Group leader
Jia Min Chin
Jia Min originally hails from the sunny island of Singapore. For her PhD studies, she trained under the supervision of 2005 Nobel Laureate Professor Richard R. Schrock at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she studied N2 activation by Mo and W complexes.
After her studies, she returned to Singapore to serve at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, IMRE where she helped to start the institute’s research on coordination polymers. In 2013, she set up and headed the Laboratory of Advanced Porous Materials at IMRE.
Her lab focused on the development of new porous materials such as coordination polymers or MOFs, understanding the self-assembly mechanisms of porous films, as well as studying new applications for soft porous materials such as dry liquids. In recognition of her research work, Jia Min was awarded the 2013 L’Oréal Singapore For Women In Science National Fellowship.
Jia Min joined the University of Hull’s Chemistry Department towards the end of October 2014.
In November 2019, she joined the University of Vienna as an Assistant Professor, and in November 2020, she was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant to carry out research on field-manipulation of MOF materials. Besides MOFs and colloidal materials manipulation, her current research interests are bio-inspired materials exhibiting special properties such as structural colour, high strength and toughness as well as self-healing capabilities.
Current group members
Amalia Rizki Fauziah
Hi there! ! I’m Amalia. I earned both my master and PhD from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST), Taiwan. During my PhD I’ve worked on metal-organic framework (MOF)-based ion-selective membranes for osmotic energy generation. I currently joined Prof. Chin's group as a postdoctoral research assistant in September 2024, where I’m exploring on oriented MOF thin films.
Xinpeng Chen
Hi, I am Xinpeng Chen. I come from China and completed my MSc studies in Textile and Cheimstry at Soochow University. I joined the research group of Prof. Chin in April 2024 as a Visiting PhD student, where I am currently working on MOF-based particles in Photocatalysis.
Amir Jalali Kandeloos
Hey, I am Amir. I completed both my master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Polymer Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Before joining the Chin group, most of my work was focused on the development of protective anticorrosive coatings. I also worked on employing the upconversion particles for the fabrication of radiation-curable composites. Another area of my previous research was photo-curable hydrogels/bioinks. I joined the Chin group in February 2024 and am working on coatings for hybrid anti-icing applications.
Tolga Zorlu
​Hello, I am Tolga. I completed my PhD degree at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in 2023. My previous research was focused on the development of advanced colloidal plasmonic nanosensors for SERS spectroscopy, and I extensively explored the utilization of metal-organic and covalent-organic frameworks, integrating them into plasmonic nanostructures to enhance sensitivity in both detection and catalysis studies. I joined the Chin group in December 2023 and am working on MOFs and COFs for different purposes.
Martin Sahul
Hi, my name is Martin and I studied at Brno University of Technology, where I completed both my bachelor's and master’s degrees in chemistry and technology of materials. My previous research was focused on singlet fission and later on 3D printing of biomaterials. I’ve joined the Chin group in August 2023 and I will be focusing on growth of MOFs and COFs under an electric field.
Anna Strijevskaya
Hi, I am Anna! I completed my BSc and MSc studies in Chemistry at the National University of Uzbekistan (Tashkent) and then got MEng in Materials Science and Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. I joined Prof. Chin’s group in August 2023 and going to study electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction on Ni,Fe based MOFs
Youven Benseghir
Hey, I’m Youven, I did my PhD between LCPB – College de France and Institut Lavoisier de Versailles under the supervision of Dr. Mellot-Draznieks, Pr. Mialane and Dr. Dolbecq. During my PhD I’ve worked on MOFs and polyoxometalates assembly for photocatalysis, mainly CO2 photoreduction.
I joined Professor Chin's group as a Postdoc in June 2023 where I’m focusing on MOF alignment to increase their conductive properties.
Daniel Hetey
Hi, I'm Daniel, I studied at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) Hungary. I have a BSc in Chemistry and an MSc in Material Science. During both of my theses I was researching the preferential wetting of silica particles on liquid-liquid interfaces. I joined the research group of Prof. Chin in April 2023 as a PhD student, where I am currently working on MOF-based Janus particles in electric fields.
