About

Mingjiang Zhong is an Associate Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering at Yale University, with additional appointments in Materials Science and Chemistry. He holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. from Peking University. His research focuses on developing new synthetic methods for the preparation of functional organic materials and organic-inorganic interfaces. He is particularly interested in polymeric and polymer-derived carbon materials for energy, catalysis, and environmental applications, as well as combining sophisticated molecular design and analysis techniques to understand complex soft matter behaviors. Zhong has received numerous awards, including the 2022 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the 2021 Wiley Journal of Polymer Science Early Career Investigator, and the 2019 NSF CAREER Award, among others.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Biology
• Biophysics
• Programming language
• Organic chemistry

Selected publications

• Ultrathin crown ether-based polyamide membrane for ion-ion separations

  Nature Communications · 2026-03-20

  articleOpen access

  Membrane-based liquid separations that selectively extract valuable ionic species from water can enhance resource circularity across industries. However, commercial membranes lack the selectivity required to target specific ions. Here we design crown-ether-based polymeric membranes for ion-ion separations using principles inspired by biological ion channels. Ultrathin membranes (~6 nm) are fabricated via interfacial polymerization of crosslinked 18-crown-6 units. The membranes preferentially sorb and transport potassium, which forms the most stable complexes with the crown ether motifs. Sorption experiments show strong potassium preference in mixed-salt environments, where competitive interactions increase selectivity. Transport measurements demonstrate selective permeation of potassium over competing monovalent and divalent cations, with selectivities of ~4 over cesium and lithium. The combination of ultrathin architecture, high crosslinking degree, and high binding-site density enables this behavior. This work establishes interfacial polymerization as a strategy to incorporate macrocycles into membranes for precise ion separation.

  PublisherDOI

• Compatibilization of Polyolefin Blends through Acid–Base Interactions

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026-01-16 · 2 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Polyolefins are ubiquitous in consumer products but are notoriously difficult to recycle due to the inherent incompatibility of their common varieties. Current approaches to addressing this challenge often involve relatively complex syntheses or may compromise the properties of the parent materials. Here, a method is developed to compatibilize mixed polyolefins via acid-base interactions. With a single-step photocatalytic process, acid or base functionality can be readily installed onto polyolefins. The combination of acid- and base-modified polyolefins functions as a compatibilizers. Incorporating them into polyolefin blends results in excellent mechanical strength, with up to a 96-fold increase in ductility (from 22% to 2110%). Importantly, compatibilization can be readily achieved on postconsumer polyolefin mixtures. Furthermore, direct functionalization and compatibilization of polyolefin blends is achieved.

  PublisherDOI

• Preparation of ZnO hybrid nanoparticles by ATRP

  UNC Libraries · 2025-09-11

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Kinetics of Silica Polymerization on Functionalized Surfaces: Implications for Reverse Osmosis Membranes

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2025-08-26 · 4 citations

  articleCorresponding

  The general mechanisms of silica scaling through the polymerization of silicic acid at supersaturation have been predominantly studied in solutions. However, the pathway of silica polymerization occurring directly on surfaces, leading to silica precipitation, remains largely unexplored despite its wide-ranging implications for biomineralization processes, green material synthesis, and scaling in various engineered systems. In this study, we analyze the kinetics of silica polymerization from oversaturated solutions onto surfaces functionalized with various types of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) or reverse osmosis (RO) membranes using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation. Upon contact with oversaturated silicic acid, the rate of silica polymerization on amine-terminated surfaces is nearly 6 times higher than that on carboxyl-, hydroxyl-, or methyl-SAMs. Silica polymerization on the surface of RO membranes over extended periods spontaneously transitions from a moderate to an accelerated regime, which corresponds to a structural transformation in silica scaling from the isotropic growth of aggregated particles to a gel-like glassy layer. Additionally, the presence of calcium ions in solutions significantly promotes silica scaling on membrane surfaces along with an increase in the viscoelastic properties of the formed scale layer. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the molecular interactions between oversaturated silicic acid and functionalized surfaces, highlighting the critical roles of surface functional groups and coexisting ions in silica polymerization for scale formation on engineered surfaces.

