People

Principal Investigator

Liu Zheng

Title

Professor

Degree

PhD

Research Interests

The synthesis of high-quality and large-size novel 2D monolayers, especially transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and their applications in catalysis and electronics.

Office Location

Block N4.1, 50 Nanyang Avenue Singapore 639798

Biography

Dr. Zheng Liu received his B.S. degree (2005) at Nankai University, China. He completed his Ph.D at National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST, China), working on the synthesis and energy harvest of carbon nanotubes. He then worked in Prof. Pulickel M. Ajayan and Prof. Jun Lou’s groups as a joint postdoc research fellow (2010~2012) and research scientist (2012~2013) at Rice University (USA), focusing on the synthesis and applications of two-dimensional (2D) crystals, including graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN, so-called “white graphene”), oxides and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs: MoS2, WS2, MoSe2 etc.) Since 2013, he joined Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, as a Nanyang Assistant Professor.

He is currently a professor at NTU. His work now focuses on the following topics: 1) Synthesis and engineering of high-quality and large-size novel 2D monolayers such as graphene and TMDs; 2) Physical properties of 2D monolayers such as 2D superconductivity, 2D ferroelectricity, 2D ferromagnetism and 2D Wyle semi-metals; 3) Applications of 2D materials such as novel semiconducting electronics. He has published > 300 papers, including > 40 papers in Nature and Science serial journals, with total citations > 40,000 and H-index of 100 (Google Scholar, as of Aug 2022). He was the finalist of the World Technology Award in Energy category in 2012. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Singapore NRF Fellowship and the elite Nanyang Assistant Professorship. He was awarded ICON-2DMAT Young Scientist Award and the prestigious Singapore Young Scientist Award in 2018. He was named Materials Research Society of Singapore Chair Professorship in 2019 and awarded Asia’s Rising Scientists and the Nanyang Research Award (Young Investigator) in the same year. He was the highly cited researcher from 2018 – 2022.

Selected Publications

Jiadong Zhou, Wenjie Zhang, Yung-Chang Lin, Jin Cao, Yao Zhou, Wei Jiang, Huifang Du, Bijun Tang, Jia Shi, Bingyan Jiang, Xun Cao, Bo Lin, Qundong Fu, Chao Zhu, Wei Guo, Yizhong Huang, Yuan Yao, Stuart S. P. Parkin, Jianhui Zhou, Yanfeng Gao, Yeliang Wang, Yanglong Hou, Yugui Yao, Kazu Suenaga, Xiaosong Wu & Zheng Liu Heterodimensional superlattice with in-plane anomalous Hall effect, Nature 2022, 609, 46.
Jiadong Zhou, Chao Zhu, Yao Zhou, Jichen Dong, Peiling Li, Zhaowei Zhang, Zhen Wang, Yung-Chang Lin, Jia Shi, Runwu Zhang, Yanzhen Zheng, Huimei Yu, Bijun Tang, Fucai Liu, Lin Wang, Liwei Liu, Gui-Bin Liu, Weida Hu, Yanfeng Gao, Haitao Yang, Weibo Gao, Li Lu, Yeliang Wang, Kazu Suenaga, Guangtong Liu, Feng Ding, Yugui Yao & Zheng Liu Composition and phase engineering of metal chalcogenides and phosphorous chalcogenides, Nature Materials 2022.
Bijun Tang, Xiaowei Wang, Mengjiao Han, Xiaodong Xu, Zhaowei Zhang, Chao Zhu, Xun Cao, Yumeng Yang, Qundong Fu, Jianqun Yang, Xingji Li, Weibo Gao, Jiadong Zhou, Junhao Lin & Zheng Liu Phase engineering of Cr5Te8 with colossal anomalous Hall effect, Nature Electronics 2022, 5, 224.
Shasha Guo, Jiecai Fu, Peikun Zhang, Chao Zhu, Heming Yao, Manzhang Xu, Boxing An, Xingli Wang, Bijun Tang, Ya Deng, Teddy Salim, Hongchu Du, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Mingquan Xu, Wu Zhou, Beng Kang Tay, Chao Zhu, Yanchao He, Mario Hofmann, Ya-Ping Hsieh, Wanlin Guo, Michael Ng, Chunlin Jia, Zhuhua Zhang, Yongmin He & Zheng Liu Direct growth of single-metal-atom chains, Nature Synthesis 2022, 1, 245.
Yongmin He, Liren Liu, Chao Zhu, Shasha Guo, Prafful Golani, Bonhyeong Koo, Pengyi Tang, Zhiqiang Zhao, Mangzhang Xu, Chao Zhu, Peng Yu, Xin Zhou, Caitian Gao, Xuewen Wang, Zude Shi, Lu Zheng, Jiefu Yang, Byungha Shin, Jordi Arbiol, Huigao Duan, Yonghua Du, Marc Heggen, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Wanlin Guo, Qi Jie Wang, Zhuhua Zhang & Zheng Liu Amorphizing noble metal chalcogenide catalysts at the single-layer limit towards hydrogen production, Nature Catalysis 2022, 5, 212.

