News

Prof. Xiaoming Tao made important progress in efficient and scalable moisture-electric generators made from ionic hydrogel

In the context of global resource shortage and high demand for carbon neutrality, it is of great significance to find simple and efficient green energy conversion technology to achieve sustainable development of energy and society. Moisture-electric generator (MEG) is based on the chemical energy from atmospheric moisture to generate electricity directly, without the generation of pollutants and harmful gas emissions, which is an emerging research focus in the energy field. However, most MEGs suffer from intermittent electrical signals and low current. In addition, the realization of large-scale integration and practical applications is still the bottleneck of current research. To address this issue, Prof. Xiaoming Tao’s research team has developed a novel and efficient ionic hydrogel moisture-electric generator (IHMEG), which converts the energy released by captured moisture in the air into electricity, realizing efficient current density and power output. A single IHMEG unit of 0.25 cm2 can continuously generate direct-current electricity with a constant open-circuit voltage of ~0.8 V for over 1000 hours, a high short-current density of 0.24 mA·cm-2 and power density of up to 35 mW·cm-2. Of great importance is that large-scale integration of IHMEG units can be readily accomplished to offer a high voltage of up to 210 V, making the flexible IHMEG assembly capable of directly driving numerous commercial electronics, including electronic ink screen, metal electrodeposition setup and even light-emitting-diode arrays. This IHMEG device with high cost-efficiency, easy-to-scaleup fabrication and high power-output opens a brand-new perspective to develop a green, versatile and efficient power source for Internet-of-Things and wearable electronics. The work is published in Advanced Materials (https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202200693) recently. The first author is a PhD graduate, Dr. Yang Su.

Dr Dahua Shou garnered Silver Medal at Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days

ITC is delighted to share Dr Dahua Shou, Assistant Professor of ITC has garnered Silver Medal in this year’s online special edition of the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (Geneva Inventions Expo) - Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days – Virtual Event. The Exhibition is regarded as one of the most important annual global events devoted exclusively to inventions. The awarded project of Dr Shou is entitled “Omni-Cool-DryTM: a Desert Beetle Inspired Skin-like Fabric for Dynamic Thermal and Moisture Management”. The team members include Prof. Jintu Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, and a research student Mr Yuheng Gu. Omni-Cool-DryTM is a desert beetle inspired skin-like fabric, which promises all-day cool, dry, breathable, and comfortable feelings under dynamic thermal conditions. This unique fabric quickly dissipates excessive sweat as water droplets to avoid the sensation of wetness and saturation. It also reflects solar radiation and emits body heat to the cold universe for cooling. Compared to conventional fabrics, Omni-Cool-DryTM weighs 75% less, dissipates sweat 3 times faster, and is 50% less clingy during heavy perspiration. The human skin can be cooled by 5°C lower than with a piece of commercial cotton fabric. Omni-Cool-DryTM is treated to be water-repellent and coated with radiation cooling nanoparticles globally, while the local water channels are patterned with wettability gradient as “sweat glands”. The fabrication is scalable and cost-effective, compatible with the production process in the textile industry. This fabric will help outdoor enthusiasts and athletes to perform their best. It will also be desirable to professionals such as medical personnel, construction workers, and firefighters for more endurance.  

PolyU to advance textiles technology through endowed professorship

PolyU announced recently the set up the “Lee Family Endowed Professorship in Textiles Technologies” and the Endowed Professor-designate is Prof. Jintu Fan, Head and Chair Professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Engineering of ITC. The endowed professorship has given ITC a strong impetus to make further contributions to the development of the local fashion and textiles industry and education. Prof. Jintu Fan was the former Chair and Vincent V. C. Woo Professor of Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, Cornell University, USA and the Founding Director of Cornell Institute of Fashion & Fiber Innovation. He has a prominent international standing in the field of fashion and textiles, served as President of the US based international Fiber Society in 2018, Director of the Shanghai International Fashion Innovation Center from 2016 to 2019 and is currently the Chairman of Hong Kong Institution of Textiles and Apparel (HKITA). Prof. Fan is a world class expert in functional textiles and fashion. He has made outstanding contributions in clothing thermal comfort, theories of heat and mass transfer in fibrous materials, personal thermal management and fashion aesthetics, including the invention of world-first sweating fabric manikin-Walter, establishment of the transient heat and mass transfer model in fibrous media incorporating radiation and phase change, development of biomimetic textiles as well as the discovery of Volume-Height Index (VHI) as a dominant factor for bodily attractiveness.  He has authored/co-authored more than 450 research publications, many of which have appeared in leading journals of relevant fields, including Science Advances, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials as well as Textile Research Journal. He has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards, including Warner Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to textile science from The Textile Institute in 2016; Morgan Sesquicentennial Fellow from Cornell University; Doctor of Science from Leeds University in 2011; Honorary Fellow of The Textile Institute in 2010 (the highest honour within the institute for creativity and advancement of knowledge) and Distinguished Achievement Award from the Fiber Society in 2003. Established in 2012, the Endowed Professorship Scheme aims to honour distinguished scholars for their outstanding academic and research achievements. It provides a unique opportunity for supporters to partner with PolyU to advance research and academic activities of a discipline of their choice for the benefits of the wider community.