Flora Schöfbeck
I am Flora, a student of the the inter-faculty master's program "Chemistry and technology of materials" at the Technical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna. I first joined the Chin-group in 2021, doing an internship on MOF applications for batteries together with the Erich-Schmidt-Institute in Leoben, Styria. Currently I am doing my master's project in the group together with the company Lithoz (specialized on 3D-printing of ceramic materials) where I am working on MOF growth onto alumina supports.
Alejandra Durán Balsa
Hello! I am Ale. I graduated from Northeastern University with a BSc in Chemistry and completed my MSc also in Chemistry at the University of Basel. During my master thesis I worked on synthesis optimization, surface chemistry and mechanistic studies of copper nitride nanocrystals. I joined the Chin group in November 2022 as a PhD student where I am working on E-field assisted MOF assembly.
Lingcong GE
I am Lingcong GE. During the undergraduate, I was major in Materials Chemistry in Changchun University of Science and Technology. Then I got my master degree from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where I was major in Chemical and Bio-molecular Engineering. Now, in 2022, I join this group, and I will focus on the NHC-stablized nanoparticles' synthesis and applications in the future.
Tanja Eder
Hi! I am Tanja. I completed my bachelor’s as well as my master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Vienna. During my studies my research interests shifted from organic chemistry towards smart materials which led me to join Prof. Chin’s research group in 2020 on a FEMtech internship. I rejoined the group in 2022 to continue my previous work for my master's thesis and successively started my PhD project in cooperation with the Vienna-based LCM company Lithoz. Currently I am working on tailoring interfacial properties and anti-adhesion strategies.
Constantin Eisen
I completed my undergrad studies at Freie Universität Berlin (BSc.) and the University of Vienna (MSc.) with a focus on NHC chemistry towards coordination and nano chemistry. Currently, I am starting my PhD as a shared project between the University of Vienna and A*Star Singapore on the bio-sensing applications of ligand stabilized gold nanomaterials
Wenyi Zeng
Hello, my name is Wenyi and come from Nanjing, China.
In 2019, I completed my B.Sc. degree in Chemistry at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Then, I moved to Munich, where I finished my master’s study in Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). During my master's, I attended a Swiss-European Mobility Program and completed my master’s thesis at ETH Zurich.
In July 2022, I will join the Chin group as a PhD student. My research work will be cooperated with A*STAR in Singapore and focus on the synthesis of MOF materials for biomedical applications.
Gypsy the Lab Mascot
Born in Australia, Gypsy moved to Singapore where she lived for 4 years. Subsequently, she moved to the United Kingdom where she enjoys the temperate climate and long walks in the open spaces of the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Besides being the lab mascot, she is also a massive diva princess and expects lots of worship, cushions (only soft ones, mind you), and chicken (although she really would prefer filet mignon).
Past group members
Min Ying Tsang, Ivy
I obtained my PhD in Chemistry from institute of Material Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB, Spain) under the supervision of Dr Jose´ Giner Planas. Then I joined Prof. Stuart L. James’ group at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB, UK) working on porous liquids in 2016 and Prof. Shuhei Furukawa’s group in iCeMS at Kyoto University (Japan) on researching MOP based colloidal gel in 2019. In 2020, I joined Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (PWR, Poland), focused on the bioapplication of upconverted lanthanide based materials. My expertise is on developing inorganic and porous materials. Currently I am in Prof. Chin's group to investigate the E-field influence on crytalisation and assembly and their potential applications.
Yufeng Xu
Hi! I am Yufeng, an undergraduate student at University of Vienna majoring in Chemistry. I joined Prof. Chin’s research group in May 2023 for a scientific internship, funded by Femtech scholarship. Before I joined the Chin group, I was working on development and design of porous materials. My research interest currently lies in functional materials such as PDMS, particularly in the field of interfacial properties.
Saqib Kamal
I obtained my PhD in Chemistry from Academica Sinica in Taiwan in 2020. During PhD my research work was focused on the synthesis of conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for optical and microelectronic applications under the supervision of Dr. Kuang-Lieh Lu.
