Prof. Po-Chun HsuTaiwan
University of Chicago
| 2022/7 to present | | Assistant Professor, University of Chicago |
| 2019/1 - 2022/7 | | Assistant Professor, Duke University |
| 2022 - Present | | EcoMat Young Advisory Board |
Electrochemistry, Metasurface, Thermoregulation, Wearable, Nanoplasmonics
Po-Chun Hsu is an Assistant Professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, focusing on light- and heat-managing materials for energy, sustainability, and health. He earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering and was a postdoctoral researcher in Mechanical Engineering, both at Stanford University. Before joining the University of Chicago, he was an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University from 2019 to 2022. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, shortlisted for the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2023, EcoMat Young Researcher Award, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards, MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (China), Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers, and Sony Faculty Innovation Award. His project in cooling textiles was selected as Top Ten World-Changing Ideas by Scientific American.
Distributed Direct Air Capture by Amino-Carbon Nanofibers
TBA TBA
Nano Carbon Materials/TBA
The rising atmospheric CO2 concentration is one of the biggest challenges human civilization faces. Direct air capture (DAC), which removes CO2 from the atmosphere, has great potential for carbon neutrality. However, the large land use and capital investment required by centralized DAC plants, as well as the energy-intensive adsorbent regeneration process, limit their widespread adoption. In this talk, I will introduce our recent work on using carbon nanofibers as substrates and alkylamines as the chemisorbent to achieve DAC in a distributed manner. The amino-carbon nanofibers can be used as CO2-absorbing air filter to directly remove CO2 from the indoor air ventilation systems. The open porous structure of carbon nanofibers provides a great advantage in sorption/desorption capacity and kinetics. The high solar absorptivity and electrical conductivity of carbon nanofibers enable regeneration using clean energy with a minimal operational carbon footprint, as supported by life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis.