About Xianhe Bu’s work
Xianhe Bu held a Croucher Visitorship at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from February to July 2004. At the time, Bu was based at Nankai University.
Biography
Xianhe Bu studies coordination polymers, materials in which metal ions are linked by molecules called ligands. His research asks how the choice of ligand changes the structure of a polymer and, in turn, how that structure determines the material’s properties. He developed a method for guiding the assembly of coordination polymers by selecting their ligands. His work on how these materials change structure has also informed the design of smart materials.
Bu graduated in chemistry from Nankai University in 1986 and earned a doctorate in science there in 1992. In 1995 he received a doctorate in pharmacy from Hiroshima University and became a professor. At Nankai he headed the Department of Chemistry and became the first dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering. He led a research group supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2021.