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Nanocomposites of MXenes and other 2D materials is our main research topic currently, since they will bring new physical properties and a large tuning window which are not possible in the single composition. During the last few years, our team has developed various nanocomposites with tunable electrical, optical, and electrocatalytical  properties. Our main focus is enhance their processibility for large scale manufactural and commercialization, thus robustness, e.g., colloidal stability, chemical stability, reproducibility of these nanocomposites are very important aspects.

Relevant publications

Miao et. al., Polyzwitterionic Organohydrogel and Soft Composite with Tunable Sol–Gel Properties Enabling On-Demand Functionalization with Colloids, Adv. Sci. 2026, 10.1002/advs.202518531.

Sheng et.al., Guided Heterostructure Growth of CoFe LDH on Ti₃C₂T_x MXene for Durably High Oxygen Evolution Activity, Small 2025,21, 2404927.

Pan et.al., Lignin as a bioderived modular surfactant and intercalant for Ti₃C₂T_x MXene stabilization and tunable functions, Cell Rep. Phys. Sci. 2024, 5, 102259.

Hong et.al., High-permittivity solvents increase MXene stability and stacking order enabling ultraefficient Terahertz shielding, Adv. Sci. 2024, 11, 2305099.

We have developed this topic in collaboration with the University of Oulu since 2020. Together with Dr. Hosseini Shokouh and Prof. Kordas, we have unveiled the potential of MXene-polymer composite for ultra-sensitive and selective gas sensors. MXene as a metallic 2D material provides extraordinary signal-to-noise ration for the sensors. From the promising results, we have filed our IPR and now pushing this technology to commercialization.

Relevant publications

Zhou et.al., Ultra-sensitive NH₃ gas sensor enabled by ion-in-conjugated polycroconaine/Ti₃C₂T_x core-shell composite, Nanoscale Horiz. 2023, 8, 794-802.

Hosseini-Shokouh et.al., Highly Selective H₂S Gas Sensor Based on Ti₃C₂T_x MXene−Organic Composites, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, 15, 7063−7073.

Zhou et.al., MXene-Polymer Hybrid for High-Performance Gas Sensor Prepared by Microwave-Assisted In-Situ Intercalation, Adv. Mater. Technol. 2022, 2101565.

In MNC, we are very interested in studying the dynamics and structures of various soft matters, including functional nanoparticles, hydrogels, MXene nanocomposites, thin film devices, etc. Most of the experiments were performed on synchrotron X-ray beamlines, where the high-flux and focus beam enable us to understand the system with higher time and special resolution. Here, we apply beamtime with our collaborators to solve problems and acquire data that is not possible from in-house facilities.

Relevant publications

Kang et.al., Anomalous Enhancement of the Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in AuPt Nanoclusters, ACS Catal. 2025, 15, 9928-9939.

Liang et.al., Stiff and self-healing hydrogels by polymer entanglements in co-planar nanoconfinement, Nat. Mater. 2025, 24, 599–606.

Fang et.al., Toughening Hydrogels with Fibrillar Connected Double Networks, Adv. Mater. 2024, 36, 2402282.

Gustavsson et.al., Heating-Induced Switching to Hierarchical Liquid Crystallinity Combining Colloidal and Molecular Order in Zwitterionic Molecules, ACS Omega 2023, 8, 39345-39353.

Lv et.al., Time-Resolved SAXS Study of Polarity- and Surfactant-Controlled Superlattice Transformations of Oleate‐Capped Nanocubes During Solvent Removal, Small 2022, 18, 2106768.

Lv et.al., Tunable assembly of truncated nanocubes by evaporation-driven poor-solvent enrichment, Nat. Commun. 2019, 10, 4228.

Ziyue Miao (Ph.D. candidate, now postdoc in SIAT, China)

Lotta Gustavsson (Ph.D. candidate, now in Skeleton Oy, Finland)

Gul Sher Ahmmed (research assistant, now Master thesis in Aalto University, Finland)

Arnav (summer student, now Ph.D. candidate in Aalto University, Finland)

Pan Jiang (visiting Ph.D., now a researcher in Chinese Academy of Forestry, China)

Huiqin Ni (visiting Master student, now Ph.D. candidate in North Carolina State University, USA)

Zhongpeng Lyu is one of the responsible lecturers of E0527 in PHYS since 2022, together with Ville Liljeström. This course is aimed at doctoral students and MSc students at Aalto and does not require advanced studies in Physics. The course introduces the basics of elastic X-ray scattering methods, and during dedicated lectures/demonstrations, the focus is on a few conventional, frequently applied methods that are available at Aalto University. Teaching/learning activities include lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and project work. Our course also invites X-ray experts from other departments of Aalto and other universities in Finland. 

MSC group has established research collaborations in Finland, Germany, Sweden, Spain, US and China. If you are interested in discussion or collaboration of relevant research topics, please email zhongpeng.lyu@aalto.fi or other group members.

We are currently opening a summer job position, and we are looking for a motivated and passionate student with a background in material science, chemistry, or a similar field, and some understanding of RF electronics. The key task is to formulate 2D material nanocomposite coatings for broadband electromagnetic absorption across the GHz–THz range, and test their performance in minimizing the external noise of superconducting quantum processors. See details here: