Fei Li Presents at the Mach-5 Molecular Machinery Conference

Fei Li, a PhD student in the group, attended Mach-5 Molecular Machinery: Making, Measuring, Modelling in Liblice, Czech Republic, on September 6–9, 2026. The conference brought together researchers working on artificial molecular machines and their functional systems, with discussions spanning synthesis, measurement, and theoretical modelling. Topics included molecular motors, switches, and rotors, as well as the mechanisms and applications of molecular motion driven by light, redox processes, electric fields, and other external stimuli.

Fei presented a poster titled “Supramolecular Predisposition Promotes Intramolecular Heavy-Atom Effects for Self-Sensitized Oxidation,” sharing the group’s research and discussing the underlying scientific questions with researchers from different countries.

During the poster session, Bernard Lucas Feringa, a recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and conference chair Jiří Kaleta discussed the work with Fei. Their feedback on mechanistic interpretation and possible research directions offered useful perspectives for developing the study further.

The meeting provided an opportunity to share the group’s work on supramolecular chemistry and the control of molecular function. Through talks and poster discussions, Fei gained a broader view of advances in artificial molecular machinery, connected with international researchers, and gathered ideas for future work.

(Drafted by Fei Li; reviewed by Guanglu Wu)