Mission

We study chemically fueled reaction cycles that control non-equilibrium self-assembly in reactive coacervates, revealing how energy dissipation drives hierarchical superstructures and time-programmed material behavior. We use systems chemistry for building active soft matter and synthetic protocells.

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Core Research Themes

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1. Reactive Coacervates and Hierarchical Superstructures

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A central theme of our work is the study of reactive coacervates as dynamic, compartmentalized platforms for non-equilibrium chemistry. Unlike passive phase-separated droplets, reactive coacervates actively exchange matter and energy with their surroundings through embedded chemical reactions. We investigate how these reactions modulate coacervate composition, stability, and internal organization, leading to the spontaneous formation of superstructures such as multiphase droplets, transient networks, and higher-order assemblies. By controlling reaction pathways and coupling between compartments, we explore how hierarchical organization and collective behavior emerge from relatively simple chemical building blocks.

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2. Chemically Fueled Reaction Cycles and Future Applications

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Our work places strong emphasis on chemically fueled reaction cycles that drive assembly, disassembly, and functional transitions over time. These cycles allow us to program material lifetimes, induce oscillatory or adaptive behaviors, and study feedback mechanisms between chemical reactions and material structure. Looking forward, we aim to apply these insights to the design of active and responsive materials, including adaptive soft matter, synthetic protocells, and autonomous chemical systems. Beyond materials science, our research provides a bottom-up framework for understanding how complex behavior can arise from coupled reaction networks, offering new perspectives on the chemical origins of biological organization and the design of future life-inspired technologies.