Dongguan Key Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Science for Advanced Materials and Large-Scale Scientific Facilities was set up in 2023 upon the approval of Dongguan Science and Technology Bureau. Relying on the advantages of GBU, the Laboratory is designed to conduct scientific research, talent cultivation and industry-university-research cooperation.

The Laboratory focuses on the cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on advanced materials and large-scale scientific facilities like China Spallation Neutron Source, synchrotron radiation source, and advanced attosecond laser facilities. To address the forefront challenges and industrial pain points in the field of advanced materials, we strive to combine advanced technologies such as neutron scattering, synchrotron radiation X-ray optics, and ultrafast attosecond optics with pioneering research in advanced materials science. The ultimate goal is to push the frontiers of advanced materials science and drive industrial upgrading by fully leveraging the strategic location advantages of Dongguan’s large-scale scientific facilities. The Laboratory’s research is structured around the following four main directions:

1) Advanced structural materials and metamaterials: With a focus on high-entropy alloys, nanostructured metal materials, and materials designed for extreme conditions, we delve into their microstructural evolution and deformation mechanisms under extreme environmental conditions.

2) Advanced energy and catalytic materials: Key researches cover new energy storage materials, photocatalytic materials, biomimetic catalytic materials, and gas adsorption and separation materials. Utilizing neutron diffraction and synchrotron radiation, we explore multi-scale structural control and precise active site analysis. Ultrafast attosecond laser technology is employed to study the ultrafast electron dynamics in photocatalytic materials, elucidating the mechanisms of catalysis and energy storage.

3) Advanced semiconductor and electronic materials: This direction focuses on the research on thermoelectric materials, organic semiconductors & electronic materials, and organic photovoltaic materials & devices. Techniques such as grazing-incidence small-angle neutron scattering and time-of-flight quasi-elastic neutron scattering are used to characterize the surface morphology, coupling mechanisms of micro freedoms, and dynamic behavior of materials and devices, with the aim of developing high-performance devices.

4) Advanced functional and smart materials: Functional organic polymer materials, polymer gel biomimetic materials, and biomedically responsive hydrogels are covered here. Our research integrates large-scale scientific facilities to study the intrinsic mechanisms of intelligent stimulus responses to develop high-performance polymers for biomedical and biomimetic applications.

At present, the Laboratory is focusing on the initial phase of construction, spearheading the integration of neutron scattering techniques with advanced materials research.