I-FIM Publications:

22 entries « ‹ 1 of 5 › »

2026

Chen, Yingjun; Tang, Cindy G; Zhou, Zhongliang; Li, Ran; Liu, Zheng; Li, Ting; Leong, Wei Lin

High-Performance All-Printed Vertical Step Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Flexible Bioelectronics and Logic Circuit Integration

ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, 8 (5), pp. 2033-2044, 2026, DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.5c02385.

Abstract | BibTeX | Endnote

@article{WOS:001698155700001,
title = {High-Performance All-Printed Vertical Step Organic Electrochemical
Transistors for Flexible Bioelectronics and Logic Circuit Integration},
author = {Yingjun Chen and Cindy G Tang and Zhongliang Zhou and Ran Li and Zheng Liu and Ting Li and Wei Lin Leong},
doi = {10.1021/acsaelm.5c02385},
times_cited = {1},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-03-01},
journal = {ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS},
volume = {8},
number = {5},
pages = {2033-2044},
publisher = {AMER CHEMICAL SOC},
address = {1155 16TH ST, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 USA},
abstract = {Printed organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are promising for
flexible bioelectronics due to their low operating voltage, high
transconductance, and mechanical flexibility, which enable seamless
integration with soft biological tissues. However, printed
planar-channel OECTs typically suffer from a slow transient response,
mainly owing to the printing resolution, which restricts their use in
high-speed logic circuits and high-throughput sensing. This work
presents all screen-printed vertical step OECTs (VS-OECTs) on a flexible
substrate, using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate
(PEDOT:PSS) as a channel material, poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)
(PSSNa)-based conductive hydrogel as an electrolyte, and Ag/AgCl paste
as a top gate. In this vertical design, the source and drain electrodes
are separated by an insulating layer, forming a vertical step structure.
This vertical structure offers advantages over conventional
planar-channel structures, where higher source-drain current I-ds
(similar to 0.45 mA), higher transconductance g(m) (similar to 1 mS),
higher ON/OFF ratio (2.6 & times; 10(4)), faster switching time (1.27
ms to turn on and 8.4 ms to turn off), and better pulsing stability
(>96% after 1000 gate pulse) can be attained. Bending tests and various
substrate printing validate the flexibility and universal printability
of the vertical structures. Additionally, a unipolar inverter based on
printed VS-OECTs operates at a high frequency (similar to 100 Hz), and
effective signal amplification for electrocardiogram (ECG) and wrist
artery pulse monitoring has been demonstrated, highlighting the
potential of printed VS-OECTs for personal health monitoring. These
findings propose a promising approach for producing large-area and
high-performance printed OECTs, paving the way for the development of
all-printed transistors with fast response times for various
applications.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

FNClarivate Analytics Web of Science
VR1.0
PTJ
AFYingjun Chen
Cindy G Tang
Zhongliang Zhou
Ran Li
Zheng Liu
Ting Li
Wei Lin Leong
TIHigh-Performance All-Printed Vertical Step Organic Electrochemical
Transistors for Flexible Bioelectronics and Logic Circuit Integration
SOACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
DTArticle
ABPrinted organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are promising for
flexible bioelectronics due to their low operating voltage, high
transconductance, and mechanical flexibility, which enable seamless
integration with soft biological tissues. However, printed
planar-channel OECTs typically suffer from a slow transient response,
mainly owing to the printing resolution, which restricts their use in
high-speed logic circuits and high-throughput sensing. This work
presents all screen-printed vertical step OECTs (VS-OECTs) on a flexible
substrate, using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate
(PEDOT:PSS) as a channel material, poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)
(PSSNa)-based conductive hydrogel as an electrolyte, and Ag/AgCl paste
as a top gate. In this vertical design, the source and drain electrodes
are separated by an insulating layer, forming a vertical step structure.
This vertical structure offers advantages over conventional
planar-channel structures, where higher source-drain current I-ds
(similar to 0.45 mA), higher transconductance g(m) (similar to 1 mS),
higher ON/OFF ratio (2.6 & times; 10(4)), faster switching time (1.27
ms to turn on and 8.4 ms to turn off), and better pulsing stability
(>96% after 1000 gate pulse) can be attained. Bending tests and various
substrate printing validate the flexibility and universal printability
of the vertical structures. Additionally, a unipolar inverter based on
printed VS-OECTs operates at a high frequency (similar to 100 Hz), and
effective signal amplification for electrocardiogram (ECG) and wrist
artery pulse monitoring has been demonstrated, highlighting the
potential of printed VS-OECTs for personal health monitoring. These
findings propose a promising approach for producing large-area and
high-performance printed OECTs, paving the way for the development of
all-printed transistors with fast response times for various
applications.
Z91
PUAMER CHEMICAL SOC
PA1155 16TH ST, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 USA
VL8
BP2033
EP2044
DI10.1021/acsaelm.5c02385
UTWOS:001698155700001
ER
EF