Establishment of School of Fashion and Textiles

With the University’s approval of ITC to be upgraded to School of Fashion and Textiles effective from 1 July 2022, it realizes the aspiration of ITC community for over two decades. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your staunch support in the past and look forward to our continued joint effort in uplifting ITC to become a world-renowned school in fashion, textiles and design education, research and partnership for the benefit of Hong Kong, the Nation and beyond.  

Applied Physics Reviews publishes article by Prof. Zijian Zheng

ITC congratulates Prof. Zijian Zheng, Professor of ITC, who recently published a journal review article entitled “Au-Coated Carbon Fabric as Janus Current Collector for Dendrite-free Flexible Lithium Metal Anode and Battery” in Applied Physics Reviews (IF: 19.162). Flexible and wearable electronics span a range of cutting-edge applications, from roll-up displays and implantable medical devices to smart communications and the Internet of Things. Such applications require high energy density power sources, and lithium-metal batteries are among the most promising due to their high theoretical capacity, light weight, and cost efficiency. However, lithium dendrites at the top of the fabric anode increase the risk of separator piercing and, therefore, cause a high possibility of short circuits, especially when undergoing large mechanical deformation. To ensure the safe application of the flexible lithium metal batteries, Prof. Zheng and his colleagues proposed to incorporate a 3D Janus current collector by a simple modification of the bottom side of carbon fabric (CC) with a lithiophilic gold layer in the paper. The result is a highly flexible, stable and safe lithium metal anode. This mitigates the issue of uncontrolled dendrite growth in flexible lithium batteries, effectively reducing the risk of short circuits and fire hazards, which represents an important impact on the future development of high energy density and flexible lithium metal batteries. Dongdong Li, Yuan Gao, Chuan Xie, Zijian Zheng. Au-coated carbon fabric as Janus current collector for dendrite-free flexible lithium metal anode and battery. Applied Physics Reviews 2022, 9 (1) , 011424. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083830

Prof. Lilly Li receives Silver Award at Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days

ITC is pleased to announce that Prof. Lilly Li, Professor of ITC, is the recipient of the Silver Award at the Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days for her research project titled ‘A Method For A Green Yarn-Spun Structure With Moisture Wicking And Fast-Drying Effects’. Partnering with The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel Limited (HKRITA), Prof. Lilly Li and her team have developed an environmentally-friendly yarn structure-based technology to improve moisture wicking, and fast-drying functionalities, good dimensional stability and sufficient strength without using chemical additives. This technology can overcome the drawbacks of both synthetic and natural fibres. By deploying physical-based coaxial and counter-rotating yarn wrapping technology, it improves moisture management effects to reduce negative impacts caused by the exposure to chemical pollutants with no extra chemicals. In addition, this technology encourages the use of natural fibres in a proportion greater than 80% and decreases the utilisation of chemical-based synthetic or manmade fibres. It can be directly applied to the secondary upcycling of stock yarns, giving the yarn a “second life”. Congratulations to Prof. Li!  

Vivienne Tam Scholars Scheme

ITC establishes the “Vivienne Tam Scholars Scheme”, aims to broaden the knowledge of contemporary design practice of our fashion/knitwear design students in ITC through extracurricular design projects supervised by PolyU alumni and renowned fashion designer: Vivienne Tam. The students will be recognised as “Vivienne Tam Scholars” and will receive a prize of HK$10,000 each from ITC after their successful completion of the design project under Ms Vivienne Tam’s direction.  Four final year fashion/knitwear design students were selected to work on design projects under Ms Vivienne Tam’s direction. They are: Chan Pui-yi Chan Tai-che, Viva Lauryn Fiona Yip Hiu-ching, Jasmine

