Designable Microporous Materials for Next-Generation Thin-Film Technologies
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Membrane-based separation is a cornerstone technology for addressing global challenges in energy, environment, and healthcare. My research began with conventional polymeric membranes, where I conducted systematic studies on gas separation processes and developed advanced polymer thin films with improved permeability–selectivity balance and scalability.
Building on this foundation, my work has expanded into the emerging field of processable microporous materials, with a particular focus on glassy porous solids. I established a series of design strategies to create porous materials with continuously tunable pore structures and physicochemical properties, enabling their fabrication into large-area, defect-free thin films. These materials bridge the gap between molecular-level porosity and macroscopic processability, and have been successfully applied in scalable, industrially relevant gas separation membranes, achieving state-of-the-art performance across multiple gas pairs.
Beyond membrane separation, I have further demonstrated that designable microporous materials can serve as a versatile synthetic platform for functional materials. By exploiting their tunable confinement environments and processability, my group has developed a range of high-performance, scalable quantum dot and luminescent materials, which have been integrated into advanced bio-radiation imaging and sensing systems.
Dr. Jingwei Hou is an Associate Professor, ARC Future Fellow, and Director of the Nanomaterials Research Centre at the University of Queensland. He is a recipient of both the ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowship (2025) and the NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship (2025). After earning his PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2014, he conducted postdoctoral research at the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology and the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the engineering of porous polymer membranes and hybrid glass materials for advanced gas separation, specifically addressing critical barriers in performance, processability, and scalability.
Dr. Hou’s career is distinguished by a "dual-track" approach that seamlessly bridges fundamental discovery with industrial application. In the realm of fundamental research, he has published over 180 peer-reviewed papers (h-index 65), including lead-author works in journals such as Science, Nature Communications, JACS, Angewandte Chemie and Advanced Materials. Within the specialized field of Metal-Organic Framework glasses for advanced applications (SciVal, Elsevier Topic T.90523), his work ranks No. 1 worldwide in total publications, citations, and field-weighted citation impact. Complementing his academic leadership, he is a dedicated innovator in technology translation. He has spearheaded the commercialization of gas separation membranes for diverse industrial sectors, including biogas purification, inert gas protection for marine vessels, and oxygen-enriched supply systems.