Ma, Mingyu; Lee, Jinn-Kye; Wu, Shuyang; Yu, Zhen; Wang, Yuqing; Zhou, Xin; Liu, Yanting; Chan, Jiaxin; Shi, Jiayu; Liu, Liren; Zhang, Zhengyang; Liu, Zheng

Identical-Location Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals Cocatalyst-Induced Enhancement in Photocatalytic Activity

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, 36 (21), 2026, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202510387.

Abstract | BibTeX | Endnote

@article{WOS:001599608200001,
title = {Identical-Location Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals Cocatalyst-Induced
Enhancement in Photocatalytic Activity},
author = {Mingyu Ma and Jinn-Kye Lee and Shuyang Wu and Zhen Yu and Yuqing Wang and Xin Zhou and Yanting Liu and Jiaxin Chan and Jiayu Shi and Liren Liu and Zhengyang Zhang and Zheng Liu},
doi = {10.1002/adfm.202510387},
times_cited = {1},
issn = {1616-301X},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-03-01},
journal = {ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS},
volume = {36},
number = {21},
publisher = {WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH},
address = {POSTFACH 101161, 69451 WEINHEIM, GERMANY},
abstract = {Incorporating cocatalysts into photocatalytic systems has been widely
recognized as an effective way to accelerate catalytic reactions and
boost catalytic efficiency. However, directly visualizing the
cocatalytic effect in real-time with nanometric precision remains a
significant challenge. This study presents an advanced single-molecule
imaging technique, IL-SMLM (identical-location single-molecule
localization microscopy), to resolve and quantify the activity
enhancements induced by Pt cocatalysts on bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr)
photocatalysts with nanometric resolution. The findings demonstrate that
Pt cocatalysts significantly enhance the photoreduction ability of both
the basal plane and edges in BiOBr. Remarkably, the enhancement factor
at the edges (approximate to 4668) is 12-fold higher than that of the
basal plane. This preferential enhancement originates from structural
differences, with the presence of compressive strain at edges
facilitating more efficient charge separation and electron transfer in
BiOBr; further, the preferential charge separation of the edge will be
amplified while introducing a uniformly distributed Pt cocatalyst. The
study highlights IL-SMLM as a powerful tool for probing complex
cocatalytic phenomena at the single-molecule level and provides valuable
insights for the rational design of high-performance photocatalytic
systems.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

2025

Zhai, Qingwei; Pramanik, Nikhil; Duan, Ruihuan; Huang, Sunchao; Liu, Zheng; Wong, Liang Jie

Enhanced tunable X-rays from bulk crystals driven by table-top free electron energies

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 16 (1), 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66063-6.

