Dr. Hou's main research direction is polymer nanofibers. The diameter of nanofibers is very small (about11000 of the hair diameter), and the formed membrane or cloth not only has excellent filtering performance (filtering dust, bacteria and viruses), but also has a large specific surface area, which can effectively absorb chemical toxic gases, and the functionalized nanofiber membrane or cloth can further decompose toxic gases. High-strength nanofiber membrane or cloth will be used to make comfortable, fashionable and efficient anti-terrorism clothes, military uniforms, medical and health clothes and so on. High-efficiency filters are used for air purification in areas with poor air quality between airplanes and buildings, and air purification in ultra-quiet workshops, turbine power plants, battlefield tank engines, etc. It can also be used in environmental protection projects such as sewage treatment and waste gas dust removal. Dr. Hou is currently in charge of 1 major basic research projects pre-researched by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2004, 2 national natural science foundation projects, 1 major science and technology projects of the Ministry of Education, 3 major provincial and ministerial projects, 1 international horizontal cooperation projects, and distinguished professor scientific research initiation project of Jiangxi Normal University.
Under the cordial care of the leaders of the provincial party committee and government, and with the strong support of the Provincial Department of Education, the Department of Science and Technology and Jiangxi Normal University, Dr. Hou established the Nanofiber Engineering Technology Research Center in Jiangxi Province in 2004. At present, there are 4 professors (doctors), 2 associate professors (1 doctors) and 2 research assistants, and a pragmatic academic research team focusing on high-performance polymer materials, polymer nanofibers, carbon nanofibers and carbon nanostructures. The research work permit of the center is that polymer nanofibers with a diameter less than 1 nm can be prepared by electrospinning technology, which is the smallest polymer nanofiber reported in the world at present. This achievement was published in the internationally renowned nanotechnology magazine Nanotechnology (February 2006). The research work of the center also confirmed that electrospinning technology can also prepare high-strength polymer nanofibers, and achieved the results that the strength of oriented polyimide nanofiber membrane reached 660 MPa and that of * * polyimide nanofiber membrane reached 1. 1GPa. The research results were published in the internationally renowned journals of materials science, Advanced Materials (March 6, 2006) and Nanotechnology (July 7, 2006).
It is the highest strength electrospun nanofiber reported in the world. Recently, the center cooperated with the Department of Mechanics of Lincoln University in Nebraska, USA, and discovered the size effect of the mechanical properties of electrospun polymer nanofibers. Diameter is an important factor affecting the strength of nanofibers. The strength of electrospun polyimide nanofibers with a diameter of 50nm can reach 6.
GPa, this exciting result will be published in the first-class international academic journals. At the same time, the carbonized nanofibers studied by the center have also made great progress in the application of electrode materials. When this kind of carbonized nanofiber cloth is used as the electrode of supercapacitor (electric double layer type), the capacitance reaches 350F/g, which is more than twice that of ordinary supercapacitor (electric double layer type). The research results are being patented and will be published in influential international academic journals.