News

Prof. Bingang Xu publishes in Advanced Materials and Nano Energy

Prof. Bingang Xu, Professor of ITC, guided his research team in a series of frontier research on wearable energy harvesting which have been published in Advanced Materials and Nano Energy. These two top-tier journals (top 5% in the Materials Science, Multidisciplinary category which comprises 314 SCI journals) have an impact factor of 27.398 and 16.602 respectively (2019 JCR on Web of Science). Rapid advancements in multifunctional next-generation electronics have created an immense demand for the development of green, renewable and sustainable power sources. As one of the promising candidates, wearable energy harvesting provides both an approach and devices that can be worn on the human body to convert solar, thermal, mechanical or other forms of energy into electric energy. The challenge is determining how to endow such devices with high power density, good stretchability, excellent durability, and good wear comfort. To address these challenges, the research team innovatively discovered/designed a series of functional materials (including hierarchical architecture nanocomposites, viscoelastic polymer adhesives, organogel electrodes, and micro-carriers of functional molecules) and wearable structures (including woven structures of functional nanofibers) for enhancing the physical, chemical and electric properties of energy harvesting. These works have presented new approaches/devices for high-performing wearable energy harvesters and self-powered sensors with promising applications in biomechanical energy harvesting, wearable electronics and human movement monitoring. X.Y. Guan, B.G. Xu*, J.L. Gong, Hierarchically architected polydopamine modified BaTiO3@P(VDF-TrFE) nanocomposite fiber mats for flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators and self-powered sensors, Nano Energy, 70, 104516, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211285520300732 J.L. Gong, B.G. Xu*, Y.J. Yang, M.J. Wu, B. Yang, An Adhesive Surface Enables High‐Performance Mechanical Energy Harvesting with Unique Frequency‐Insensitive and Pressure‐Enhanced Output Characteristics, Advanced Materials, 32(14), 1907948, 2020. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.201907948 T.T. Jing, B.G. Xu*, Y.J. Yang, M.Q. Li, Y.Y. Gao, Organogel electrode enables highly transparent and stretchable triboelectric nanogenerators of high power density for robust and reliable energy harvesting, Nano Energy, 78, 105373, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211285520309502 X.Y. Guan, B.G. Xu*, M.J. Wu, T.T. Jing, Y.J. Yang, Y.Y. Gao, Breathable, washable and wearable woven-structured triboelectric nanogenerators utilizing electrospun nanofibers for biomechanical energy harvesting and self-powered sensing, Nano Energy, 80, 105549, 2021. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221128552031123X?dgcid=rss_sd_all T.T. Jing, B.G. Xu*, Y.J. Yang, Liquid doping materials as micro-carrier of functional molecules for functionalization of triboelectric materials and flexible triboelectric nanogenerators for energy harvesting and gesture detection, Nano Energy, 74, 104856, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211285520304134

Dr Eunsoo Baek publishes in Journal of Business Research

Dr Eunsoo Baek recently published a paper titled ‘Diverse values of fashion rental service and contamination concern of consumers’ in the Journal of Business Research, a premier business journal established in 1973 that covers research on a variety of different business aspects. The paper is meaningful and timely as it sheds light on fashion rental services under the COVID-19 pandemic. As a form of collaborative consumption, fashion rental services have gained increasing attention in the fashion industry. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fashion rental businesses have encountered a challenging situation in which they need to respond to consumers with heightened concerns around contamination. In response, this research work adopts a timely approach to understand how diverse consumption values of fashion rental services interplay with contamination concerns to predict attitudes and adoption intentions. The research findings not only contribute to the collaborative consumption literature but also provide actionable insights for relevant industries. We recommend that practitioners build strategic marketing communications to effectively reach consumers depending on their contamination concerns. Specifically, we suggest that the functional, emotional, and green values of fashion rental services should be emphasized to respond to consumers with heightened concerns around contamination. Nonetheless, our findings show that heightened concerns around contamination weakens the relationship between attitudes and adoption intentions, so practitioners should make additional effort to successfully transfer positive attitudes to behaviors. With uncertainty about the future due to COVID-19 which could even last for a decade until there is the widespread availability of a vaccine (Wan & Johnson, 2020), heightened concerns around hygiene and worries about contamination may also persist for a relatively long period of time. In addition to perceptions, actual buying behaviors have changed, which may persist even post-pandemic (Sheth, 2020). Even though the future is uncertain, our findings provide guidance on the values that are more appropriate for communication purposes and take into consideration the concerns of target consumers around contamination.

