Research Experience
2021.9 – now Assistant Professor, PI, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University
2017.9 – 2021.9 Postdoc Fellow, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (Advisor: Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore)
2011.8 – 2017.9 Ph.D. in Chemistry, Indiana University Bloomington (Advisor: Prof. Amar H. Flood)
2007.8 – 2011.8 B.S. in Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University (advisor: Prof. Peiqiang Huang & Prof. Yunbao Jiang)
Research Interests
Research of the Liu Group straddles between physical organic chemistry and polymer science to explore and exploit new structures, properties, and functions of macromolecules. By leveraging the rational molecular design, our effort will open doors to novel preparation, conversion, and characterization of polymers that will contribute to their circular economy. Currently, we strive to establish a diverse array of synthetic methods for sulfur-containing polymers, to enable skeletal editing and modification of polymers by mechanochemistry, and to develop molecular probes for different microenvironments in polymeric materials.
Selected Publications
- Ding, S.; Wang, W.; Germann, A.; Wei, Y.; Du, T.; Meisner, J.*; Zhu, R.*; Liu, Y.* Bicyclo-[2.2.0]hexene: A multicyclic mechanophore with reactivity diversified by external forces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 6104–6113.
- Du, T.; Shen, B.; Dai, J.; Zhang, M.; Chen, X.; Yu, P.-Y.*; Liu, Y.* Controlled and regioselective ring-opening polymerization for poly(disulfide)s by anion-binding catalysis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 27788–27799.
- Liu, Y.; Holm, S.; Meisner, J.; Jia, Y.; Wu, Q.; Woods, T. J.; Martinez, T. J.; Moore, J. S. Flyby reaction trajectories: Chemical dynamics under extrinsic force. Science, 2021, 373, 208–212.
- Liu, Y.; Parks, F. C.; Sheetz, E. G.; Chen, C.-H.; Flood, A. H. Polarity-tolerant chloride binding in foldamer capsules by programmed solvent-exclusion. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 3191–3204.
- Liu, Y.*,‡; Jia, Y.‡; Wu, Q.; Moore, J. S.* Architecture-controlled ring-opening polymerization for dynamic covalent poly(disulfide)s. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 17075–17080. (‡co-first author; *co-corresponding author)
- Liu, Y.; Zhao, W.; Chen, C.-H.; Flood, A. H. Chloride capture using a C–H hydrogen bonding cage. Science. 2019, 365, 159–161.
- Liu, Y.*; Parks, F. C.; Zhao, W.; Flood, A. H.* Sequence-controlled stimuli-responsive single-double helix conversion between 1:1 and 2:2 chloride-foldamer complexes. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 15477–15486. (*co-corresponding author)
- Liu, Y.; Sengupta, A.; Raghavachari, K.; Flood, A. H. Anion binding in solution: Beyond the electrostatics regime. Chem 2017, 3, 411–427.