# Bin Hu
Bin Hu is a materials scientist who works on organic semiconductors and hybrid perovskite optoelectronics, holding the rank of Professor Emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the [University of Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-tennessee), Knoxville (UTK).[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) His research uses magnetic fields and spin effects to control singlet and triplet excited states in organic light-emitting, lasing, and photovoltaic devices.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Organic semiconductors, organic and perovskite solar cells and LEDs, magnetoresistance[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) |
| Signature work | "Uniform Permutation of Quasi-2D Perovskites by Vacuum Poling for Efficient, High-Fill-Factor Solar Cells," *Joule*, 2019[3](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5) |
| UTK career | Assistant professor 2002; full professor 2012 or 2013 (sources differ); now Professor Emeritus[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) • [2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf) |
| Industry experience | Senior research scientist, SICPA Securink Inc., 1998–2002[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) |
| Recent focus | Spin-orbital and spin-phonon coupling in chiral and quasi-2D perovskites (2023–2025)[4](https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/annual-meetings/archive/profile/Bin-Hu-) |
## Training and career
Hu earned an M.S. in Condensed Matter Physics from the [Chinese Academy of Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-academy-of-sciences) in 1987, and a Ph.D. in the same field from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1991, with dissertation research on conducting polymers and interchain interaction effects on energy-band structure.[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) • [2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf) His CV places the doctorate at the academy's [Changchun](https://www.edgepedia.org/changchun) branch (the Changchun Institute of Physics), while the UTK faculty page lists Beijing; the two primary records disagree on this point.[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) • [2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf)
His postdoctoral and industrial career moved through three institutions: a postdoctoral position at the [University of Massachusetts Amherst](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-massachusetts-amherst) (October 1992 to October 1998), followed by a position as senior research scientist at SICPA Securink Inc. in [Springfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/springfield) (October 1998 to August 2002), where he led R&D on polymer polarized optical imaging technologies and organic two-photon light-emitting materials.[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) • [2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf)
In 2002 he joined the University of Tennessee as an assistant professor. The UTK faculty page dates his promotion to associate professor on 7 August 2008 and to professor on 2 June 2012; his own CV dates the tenured associate professorship from June 2008 to July 2013 and the full professorship from July 2013.[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) • [2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf) A 2019 lecture biography at the Institute of Semiconductors of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also gives 2013 for the full professorship.[5](http://english.semi.cas.cn/ns_1/upe/201908/t20190816_214510.html) He is now listed as Professor Emeritus.[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu)
## Organic magnetoresistance and spin control
Hu's laboratory studies spin injection and magnetic field effects on the optoelectronic processes of singlet and triplet excited states in organic light-emitting, lasing, and photovoltaic devices.[1](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu) In magnetic OLEDs, a nanodot ferromagnetic cobalt electrode provides highly efficient spin injection into organic semiconducting polymers for studying magnetic-field-dependent electroluminescence, an approach his group reported at the IEEE LEOS meeting in 2007 as a way to magnetically control the dynamic processes of singlet and triplet excited states.[6](https://doi.org/10.1109/leos.2007.4382274)
His stated research interests have broadened to spin electronics in organic semiconductors and orbitronics in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites, using spin-orbital coupling effects.[2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf)
## Representative work: vacuum poling of quasi-2D perovskites
The 2019 *Joule* paper ["Uniform Permutation of Quasi-2D Perovskites by Vacuum Poling for Efficient, High-Fill-Factor Solar Cells" with Hu as corresponding author at UTK, reported a record-high fill factor of about 66% and a power conversion efficiency of about 14% (Voc ≈ 1.0 V, Jsc ≈ 14 mA/cm²) for quasi-2D perovskite solar cells.[3](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5) The authors stated the fill factor was the highest among published quasi-2D perovskite solar cells at the time.[3](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5)
The mechanism is a processing step. Quasi-2D perovskite films contain nanoplates of different "n" values (PEA2MAn-1PbnI3n+1), and conventional processing orders them vertically from small n to large n, which forces charge to travel anisotropically. Vacuum poling instead arranges the nanoplates uniformly, enabling isotropic charge transfer from small-n to largest-n nanoplates within 10 picoseconds.[3](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5) The stability results separated the method from conventional non-vacuum routes: the vacuum-poling devices retained over 75% of initial efficiency after 8 months of glove-box storage without encapsulation and over 75% after about 150 hours at 80 °C, while 3D-only and non-vacuum-poling control devices dropped drastically within a few hours at 80 °C.[3](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5)
