Professor Zhongfan Liu is a Boya Chair Professor at Peking University and President of the Beijing Graphene Institute. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). His research primarily focuses on the CVD synthesis of low-dimensional carbon materials, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, and graphynes, as well as their mass production and applications.

Professor Liu holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Changchun Institute of Technology, a Master of Engineering in Electrochemistry from Yokohama National University, and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from The University of Tokyo.

Professor Liu’s research interests encompass the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis of low-dimensional carbon materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and graphynes, along with their large-scale production and practical applications. He has authored over 730 peer-reviewed papers and holds 150 patents. Additionally, he has written and edited 12 works, including monographs, translated works, popular science books, personal collections, and industry research reports.

Throughout his career, Professor Liu has received numerous accolades, including the National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 2008 and 2017), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK, 2014), and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Graphene Industry (2022).

Education

1. Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering, Changchun Institute of Technology, China (1983)
2. Master of Engineering in Electrochemistry, Yokohama National University, Japan (1987)
3. Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Japan (1990)

Experience

1. Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Tokyo, Japan (04/1990-09/1991)
2. Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), Japan (09/1991-06/1993)
3. Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Peking University (PKU) (06/1993-07/1993)
4. Full Professor, Department of Chemistry, PKU (07/1993- )
5. Director, Center for Modern Physical Chemistry, PKU (09/1995-12/2002)
6. Deputy Director, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, PKU (09/1997-09/2006)
7. Director, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, PKU (09/2006- )
8. Changjiang Scholar, PKU (04/1999- )
9. Director, Institute of Physical Chemistry, PKU (09/2006-09/2014)
10. Director, Beijing Science & Engineering Research Center of Low Dimensional Carbon Materials (2013-2017)
11. Deputy Director, Beijing Municipal Science & Technology (05/2016-05/2017)
12. President, Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI) (10/2016- )
13. Chairman, The Beijing Municipal Committee of JIUSAN Society (07/2017- )
14. Vice Chairman, The Central Committee of JIUSAN Society (12/2017- )
15. Vice Chairman, The Beijing Municipal Committee of CPPCC (01/2018- )
16. Member, The Standing Committee of The National Committee of CPPCC (03/2018- )

Awards and Honors

1. Ariyama Kanetaka Memorial Prize for Excellent Academic Achievements, The Japan-China Science and Technology Exchange Association (1992)
2. Cross-Century Talented Scientist Fund, State Education Commission of China (1993)
3. National Excellent Young Fund, Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (1994)
4. Outstanding Young Scientist Award, Hong Kong Qiushi Foundation (1997) 
5. Fellow of Institute of Physics (UK, 2004)
6. Chinese Analysis & Instrumentation Association Science & Technology Award (1st class, 2005) 
7. MOE Science and Technology Award (1st class, 2007) 
8. National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 2008)
9. Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2011)
10. Chinese Chemical Society-AkzoNobel Chemical Science Award (2012)
11. Baogang Outstanding Teacher Award (2012)
12. Outstanding Scientist selected by Ten-Thousand-Talents Program (Six in total), 2013
13. Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (UK, 2014)
14. Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (2015)
15. Founder Special Prize (2016)
16. The Lectureship Award of Colloid and Surface Chemistry Annual Meeting of Chemical Society of Japan (2016)
17. National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 2017)
18. Outstanding Teacher Award of Beijing Municipality (2017)
19. ACS Nano Lectureship Award (2018)
20. GUOHUA Distinguished Scholar Award, PKU (2020)
21. The 8th Nano Research Award, Tsinghua University Press & Springer Nature (2021)
22. Xingzheng Global Teacher Award, PKU (2021)
23. PKU Political Service TONGXIN Award (2022)
24. JINGBO Science & Technology Excellence Award, Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) (2022)
25. Lifetime Achievement Award in Graphene Industry, International Graphene Alliance (IGA) (2022)
26. Chambroad Technology Excellence Award (2022)
27. Leader Award in China’s Graphene Industry, China Graphene International Alliance (CGIA) (2023)

Activities in Academic Societies

1. Deputy Secretary General, The Chinese Chemical Society (2003-2011)
2. Chairman, Electrochemistry Commission, Chinese Chemical Society (2007-2011)
3. Chairman, Nanochemistry Commission, Chinese Chemical Society (2013-2017)
4. Executive Director, The Chinese Chemical Society (2015- )
5. Vice President, The Chinese Chemical Society (2018-2024)
6. Vice Chairman, China International Association for Promotion of Science and Technology
7. Chairman, Z-park Graphene Industry Alliance
8. Editor-in-Chief: Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica 
9. Executive Editor-in-Chief: Chinese Science Bulletin
10. Advisory/Editorial Board Member: Adv. Mater.、Small、Nano Res.、ChemNanoMat、Graphene Technology、APL Mater.、NPG Asia Mater.、Natural Science Review、J. Photochem.Photobiol. C Phtotochem. Rev., etc.

Five Significant Scholarly Outputs

1. Y Qi, LZ Sun, ZF Liu*, Super Graphene-Skinned Materials: An Innovative Strategy toward Graphene Applications, ACS Nano 18(2024), 4617-4623.
2. LZ Sun, GW Yuan, LB Gao*, J Yang, M Chhowalla*, MH Gharahcheshmeh, KK Gleason*, YS Choi, BH Hong*, ZF Liu*, Chemical Vapour Deposition, Nature Review Methods Primers 1(2021), 5.
3. YG Zuo, WT Yu, C Liu, X Cheng, RX Qiao, J Liang, X Zhou, JH Wang, MH Wu, Y Zhao, P Gao, SW Wu, ZP Sun, KH Liu*, XD Bai*, ZF Liu*, Optical fibres with embedded two-dimensional materials for ultrahigh nonlinearity, Nature Nanotechnology 15(2020), 987-991.
4. L Lin, HL Peng*, ZF Liu*, Synthesis challenges for graphene industry, Nature Mater. 18(2019), 520-529.
5. L Lin, B Deng, JY Sun, HL Peng*, ZF Liu*, Bridging the gap between reality and ideal in chemical vapor deposition growth of graphene, Chem. Rev. 118(18)2018, 9281-9343.