; Liu, Y.* Bicyclo-[2.2.0]hexene: A multicyclic mechanophore with reactivity diversified by external forces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 6104–6113.
- Du, T.; Shen, B.; Dai, J.; Zhang, M.; Chen, X.; Yu, P.-Y.*; Liu, Y.* Controlled and regioselective ring-opening polymerization for poly(disulfide)s by anion-binding catalysis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 27788–27799.
- Liu, Y.; Holm, S.; Meisner, J.; Jia, Y.; Wu, Q.; Woods, T. J.; Martinez, T. J.; Moore, J. S. Flyby reaction trajectories: Chemical dynamics under extrinsic force. Science, 2021, 373, 208–212.
- Liu, Y.; Parks, F. C.; Sheetz, E. G.; Chen, C.-H.; Flood, A. H. Polarity-tolerant chloride binding in foldamer capsules by programmed solvent-exclusion. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 3191–3204.
- Liu, Y.; Zhao, W.; Chen, C.-H.; Flood, A. H. Chloride capture using a C–H hydrogen bonding cage. Science. 2019, 365, 159–161.
- Liu, Y.*,‡; Jia, Y.‡; Wu, Q.; Moore, J. S.* Architecture-controlled ring-opening polymerization for dynamic covalent poly(disulfide)s. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 17075–17080. (*co-corresponding)
- Liu, Y.*; Parks, F. C.; Zhao, W.; Flood, A. H.* Sequence-controlled stimuli-responsive single-double helix conversion between 1:1 and 2:2 chloride-foldamer complexes. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 15477–15486. (*co-corresponding)
- Liu, Y.; Sengupta, A.; Raghavachari, K.; Flood, A. H. Anion binding in solution: Beyond the electrostatics regime. Chem 2017, 3, 411–427.