Abstract | BibTeX | Endnote

@article{WOS:001643414200003,
title = {Enhanced tunable X-rays from bulk crystals driven by table-top free
electron energies},
author = {Qingwei Zhai and Nikhil Pramanik and Ruihuan Duan and Sunchao Huang and Zheng Liu and Liang Jie Wong},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-025-66063-6},
times_cited = {0},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-12-01},
journal = {NATURE COMMUNICATIONS},
volume = {16},
number = {1},
publisher = {NATURE PORTFOLIO},
address = {HEIDELBERGER PLATZ 3, BERLIN, 14197, GERMANY},
abstract = {Free-electron-driven crystalline materials have emerged as a promising
platform for tunable, table-top X-ray generation in industrial, medical
imaging applications, and fundamental research. It is commonly believed,
however, that the use of bulk crystals is not feasible under the weakly
relativistic energies necessitated by table-top electron sources. This
belief is fueled by the perception that electron scattering inside bulk
crystals produces substantial bremsstrahlung background which overwhelms
the tunable, narrowband X-ray peaks. In this study, we overturn this
belief by introducing a parameter that distinguishes a regime where
tunable X-rays substantially dominate bremsstrahlung in bulk materials.
We show that this regime is most readily accessible with van der Waals
crystals, revealing an unprecedented property of van der Waals crystals
in the X-ray regime. We experimentally demonstrate a tenfold intensity
enhancement through the use of bulk van der Waals crystals, in good
agreement with our theoretical predictions. The use of bulk crystals is
also advantageous in requiring less labor-intensive material preparation
and being less vulnerable to damage compared to thin films. Our findings
pave the way to more efficient and more accessible table-top, tunable,
narrowband X-ray sources for safer and more sustainable X-ray imaging in
industries including semiconductors and healthcare.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

Zhang, Peng; Si, Kunpeng; Wang, Xingguo; Zhao, Feifei; Li, Bixuan; Wei, Juntian; Yang, Yahan; Tang, Peizhe; Liu, Zheng; Wu, Kai; Gong, Yongji

Synthesis Engineering of 2D Co3Sn2S2 with Tunable Anomalous Hall Effect

ADVANCED MATERIALS, 37 (43), 2025, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202509261.

Abstract | BibTeX | Endnote

@article{WOS:001550978900001,
title = {Synthesis Engineering of 2D Co3Sn2S2
with Tunable Anomalous Hall Effect},
author = {Peng Zhang and Kunpeng Si and Xingguo Wang and Feifei Zhao and Bixuan Li and Juntian Wei and Yahan Yang and Peizhe Tang and Zheng Liu and Kai Wu and Yongji Gong},
doi = {10.1002/adma.202509261},
times_cited = {2},
issn = {0935-9648},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-10-01},
journal = {ADVANCED MATERIALS},
volume = {37},
number = {43},
publisher = {WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH},
address = {POSTFACH 101161, 69451 WEINHEIM, GERMANY},
abstract = {2D kagome ferromagnetic materials serve as an exceptionally important
platform for exploring spintronics and correlated quantum phenomena.
However, the controllable synthesis of non-layered kagome ferromagnetic
materials remains a significant challenge due to the absence of van der
Waals gap. Here, it is shown that ultrathin non-layered 2D Co3Sn2S2
single crystal with kagome lattice, which owns strong ferromagnetic
order and giant anomalous Hall effect (AHE), is obtained through flux
transformation mechanism, where ultrathin Co3Sn2S2 single crystal is
transformed from ultrathin layered intermediates of SnS2 or SnS.
Magnetotransport measurements indicate that the AHE of the ultrathin
Co3Sn2S2 single crystal is superior to those of its bulk and ultrathin
polycrystalline counterparts. Further, combining dimensionality
advantages and the introduced extrinsic contribution of Fe, where the
doping concentration can be well controlled in 2D Co3Sn2S2, a giant
anomalous Hall angle of 48% and an anomalous Hall conductivity of 2200
Omega(-1) cm(-1) are achieved. Under zero magnetic field, these two
values are, to the best of knowledge, almost the highest ever recorded
than in most known magnetic materials. The results establish 2D
non-layered ferromagnetic kagome lattice as a platform for exploration
of quantum confinement effect and other correlated phenomena.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

Deng, Ya; Wang, Zihao; Hu, Zhili; Li, Ang; Zhou, Xin; Chen, Zhaolong; Wang, Xingli; Liu, Jiawei; Yi, Kongyang; Yuan, Dundong; Wang, Xiaowei; Zhang, Peikun; Zhu, Chao; Zhao, Xiaoxu; Ma, Wei; Wu, Yao; Duan, Ruihuan; Fu, Qundong; Yang, Jiefu; Zhou, Xiuxian; Cao, Mengyao; Zhu, Chao; Tay, Beng Kang; Zhang, Jian; Perrin, Mickael Lucien; Zhou, Wu; Zhang, Zhuhua; Novoselov, Kostya S; Liu, Zheng

Tellurium-assisted growth of large-scale atom-thin insulating amorphous carbon on insulating substrates

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 16 (1), 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63872-7.

Abstract | BibTeX | Endnote

22 entries « ‹ 1 of 5 › »