At the invitation of Professor Guang Feng, Professor Alexei Kornyshev of Imperial College London visited the School of Energy and Power Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) from August 28 to September 6, 2026, for academic exchange. During his visit, Professor Kornyshev delivered a special academic lecture entitled “Ionotronics in Action: From Electrochemical Metamechanics to Molecular Electronics.” Focusing on frontier topics including molecular electronics, electrochemical interfaces, emerging energy-conversion technologies, and smart actuation materials, he presented recent advances in the field of ionotronics.
In his lecture, Professor Kornyshev highlighted recent progress in single-molecule electronics, energy harvesting from ambient mechanical motion, and electrochemical actuation. He first introduced electron-transport mechanisms at the single-molecule scale from a quantum-mechanical perspective, systematically discussing tunneling, superexchange, resonant tunneling, and hopping transport. He further analyzed the effects of molecular structure, electronic orbital energy levels, and external electric fields on molecular conductance and rectification, demonstrating how charge transport in molecular electronic devices can be understood and controlled at the quantum scale. He then presented an approach to harvesting ambient mechanical energy based on electric double-layer capacitance and discussed the effects of planar electrodes, porous electrode architectures, and electrochemical interface engineering on energy-conversion performance. Building on electroactuator theory, he further elucidated the coupling among ion migration, electrostatic pressure, and material deformation, highlighting the application potential of ionotronics in molecular electronic devices, energy harvesting, and flexible smart actuation materials.
During the academic exchange session, Professor Kornyshev engaged in in-depth discussions with faculty members and students on frontier topics including molecular electronic device design, electrochemical interface engineering, mechanical energy harvesting, and smart actuation materials. Participants exchanged views on electron–ion coupling mechanisms, nanoscale transport theory, and future developments in energy-conversion devices. The visit provided faculty members and students of the School with a valuable platform for direct interaction with an internationally renowned scholar, promoted interdisciplinary exchange among energy science, physical chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology, and laid a solid foundation for further international collaboration, joint research projects, and high-impact research outcomes.
About Professor Alexei Kornyshev
Professor Alexei Kornyshev is Professor of Chemical Physics in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London. He is a Foreign Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Society of Biology, the Institute of Physics, the International Society of Electrochemistry, and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. His research interests span the theory of electrochemical interfaces, electron and proton transport in complex environments, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and nanoscale and single-molecule transport phenomena. To date, he has published more than 300 research papers, including multiple articles in Nature Materials, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and Physical Review Letters (PRL), together with more than 30 topical review articles and five books. His major honors include the Humboldt Prize in Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, the European Fuel Cell Forum Christian Friedrich Schönbein Medal for Scientific Contribution, the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, the Royal Society of Chemistry Geoffrey Barker Award for Electrochemistry, the RSC Interdisciplinary Prize, and the Electrochimica Acta Gold Medal, the highest award of the International Society of Electrochemistry. He currently serves as a Senior Editor of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter.