New Associate Dean of Graduate School: Prof. Christina Wong

Prof. Christina Wong is appointed as the new Associate Dean of Graduate School of PolyU, with effect from 15 December 2020. Prof. Christina Wong specialises in Fashion Retail and Marketing. Her research work focuses on environmental management and supply chain performance and management. She has published more than 78 research papers which include one Hot Paper in the Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Knowledge and two Highly Cited Papers list. She has successfully secured funding from various sources, including RGC General Research Fund (GRF), Public Policy Research (PPR), and Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS) from the Hong Kong government, ESRC/RGC Joint Research Scheme from the UK and Hong Kong governments, Eurasia-Pacific Uninet from the Austrian government, Bualuang ASEAN Fellowship from the Bank of Bangkok, Thailand, and others. Established in September 2020, the Graduate School is committed to assisting PolyU research postgraduate students to achieve scholarly excellence and success.

Prof. Zijian Zheng and Dr Qiyao Huang publish article in Joule

Prof Zijian Zheng and Dr Qiyao Huang recently summarised the key performance metrics of flexible batteries (FBs), and proposed a figure of merit (FOM) for FBs in a paper published in Joule. The FOM is a single metric that not only allows for easy reporting and comparison of the performance of FBs but also provides a direct linkage between lab-based testing and industrial development. This work is published as “A Figure of Merit for Flexible Batteries” in Joule (2020) 4, 1–3, July 15. Joule is one of the leading and most respected journals in energy and materials related research with a high impact factor of 27.059. FBs will be in great demand for future flexible and wearable electronics in health care, consumable products, soft robotics, and internet-of-things. The key challenges are finding ways to develop these highly flexible batteries while keeping their high energy density. While energy density has been a well-defined metric of batteries for decades, it is still difficult to benchmark flexibility among the tremendous amount of findings reported by many different research groups. In most reports, the bending radius is used as the metric to evaluate the flexibility; a smaller bending radius indicates higher flexibility of the battery. However, such an evaluation is somehow misleading because cell failure during flexing is determined by the strain, which not only depends on the bending radius but also the cell thickness. Unfortunately, the size and thickness of test cells usually vary significantly among different reports, and a simple comparison between bending radii becomes less meaningful. On the other hand, there is little discussion in the literature on the industrial requirements of FBs and how to meet them for different flexible and wearable applications. Owing to the disconnect between academic research and industrial requirements, and the vast difference in materials preparation and cell structures in the different studies, it is even more challenging to project the suitability of the lab-made cells to real applications. Flexible battery enables the seamless implementation of power supply to flexible and wearable electronics. It not only enhances the energy capacity by fully utilizing the available space but also revolutionizes the form factors of future device design. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to critically evaluate the performance of flexible batteries and advocate a figure of merit for flexible batteries, with the aim of providing a benchmark among the state-of-the-arts and projecting the suitability of the laboratory study to industrial requirements.

Prejudging for Intimate & Activewear Fashion Show 2021

ITC recently held a prejudging event for the PolyU Intimate & Activewear Fashion Show 2021, which showcased the creative and talented designs of ITC graduating students in Intimate Apparel and Activewear. This group of students has worked hard to overcome the adverse impacts of both the social unrest and COVID-19 on their studies. Special thanks to Dr Kristina Shin for her dedication in guiding and continuing to support these students to ensure the great success of the event. For details of the event, please click here.

New Associate Dean of FAST: Dr Joanne Yip

ITC is pleased to announce that the newly appointed Associate Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles (FAST) effective November 2020 is our very own ITC Associate Professor - Dr Joanne Yip. Dr Yip is an alumna of PolyU, with a BSc (Hons) in Textile Technology (first class Honors) and a PhD from ITC. Prior to joining PolyU, she worked at Rice University in the US as a visiting researcher to conduct instrumental experiments. She has published more than 100 referee and conference papers in textile and materials science journals. She has also worked in the intimate apparel industry and is therefore particular familiar with material knowledge, quality requirements and production techniques used in the market. Her current research interests include functional garments for scoliosis, new materials and technology, surface treatments on textiles, and moulding or seamless techniques used in intimate apparel and activewear.

