Yiduo Fang - PhD student (1/2025 - present)
Yiduo Fang is a PhD student under the supervision of Prof Kim Jelfs and Dr Qilei Song. She received BEng in Polymer Materials Science and Engineering at Sichuan University in China. She then studied for MSc in Advanced Materials Science at University College London and graduated with Distinction. Her PhD research project is focused on the computational modelling of polymer membranes and machine learning methods for polymer discovery.
Email: yiduo.fang25@imperial.ac.uk
Brief Introduction to Research
Ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) play a critical role in energy storage, water purification, and chemical separations due to their ability to selectively transport ions. However, existing polymer membranes often face the challenge to achieve both high ionic conductivity and selectivity, which limits their efficiency in practical devices.
Designing new IEMs with balanced properties requires a detailed understanding of complex interplay between polymer composition, ion transport, and water-polymer interactions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide atomic-level insights into these factors. Yiduo’s project focuses on computational modeling in analyzing hydration behavior, water channels, and ion-polymer interactions. In addition to MD simulations, machine learning will be integrated to facilitate the discovery of new polymers in the large candidate space. This data-driven approach, combined with simulations, will accelerate the rational design of next-generation polymer membranes in a cost-effective way.