Interviews with Faculty Researchers

– Interview with Dr Lo Tsz-woon, Benedict
Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology
Awardee of Young Innovative Researcher Award 2022

Three centuries ago, scientists made a revolutionary discovery: certain substances – known as catalysts – could accelerate chemical reactions without themselves being consumed. Today, catalytic technologies are a multi-billion dollar global market and the backbone of industrialised society. The chemical industry relies on catalysts for 90% of its processes, from manufacturing fuel and medicine to breaking down toxic pollutants in the air. As more efficient catalysts can bring enormous benefits to society, the economy and the environment, the last few decades have seen a surge in innovation in catalytic processes and technologies.

Leading the way is Dr Lo Tsz-woon, Benedict of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, whose mission is to harness the power of catalysis to make the world a better place. During his Doctor of Philosophy studies at the University of Oxford and Diamond Light Source in the UK, Dr Lo shed new light on the relationship between the structure of catalytic materials and their reactivity. Since joining PolyU as a group leader, his research has gone even further, tackling one of the biggest challenges in modern materials science – the design of catalytic landscapes with high precision and ease of green production.

Smartly combining the underlying principles of solid-state chemistry and coordination chemistry, Dr Lo and his group have developed an approach that allows for the extremely precise and highly tuneable design of heterogeneous catalytic processes. This pioneering approach may help researchers to break through the time and labour bottleneck associated with optimising the scope and reactivity of catalysts, thereby ushering in the next generation of high-performance, high-efficiency catalytic technologies.

Under the banner of “Energy and Sustainability”, the motto of Lo’s group, Dr Lo is dedicated to ensuring that his research has a material impact. He focuses on two main directions critical to building a better, more sustainable future: green drug development and carbon neutrality. Through strategic collaboration with local and international partners in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr Lo is developing greener, more economical cross-coupling reactions for modern drug manufacturing processes. He also hopes to develop a high-performing electrocatalytic system for the conversion of CO₂ to ethylene, ultimately creating “a sustainable ethylene economy powered through decarbonisation”.

設計多核固體原子催化劑
推動能源與可持續發展應用

– 勞子桓博士專訪
應用生物及化學科技學系助理教授
2022 年青年創新研究者獎得獎者

三百年前，科學家發現某些物質可以加速化學反應，而本身不會被消耗，這種物質被稱為催化劑，是一項革命性的發現。時至今日，催化技術已是價值數十億美元計的全球市場，也是工業化社會的支柱。在化學工業中，有90%的流程都依賴催化劑，包括製造燃料、藥品，以至分解空氣中的有毒污染物。由於更高效的催化劑可以為社會、經濟和環境帶來莫大裨益，創新的催化方法和技術在過去數十年急劇增加。

應用生物及化學科技學系的勞子桓博士正是引領相關進步的代表人物。勞博士以善用催化力量令世界更美好為使命，在牛津大學和英國戴爾蒙德光源中心修讀哲學博士期間，他已對催化材料結構和反應性的相互關係有了新見解。勞博士加入理大後，他所領導的研究小組在相關工作上更進一步，設計出精密而容易採用綠色生產的催化格局，解決了現代材料科學其中一項最重大的挑戰。

勞博士和團隊開發了一套方法，巧妙地結合固態化學和配位化學的基本原理，對多相催化過程進行極為精確、高度可調的設計。這種創先河的方法可以幫助研究人員優化催化劑和反應性，突破相關的時間和人力瓶頸，從而推動下一代高性能、高效率的催化技術。

勞博士於「能源與可持續發展」的旗號下，致力確保其研究能產生實質影響。他專注研究綠色藥物開發和碳中和，這兩大方向對建設更美好及可持續的未來尤為重要。通過與本地和國際製藥行業夥伴合作的策略，勞博士正在研發更環保、更經濟的交叉偶聯反應，可用於現代藥物生產流程。他還希望通過研發高性能的電催化系統來把二氧化碳轉化為乙烯，實現「以減碳驅動的可持續乙烯經濟」。