Prof. Hong Hu secures NSFC/RGC Joint Research Funds

Prof. Hong Hu recently secured research funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)/Research Grants Council (RGC) Joint Research Scheme (JRS) based on a proposal titled “Micro Optimal Design Strategy for High Performance Three-dimensional Negative Poisson’s Ratio (NPR) Lattice Structures”. The NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme aims to promote collaboration between researchers/research teams in Hong Kong and Mainland China that would mutually complement the existing strengths of both parties, and supports research proposals jointly submitted by Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong researchers. The success rate of securing this highly competitive funding source is only about 15%. In collaboration with Professor Jian Xiong of the Centre for Composite Materials and Structures (CCMS) at the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), the proposed project aims to develop a special class of 3D negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) carbon fiber reinforced composite (CFRP) with a lattice structure (Fig. 1) that can simultaneously bear high loads and absorb energy. The project also aims to systematically study the mechanical performance of this structure under static and dynamic loading conditions. This study will advance and guide the design, fabrication, and application of 3D NPR lattice structures for engineering applications. The duration of the project is 4 years starting from 01/01/2021 and ending 31/12/2024.

Call for applications | Summer Internship Programme 2020/21 (Deadline: 22 Jan)

ITC summer internship programme is now open for applications. BA year 2, year 3 and year 4 students are welcome to join but the priority will be given to year 3 students. By taking the internship programme, you can fulfill both WIE requirements and one elective subject. Please click here for the JDs, application method, timeline, workshops,  and other details. You are highly recommended to study the programme brief before submitting your application. Application deadline: 22 Jan 2021 at 18:00 (HK time)

Let There Be Light | Sun Young Choi

The American conceptual artist and philosopher, Adrian Piper, stated that there is a distinct correlation between the 2000s and the ‘60s. There was interest in Eastern philosophy in the 1960s and new-age healthcare is a concept similar to meditation now; from the sexual revolution of the 1960s to feminism now; from the countercultural communities of the 1960s to the leftist, communitarian politics now, and from the organic food/back-to-the-land movements of the 1960s to the environmental movement today, all of those 1960s’ trends were influenced by psychedelics. Psychedelic art refers to the counterculture art movement in the late 1960s that involved paintings, designs, and posters that were rendered in provocative and delirious images similar to the visual hallucinations that appear when our senses, which perceive objects through light, are maximized by LSD and other psychotropics. The primary representational principle of psychedelic art lies in the pursuit and repetition of distorted or geometric shapes and the use of brilliant colours rather than ultraprecise microscopic depiction. If psychedelics were the spiritual basis of the 1960s, what is its basis in the modern-day world? Video images dominate this era more than at any other time. The “Age of the Image,” a BBC documentary, emphasized the power of images by dubbing the current era as such. Psychedelia, which dominated the spirit of the 1960s, pursued the illusion of images that evoked a dizzy and even nauseating sense through the combination of complex shapes and colours. I have designed clothes that derive their motifs from the moire fringe and the pronounced effect and focus on light as the origin that manifests the colours and shapes. A total of fifteen outfits were designed to remind modern-day digital natives not of the negative aspects of images, but of the beauty and innate meaning of light as the origin that creates images by expressing the longing for the fundamental and spiritual beauty that is symbolized by light. Since ancient times, light has served as a figurative essence that symbolizes the divinity of the absolute being. In Christianity, too, light is the most important essence, as it connects heaven and earth, the sacred and the secular. In the Old Testament, light is related to life, happiness, law, and wisdom, and in the New Testament, it also symbolizes transcendental sacredness. The early Greek fathers of the Orthodox Church thought that as beauty itself, God mediated between us and the ideal world through the symbol of physical or spiritual light. They believed that light occurred on earth from the discharge of light as such, that the divine beauty of heaven could be re-enacted through the splendour of colour and the physical luxury that symbolized light, and souls could be elevated through such re-enactment. In The Origin of the Work of Art, Martin Heidegger said, “Beauty is the way in which truth occurs as unconcealment.” Similarly, I hope the light of revelatory truth that the invisible God as the transcendental being presents to us will reveal something of itself through this collection. Dr Sunyoung Choi is pleased to introduce you to her online exhibition, “Let There Be Light”. The presentations composed of two videos; one of the films presents the concept of the exhibition and the other one is commentary. Learn more

ITC welcomes Dr Shuang Zhou

Dr Shuang Zhou is the newest appointed Research Assistant Professor at ITC.  Dr Zhou received her PhD at the University of Manchester in 2019 and then proceeded to join ITC this year. Her research interests lie primarily in the fields of digital and social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, and cross-cultural marketing. She is particularly interested in influencer marketing and the use of artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual realities in marketing. Dr Zhou has presented her work at several international academic conferences and worked as a teaching assistant for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in fashion marketing and retail at the University of Manchester.