The work was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0064), AOARD (FA2386-15-1-4104), and NSF (NSF-1911659), with characterization partly performed at [Oak Ridge National Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/oak-ridge-national-laboratory)'s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences; the collaboration included Oak Ridge National Laboratory, CNRS, and Beijing Jiaotong University.[3](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5) A US Department of Energy OSTI record confirms the paper's bibliographic details (*Joule*, volume 3, number 12, December 2019).[7](https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1737674)
## LEDs, TADF, and excited-state photophysics
A 2020 SPIE paper from the group describes two spin-related mechanisms in light emitters: charge-transfer states generate spin-orbital coupling to flip spins and convert triplets into singlets in exciplex organic LED systems, while orbit-orbit interaction between light-emitting states converts dark states into bright states in hybrid perovskites.[8](https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2570004) In thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), magneto-photoluminescence studies on the emitter DMAC-TRZ gave, by the group's account, the first evidence that TADF is a spin-dependent process occurring in charge-transfer states.[9](https://nanolithography.spiedigitallibrary.org/profile/Bin.Hu-7963)
On the photovoltaic side, the group's 2020 *Joule* paper "Self-Stimulated Dissociation in Non-Fullerene Organic Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells" reported that charge dissociation becomes a self-stimulated process at donor:acceptor interfaces in PM6:Y6 cells with a power conversion efficiency of over 12%.[2](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf) • [9](https://nanolithography.spiedigitallibrary.org/profile/Bin.Hu-7963) Among his reviews is [A Review on Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskite Photodetectors: Device Engineering and Fundamental Physics](https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201605242).
## Recent activity
The [Materials Research Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/materials-research-society) meeting archive records continuing conference activity. At the 2023 MRS Fall Meeting he presented on spin and orbital ordering in hybrid metal halide perovskites and high-throughput robotic synthesis of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals.[4](https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/annual-meetings/archive/profile/Bin-Hu-) At the 2024 MRS Fall Meeting (December 3–6, 2024) he gave several talks on cesium lead bromide nanocrystal stability, broadband emission of 2D Pb-Sn halide perovskites, and circularly-polarized excitons, and spin-orbital coupling in chiral hybrid perovskites.[4](https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/annual-meetings/archive/profile/Bin-Hu-) At the 2025 MRS Spring Meeting (April 8, 2025) he presented on using circularly-polarized spectroscopy and magnetic field effects to study J excitons in hybrid metal halide perovskites, and on aggregation-shape effects of amplified spontaneous emission in perovskite nanoparticles.[4](https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/annual-meetings/archive/profile/Bin-Hu-) A September 2024 SPIE proceedings presentation reports circularly polarized luminescence and persistent luminescence arising from spin-orbital coupling and spin-phonon coupling effects, with extremely slow spin-phonon coupling extending excited-state dynamics to a time window of seconds.[9](https://nanolithography.spiedigitallibrary.org/profile/Bin.Hu-7963)
## Awards and service
He served on the editorial board of the *Journal of Photonics for Energy* from 1 August 2018 to 1 January 2025, was a member of the American Chemical Society, the [American Physical Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-physical-society), and the Materials Research Society from 2002 to 2020, and served on the UT graduate affairs committee from 2003 to 2020.[10](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu/professional)
## References
1. [Bin Hu Profile | University of Tennessee Knoxville](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu)
2. [Bin Hu CV, 12th International Conference on Advanced Materials and Devices (2021)](http://www.icamd.or.kr/2021/in_speakers/files/CV-OE-BinHu.pdf)
3. https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(19)30480-5
4. [Bin Hu, MRS Meeting Presentation History](https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/annual-meetings/archive/profile/Bin-Hu-)
5. [The 334th lecture: Addressing Fundamental Issues in Organic Electronics, Institute of Semiconductors, CAS](http://english.semi.cas.cn/ns_1/upe/201908/t20190816_214510.html)
6. [Spin Injection and Magnetoresistance in Organic Semiconductor Devices (IEEE LEOS 2007)](https://doi.org/10.1109/leos.2007.4382274)
7. [Uniform Permutation of Quasi-2D Perovskites... (Journal Article) | OSTI.GOV](https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1737674)
8. [Deeper understanding on controlling dark and bright states in organic and perovskite LEDs (SPIE, 2020)](https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2570004)
9. [Prof. Bin A. Hu Profile, SPIE Digital Library](https://nanolithography.spiedigitallibrary.org/profile/Bin.Hu-7963)
10. [Bin Hu Professional Activities | University of Tennessee Knoxville](https://faculty.utk.edu/Bin.Hu/professional)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Researchers in materials science and nanotechnology › Electronic and photonic materials (semiconductors, optoelectronics)*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license