Song Gao

PhD. Candidate
Contact Details
Tel: +61-2-9385-5575
Email: song.gao@student.unsw.edu.au
Address

Room 213, Chemical Sciences Bldg
The University of New South Wales
Sydney, 2052, Australia
   

Profile

Education

  • The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, M.S. Mechanical Engineering (08/2014 - 12/2015)
  • Yantai University, China, B.S. Metallic Materials Engineering (09/2010 - 06/2014)

Research Project

Research Project Title: Biocatalytic MOFs for CO2 capture, wastewater treatment and enzymatic fuel cells

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an emerging class of porous materials having great potential in molecular sieving, catalysis and sensing. Due to their tailorable pore size and good biocompatibility, they can be promising candidates for enzyme immobilization. Currently, most researchers focus on attaching enzymes onto the pre-synthesized MOFs particle surface. However, a more practical approach should be encapsulating the biomolecules within the porous structures. MOFs can potentially provide extra protections against the sudden change in outside environments, and the porous structure can ensure good mass transfer efficiency.

This research will bridge the knowledge gaps between enzyme encapsulation and MOFs properties. In addition, the biocatalytic MOFs will be applied for wastewater treatment, greenhouse gas capture and biofuel cells. More specific key aspects are as follows:

  • Understanding the process of MOFs crystallization onto enzymes;
  • Studying the effect of MOFs structure on the apparent activities;
  • Investigating the change of enzyme structures within MOFs;
  • Constructing the spatially separated multi-enzyme systems for chain reactions;
  • Incorporating enzymes into conductive MOFs for bioelectrodes and enzymatic fuel cells;
  • Coating MOFs onto membrane surface for biocatalytic membrane fabrication.

Research Experiences

Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong 01/2016 - 06/2016 (RA)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong 10/2014 - 12/2015

Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Science    08/2013 - 04/2014 (Part-time RA)

Supervisors