Two SEE PhD Students Honoured with Best Paper in Sustainability and Best Presentation Awards at T2R2 2025

Two postgraduate students from the School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) have been honoured with prestigious awards at the 2nd International Conference on Thermal Treatment and Resource Recovery (T2R2 2025), hosted by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) from 14 to 17 December 2025.

Under the supervision of Prof. Jin Shang, Associate Professor at SEE, both students delivered outstanding presentations that reflected the School’s excellence in environmental sustainability and advanced resource recovery research. The T2R2 Conference brought together international experts to share the latest developments in thermal treatment technologies, with a particular focus on transforming waste into valuable resources such as renewable energy and biofuels, while ensuring both environmental protection and economic viability.

Best Paper in Sustainability Award – Ms. Yuying Wang

Ms. Yuying Wang received the Best Paper in Sustainability Award for her work entitled “Adsorption Removal of NO₂ by Cyclic Trinuclear Copper Cluster-Based Covalent Organic Framework.” Her research introduced a cuprous-containing covalent organic framework (COF) as a highly efficient adsorbent for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), a major atmospheric pollutant with severe impacts on the environment and human health.

Unlike conventional catalysis-based technologies that require elevated operating temperatures, Ms. Wang’s adsorption-based approach offers a viable low-temperature alternative. The developed COF demonstrated exceptionally high NO₂ adsorption capacity under both dry and humid conditions, ranking among the best-performing NO₂ adsorbents reported to date. This pioneering work represents the first systematic attempt to capture ambient NO₂ under realistic conditions, including ppb-level concentrations and the presence of interfering species such as H₂S, CO, and water vapor.

This ongoing project builds upon the group’s nearly decade-long research expertise in NO₂ capture and Ms. Wang’s prior foundational contributions, published in Advanced Materials (2025, 37(5), 2401623) and Advanced Functional Materials (2025, e17370). This work is expected to yield further important breakthroughs in the near future.

Mr. Daisong Chen received the Best Presentation Award (Student) for his presentation entitled “Size-Inverse Molecular Sieving Xenon/Krypton Separation through Molecular Trapdoor Effect within LTA Zeolites.” His research introduced a novel cation-tuned gating mechanism enabling a counterintuitive size-inverse molecular sieving for xenon/krypton separation, achieving record-breaking selectivity and redefining molecular sieving for challenging gas separations.

As the breakthrough utilises well-established industrial adsorbents, it holds significant potential for rapid implementation in energy-intensive gas separation processes, supporting emission reduction and cleaner industrial operations. This work also represents a major advancement of the molecular trapdoor mechanism, first discovered by Prof. Shang over a decade ago, providing new insights into gas diffusion in porous materials and paving the way for next-generation adsorbent design.

The project has been published in Nature Communications and is expected to generate further significant breakthroughs. The full article is available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64823-y.

The dual recognition of Ms. Wang and Mr. Chen at T2R2 2025 highlights the excellence of SEE’s postgraduate research and its global relevance in addressing pressing environmental challenges. Their achievements, made possible under the dedicated supervision of Prof. Jin Shang, not only demonstrate the School’s strength in advancing sustainable technologies but also reinforce CityUHK’s commitment to nurturing young researchers who are driving innovation toward a cleaner, more resilient future.