  PublisherDOI

• Ionophore-Based Molecular Layer-by-Layer Polyamide Membranes for Facilitated Single-Ion Transport

  ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 2025-05-13 · 1 citations

  article

  Single-ion-selective membranes are indispensable for efficient ion separations in environmental, energy, and biomedical technologies. Inspired by biological ion channels, this work harnessed the selective and reversible ion binding features of ionophores to fabricate an ultrathin, ionophore-based K+-selective polyamide membrane through molecular layer-by-layer (m-LbL) polymerization with 18-crown-6-functionalized monomers. Compared with Cs+, Li+, and Mg2+, K+ exhibited the highest binding energy to 18-crown-6, facilitating its transport over the competing cations across the sub-10 nm polyamide film in a binary salt mixture. The need for competitive binding for selective K+ transport was further demonstrated through investigations of ion selectivity at varying concentration ratios between K+ and competing cations. Additionally, we extended the Nernst–Planck equation to describe individual ion flux in a binary system, identifying factors that govern ion transport. Our findings demonstrate the potential of selective single-ion transport enabled by preferential ion binding, showing promise for the development of biomimetic ion-selective polymeric membranes.

  PublisherDOI

• Hierarchically structured materials derived from synthetic polymers: design and bulk self-assembly strategies

  Progress in Polymer Science · 2025-09-22 · 3 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Corrigendum to “Preparation of ZnO hybrid nanoparticles by ATRP” [Polymer 107 (2016) 492–502]

  UNC Libraries · 2025-09-11

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Nanotoroids Self-Assembled from Bottlebrush Copolymers

  ACS Macro Letters · 2025-08-06

  articleCorresponding

  Toroids are cyclic, ring-shaped nanostructures with potential applications in topological materials, encapsulation, and separation. While nanotoroids naturally exist in biological systems (e.g., DNA toroids), their high-quality synthesis has been a long-standing challenge. Here, we report on the design of a bottlebrush copolymer that rapidly forms uniform nanotoroids (e.g., several minutes) in high yield and high fidelity through a robust solution-based self-assembly approach. The brushes are core-shell block copolypeptoids, which possess precisely tailored sequences and amphiphilicity and are structurally prearranged to adopt a flexible packing geometry and have high end-cap energy. These characteristics have promoted the formation of toroids through an intramicellar end-to-end coalescence mechanism. Our design is validated by various control experiments showing contrasting outcomes, where linear polypeptoids form nanosheets or cylinders and polymers with larger hydrophilic domains form worm-like or spherical micelles. Computer simulations replicate the assembly of toroidal structures and support the formation mechanism. Our strategy could be extended for the rational design of other complex nanostructures and soft materials.

  PublisherDOI

• Long-range electrostatic effects from intramolecular Lewis acid binding influence the redox properties of cobalt–porphyrin complexes

  Chemical Science · 2024-01-01 · 12 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The redox properties of a Co II –porphyrin complex are tuned via Lewis acid binding to a pendant aza-crown ether and changes to the solution ionic strength.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Inhibition of silica scaling with functional polymers: Role of ionic strength, divalent ions, and temperature

  Water Research · 2024-05-06 · 10 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Development of Stereospecific Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization Using Rationally Engineered Chain-End Capping Agents

  NSF · $450k · 2021–2024

• CAREER: Synthesis of Hierarchically Structured Polymeric Materials Enabled by Polymerization-Induced Branching

  NSF · $687k · 2019–2024

• Design of Mixed-Graft Block Copolymers for Emerging Applications

  NSF · $399k · 2020–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Krzysztof Matyjaszewski

  Carnegie Mellon University

  64 shared

• Hunaid Nulwala

  Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

  28 shared

• Hongkun He

  Chongqing Normal University

  20 shared

• Jeremiah A. Johnson

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  20 shared

• Xiaowei Fu

  18 shared

• An N. Le

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  18 shared

• David R. Luebke

  17 shared

• Sittichai Natesakhawat

  Defense Logistics Agency

  15 shared

Labs

• The Zhong Research GroupPI

Awards & honors

• 2022 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
• 2021 Wiley Journal of Polymer Science Early Career Investiga…
• 2020 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award
• 2019 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
• 2019 ACS PMSE Young Investigator