I joined Professor Chin's group as a Postdoc in March 2022 and my project will be focused on the investigation of E-fields for the alignment, growth and assembly of MOFs.
Chen Yan
I obtained my Masters from Jiangsu University. My research interest during my master was preparation and characterization of catalyst materials based on porphyrins as well as studies on the mechanisms of the photo- and electrocatalytic reaction. My project is on field-induced alignment of MOFs.
Islam Khalil
I obtained my B.Sc. degree from Zagazig University, Egypt. Subsequently, I moved to China where I got my master degree in Materials Science and Engineering at the institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University. My research interest during my master was synthesis and design of functional nanomaterials based on metal–organic frameworks for energy conversion applications such as electrochemical nitrogen and carbon dioxide reduction. In January, 2022, I joined Chin group to focus on the Electric field assisted dynamic Metal-Organic frameworks alignment and crystal assembly.
Wenyu Zhao
Hello! My name is Wenyu (Archer) and I come from Henan Province, China. I obatined B.Sc. degree and Master degree at Northwestern Polytechnical University (Xi'an, China) in 2018 and 2021, respectively. During my master degree, my research project was about lithium/sodium ion batteries based on transition metal disulfides. Currently, I'm hired to focus on the development of novel solid electrolytes for lithium batteries.
Susanne Gross
Hello, I am Susanne, a student enrolled in the inter-faculty master's program "Chemistry and technology of materials" at the Technical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna. At the moment, I am working on my master's thesis in the Chin group in cooperation with AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology), where my focus lies on the in-situ MOF growth on cuprous oxide followed by their functionalization for photoelectrochemical water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction.
Adam Elbataioui
Hi my Name is Adam, I started my bachelors in Chemistry in Germany Münster and finished it at the University of Vienna where I continued with my Masters in Chemistry as well. Now I am working on my Thesis in the Chin group on electrospinning fibers.
Guilherme M.D.M. Rúbio
I joined Técnico Lisboa in 2008 where I completed my BSc in Chemical Engineering and my MSc in Chemistry. During that period I have synthesized and characterized, under the supervision of Prof. Armando Pombeiro and Dr. Anirban Karmakar, MOFs with catalytic and sensing properties.
I joined the group in October 2017 to start my PhD on carbene-stabilized gold nanoparticles.
Kamal Allahyarli
I finished my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry in Jena (Germany) at the Friedrich Schiller University. The desire for a bigger city with more activities brought me to Vienna, where I started my master in Chemistry and Technology of Materials at the University and the TU Vienna. I did my master thesis at Austria’s Competence Center for Applied Electrochemistry and Surface Technology (CEST) in cooperation with Kluber Lubrication and the TU Vienna under the supervision of Prof. Fafilek. In July I joined the Chin-Reithofer group as a PhD student. Since then, I have been working on MOFs in various fields.
Dooa Arif
Hi everyone!
My ongoing research in MOFS motivated me to join a larger platform for more in-depth and practical research work in this area.
I got lucky and landed a scholarship of IRISP in Vienna. Currently, I am a PhD scholar at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Islamabad, Pakistan.
I have done extensive research work on MOF based sensors and I have already published a paper in a high impact factor journal.
Coming from a place where there are very few opportunities to excel, this place is definitely going to help me reach those goals which I have set earlier in my career.
Javier Fonseca
I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Salamanca University (Spain) in 2015 and my master’s degree in Material Science from Rovira i Virgili University (Spain) in 2016. I received my Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University (USA) in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Sunho Choi. I joined Prof. Chin group at University of Vienna as a postdoctoral researcher in 2022. My research interests are rational design and ordering of MOFs.
Ruth Ebenbauer
I joined the Chin group in spring 2021 as a research assistant, while studying online at my home University TU Graz for my studies of Technical Chemistry. Moving to Vienna for this semester was an exciting step to experience a new city (unfortunately in Corona-mode). I did my Bachelor of Chemistry in Graz and was on Erasmus at the Técnico in Lisbon. I am planning to start my Master thesis project next year and I am currently trying to figure out where and what to focus on. Working in this group gives me a great opportunity to get an insight in the field of functional materials and into practical research..