Angel Jump to Victory: Wong Hiu-ying Angel

The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 has just ended, not long after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Hong Kong athletes have shown remarkable achievements at both Olympic Games. Aside from the Olympics, Hong Kong athletes continue their winning streak and among them is ITC alumna Ms Wong Hiu-ying Angel (BA, 2010) who won a bronze medal for the balance beam event at the 14th Taishan Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, Qatar on 5 March 2022. She is the first athlete on the Hong Kong team who is a medal winner at this level of international competition. Blood, sweat and tears of a star athlete Angel has been involved with gymnastics since she was 4 years old. At first, it was just for fun, and little Angel never thought that she would be an athlete until she turned 11 years old and returned from Australia to Hong Kong . She continued her training in a gymnastics class with the Hong Kong Gymnastics Federation and was chosen as a member of the Hong Kong team. After joining the Hong Kong team, training took up most of Angel’s time. Every day, she trained hard after school for four hours until 8:30 p.m. This training regime showed her passion and dedication for gymnastics. First Hong Kong gymnast to qualify for the Olympics No one in Hong Kong has ever been shortlisted for the Olympics gymnastics competition until the London Olympics in 2012, when Mr Shek Wai-hung and Angel were chosen to participate in the games. The London Olympics was definitely a breakthrough for Hong Kong gymnastics. Not only were there two Hong Kong athletes performing on the gymnastics stage for the first time, but Angel even labeled her jump and became the first Hong Kong athlete in the history of gymnastics to receive such naming rights. “I haven’t seen anyone tried this 'Angel Jump' in any official competition yet, only some video clips on Instagram that show others practicing the move,” Angel said. Missed Rio Olympics due to injury One of the worst fears of athletes is to sustain an injury, especially before a major competition. When Angel was busy practicing in 2015 for Olympic Games Rio 2016, she severely injured her left knee, which affected several ligaments of her knee joint. She had to undergo two operations and required a long period of recovery which forced her miss the games. Even though she is not as young as the other athletes and had been injured multiple times, she was still very determined to stay on the team. In 2019, she returned to the World Cup Competition. Starting all over again and succeeding At the age of 34, Angel described standing on the award podium as one of the important moments in her life, especially after several surgeries. “After many injuries and surgeries, the long recovery process has been full of struggles. The epidemic also affects training and competition since some of the team members have tested positive. Anyway, I just want everyone to finish the games safely.” Angel also said that the medal is proof of her abilities, which has also motivated her to continue to improve her performance. She hopes to compete in the Asian Games again in September this year. Applying knowledge learnt from ITC Aside from gymnastics, Angel is also a talented designer. An ITC graduate, she majored in fashion and textile design. She then applied the knowledge into designing and constructing  her costume for the London Olympics.   Photo credit: Angel's Instagram page and The Gymnastics Association of Hong Kong, China

Fashion X AI Fashion Show 2022

[ITC supported activity] Fashion X AI 2022: Call For Young Fashion Talents is looking for local fashion graduates and students to join us on our innovation journey. We will be selecting 8 young fashion talents to showcase their works at the Fashion x AI Fashion Show at M+ in December 2022. 8 selected talents will be mentored by leading fashion designers to create innovative designs using a cutting-edge Hong Kong developed AI design system (AIDF) with full technical and production fee support. Fashion innovators who would like to push the boundaries of their creativity by synergising Fashion and AI are welcome to join. Learn more. Enquiries: AIxFASHION@aidlab.hk 

Dr Jeongyeon Lee publishes in highly impactful journals

Dr Jeongyeon Lee, Research Assistant Professor of ITC and his collaborative teams recently published two journal review articles entitled “Chemical modification of ordered/disordered carbon nanostructures for metal hosts and electrocatalysts of lithium-air batteries” in InfoMat (IF: 25.405) and “Nanostructured Transition Metal Nitrides as Emerging Electrocatalysts for Water Electrolysis: Status and Challenges” in EnergyChem (expected IF 25). In the first paper, Dr Lee and his colleagues comprehensively review the recent progress in designs of carbon nanostructures for application in metal hosts, and as protective layers or bifunctional electrocatalysts of lithium-air batteries. The correlation among the crystalline, electronic, porous, and chemical structures and the electrochemical properties of carbon nanomaterials are discussed depending on their classification and characteristics. The rational methodology and future directions of various chemical modifications are also discussed, such as morphological control, hierarchical architecturing, heteroatom incorporation, and the formation of composites, for enhancing the electrochemical performance of anodes and cathodes. In the second paper, Dr Lee and his colleagues review the representative progress of transition metal nitride (TMN)-based catalysts in the synthetic strategies of both structural engineering and electronic engineering to improve electrocatalytic performance, especially in hydrogen and oxygen evolution and water splitting. This review article discusses the future challenges and research directions of nanostructured TMNs in the electrochemical energy fields for efficient preparation processes and performance enhancement. In terms of real applications, continuous research and breakthroughs are essential for developing nanostructured TMN-based catalysts for advanced water electrolysis, which can improve the quality of life. Dr Lee has been recently selected as Guest Associate Editor for the Frontiers in Chemistry journal. He has extensively published research articles in various journals that are related to energy storage and conversion applications during the past 3 years, including Advanced Energy Materials in 2020 (1 paper), Advanced Functional Materials in 2021 (1 paper), Chemical Engineering Journal in 2021 (1 paper), Small Methods in 2021 (2 papers), and 8 other SCIE papers.   References: 1. Lee, J.,1 Lee, T.1 H., Jang, H. W.,* Park, H. S.* (2022). Chemical modification of ordered/disordered carbon nanostructures for metal hosts and electrocatalysts of lithium‐air batteries. InfoMat, 4(1), e12268. 2. Lin, L., Piao, S., Choi, Y., Lyu, L., Hong, H., Kim, D., Lee, J.,* Zhang, W.,* Piao, Y.* (2022). Nanostructured Transition Metal Nitrides as Emerging Electrocatalysts for Water Electrolysis: Status and Challenges. EnergyChem, 100072.