Quentin Riedl
I finished my BSc degree in Chemistry at University of Vienna in 2020. During my bachelor thesis I investigated the shape engineering and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) under the supervision of Prof. Michael Reithofer.
I joined the Chin-Reithofer group in the beginnings of my master studies in 2020 and started working on the dynamic alignment of rod shaped MOFs.
Njomza Isufaj
I finished my BSc. studies in the Chemistry department at University of Vienna (2019). For my bachelor thesis I worked on the enhancement of RNA secondary structure prediction by analyzing diverse databases. In October 2019 I enrolled in the inter-faculty postgraduate program "Chemistry and technology of materials" which is a collaboration programme of the Technical Unversity of Vienna and University of Vienna. Currently I am an intern in the group of Professor Chin and Professor Reithofer working on my masters project in the field of MOFs.
Esra Ahmed
I have earned my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Vienna in 2018. During my studies, I worked as a tutor in the Inorganic Chemistry laboratory. My Bachelor's project focused on applying the prodrug principle on FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors that are used for the treatment of ROS and ALK positive Non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).
After my graduation, I got to work in the Kowol research group at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Vienna, where I modified tyrosine kinase inhibitors used for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and interstitial lung diseases (ILD).
Currently, I’m preparing my Master Thesis as part of a collaborative research project in the Chin-Reithofer Research Group with Austria’s Competence Center for Applied Electrochemistry and Surface Technology (CEST).
The research is focused on utilizing co-axial electrospinning to generate core-sheath nanofibers with encapsulated functional fluids. These materials will be utilized to fabricate icephobic composite coatings possessing water-immiscible lubricant fluids which afford surfaces with ultra-low ice adhesion.
Lloyd Glanville
I joined the Chin-Reithofer group in September 2017 on a PhD studentship. My research experience has included working over the past two summers within the university; with my most recent work focusing on the novel synthesis of solid state materials. In addition to this, I will be collaborating with my sponsors; Graphitene Ltd and Green Port Hull to deliver key research in the renewables sector.
My research will focus on the design and fabrication of functionalised graphene nanocomposites, which can be applied specifically to the wind energy industry.
Polly Sanders
I completed a Masters degree in chemistry at the University of Hull in 2016 and remained at the university to begin a PhD in materials chemistry. My research concerns the 3D printing of composite materials with increased functionality.
Fei Cheng
I obtained my PhD in Waseda University (Japan), then moved to Southampton University for a post-doctoral stint. I am currently a PDRA at the University of Hull working on the synthesis and alignment of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) microrods and 3D printing bio-inspired MOFs microrods reinforced materials.
Zahraa Al-Mashaykhi
I received my BSc in Chemistry in 2005 and MSc in Analytical Chemistry in 2011 both from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Babylon, Iraq. Since 2011 I joined the University of Babylon as an Assistant Lecturer. I started my PhD project at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Hull in October 2015 with Prof. Gillian Greenway and Dr. Jia Min Chin as supervisors. Currently I work on renewable materials for environmental remediation in Iraq at the University of Babylon.
Ellis Marshall
My PhD research project focuses on the synthesis and formulation of novel composite materials that can be utilised for the 3D printing industry. The project is chemistry based with some aspects of engineering. I am currently developing a purpose-built 3D printer and have access to many types of 3D printers to be utilised throughout the project.
Adam Young
I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Hull where I achieved a 1st Class honours degree in chemistry (MChem) and received the John Chipperfield memorial prize for outstanding achievement in inorganic chemistry. I started my PhD project in the Chin-Reithofer Research Group at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Hull in October 2016.
My research is focussed on developing amino acid/peptide systems that can be used as a surfactant in the synthesis of chiral NPs. Using a peptide system facilitates the potential for self-assembly of such NPs, and such systems could be exploited for their potential as metamaterials.
In conjunction with this work I also work on MOFs for a variety of different applications; synthesis, dynamic alignment, templating and anisotropic response.
Areas of interest: organic chemistry, organometallic, nanoparticles, MOFs.
