# Zhi‐Gang Chen
**Zhi-Gang Chen** (also publishing as Zhigang Chen) is an Australian-based energy materials researcher who works on thermoelectric materials, which convert heat directly into electricity and, run in reverse, pump heat for cooling. He is a Capacity Building Professor of Energy Materials at the School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), a founding director of the ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and an ARC Future Fellow.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) He also holds an honorary professorship at the [University of Queensland](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-queensland) (UQ).[2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen)
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Position | Capacity Building Professor of Energy Materials, School of Chemistry and Physics, QUT, since December 2021[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) • [3](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-7993) |
| Other roles | Became founding director, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality; ARC Future Fellow (Level 3, 2022); Honorary Professor, School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, UQ[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) • [2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen) |
| Training | PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2002–2008, under Hui-Ming Cheng and Gaoqing (Max) Lu[2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen) • [3](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-7993) |
| Main field | Thermoelectric materials and devices for power generation and cooling[2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen) |
| Signature result | ZT of about 1.88 at 773 K in manganese-doped AgCuTe, with about 13.3% module efficiency (2025)[4](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/ee/d5ee02875b) |
| Recent system | Hydrogen-driven thermoelectric trigeneration delivering roughly 50 W electrical output and roughly 75% combined heat-and-power efficiency (2026)[5](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ee/d6ee02588a) |
| Funding | About A$40 million as chief investigator across ARC Discovery, Hub, Linkage, and LIEF grants, and industry investments, according to his QUT academic profile[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) |
| Signature work | ["Rashba Effect Maximizes Thermoelectric Performance of GeTe Derivatives"](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2020.07.021), *Joule*, 2020; ["Fiber-based thermoelectrics for solid, portable, and wearable electronics"](https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ee03520c), *Energy & Environmental Science*, 2020 |
## Career and appointments
Chen completed his PhD at the Institute of Metal Research of the [Chinese Academy of Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-academy-of-sciences) between September 2002 and July 2008, supervised by Professor Hui-Ming Cheng and Professor Gaoqing (Max) Lu.[2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen) • [3](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-7993) He then moved to Australia, joining UQ's School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering in January 2009 as an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellow, later holding a QLD Smart Future Fellowship and a Senior Research Fellowship there until September 2016.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) • [3](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-7993) According to his QUT academic profile, a Queensland International Fellowship in 2012 supported a four-month thermoelectric research visit to Caltech, and he returned for two months in 2013.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen)
The move to professorships came in two steps. He became a Professor of Energy Materials at the University of Southern Queensland in 2016, and joined QUT as Professor of Energy Materials in December 2018, a role he held until December 2021, when he took up his current Capacity Building Professorship in the School of Chemistry and Physics.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) • [3](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-7993) UQ appointed him Honorary Associate Professor in 2016 and Honorary Professor in 2020.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) • [2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen) He was appointed an ARC Future Fellow at Level 3 in 2022.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen)
## Research on thermoelectric materials
[Thermoelectric materials](https://www.edgepedia.org/thermoelectric-materials) turn a temperature gradient into electrical voltage, and can also use electricity to move heat, so the same physics underlies waste-heat power generation and solid-state cooling. Chen's group works on thermoelectrics for power generation and cooling, next-generation optoelectronic devices, topological insulators for chips, and high-speed sensors, with expertise spanning sustainable functional materials, advanced manufacturing, and advanced microscopy.[2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen) • [1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) According to his QUT profile, he reports world-record ZT values in several thermoelectric systems and energy-conversion efficiency above 15% in a developed system.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen)
A recurring theme is the silver copper chalcogenide family (AgCuQ, where Q is sulfur, selenium, or tellurium), which a review he co-authored in *Advanced Materials* attributes to inherently ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, controllable electronic transport, strong performance across temperature ranges, and a degree of ductility.[6](https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202313146)
## Representative work
His 2025 *Energy & Environmental Science* paper on manganese-doped polycrystalline AgCuTe reported a ZT of about 1.88 at 773 K, described as one of the highest reported values for AgCuTe-based materials and comparable to other state-of-the-art medium-temperature thermoelectrics. The enhancement came from band convergence and valence band flattening, plus reduced lattice thermal conductivity from intensified lattice defects. A single-leg segmented module combining the material with commercial p-type (Bi,Sb)2Te3 achieved about 13.3% [energy conversion efficiency](https://www.edgepedia.org/energy-conversion-efficiency) under a temperature difference of about 462 K.[4](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/ee/d5ee02875b) A QUT press release described the manganese addition as making silver copper telluride the most efficient material of its kind, with a prototype device built to convert waste heat into electricity.[7](https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1098776)
His 2026 *Energy & Environmental Science* paper reported a hydrogen-powered thermoelectric trigeneration system for homes that produces electricity, heat, and freshwater. According to a study in *Energy & Environmental Science*, it delivered an electrical output of about 50 W at roughly 2.5% thermoelectric efficiency, described as the highest performance reported to date for hydrogen-powered thermoelectric generation, harvested freshwater at about 0.2 kg per hour while recovering over 40% of flue-gas water vapor, and provided roughly 1.2 kW of thermal output for a combined heat-and-power efficiency of about 75%.[5](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ee/d6ee02588a) A 2025 *Nature Communications* paper from his QUT group reported record-high performance in ductile AgCu(Te,Se,S) thermoelectrics through strategic vacancy engineering.[8](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58104-x)
## Recent developments
The 2024 to 2026 period shows a shift from materials records toward devices and systems. QUT ePrints lists a 2026 *Advanced Energy Materials* paper on rare-earth yttrium doping advancing high-performance AgSbTe2 thermoelectrics, and a 2026 record titled "Ionic Coordination and Hierarchical Architecture Enable Record n-Type Thermoelectric Efficiency in Soft Hydrogels", on [flexible thermoelectrics](https://www.edgepedia.org/flexible-thermoelectrics), with Chen as senior author.[9](https://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Chen,_Zhigang.html) The hydrogen trigeneration work extends thermoelectrics from single-material efficiency claims to a full home energy system with quantified water and heat outputs.[5](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ee/d6ee02588a) In 2023 he received the QUT Research Excellence Award.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen)
## Recognition, funding and industry
His fellowship record includes the ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship for 2009–2011, a Queensland Smart State Futures Fellowship for 2012–2015, the Queensland International Fellowship to Caltech in 2012, an Australian International Science Linkage Fellowship in 2010, and the ARC Future Fellowship in 2022.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) According to his QUT academic profile, his grants include 5+ ARC Discovery grants, about 2 ARC Research Hubs, 3+ ARC Linkage grants, 3+ ARC LIEF grants, and more than 10 industry investments, totalling about A$40 million.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) Industry interest and investments named on his profile include [HBIS Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbis-group), NQ Minerals, Cook Medical, BHP Billiton, and the [Defence Science and Technology Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/defence-science-and-technology-group), and UQ lists several commercialized patents that have attracted industry investment.[1](https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen) • [2](https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen)
## References
1. Professor Zhigang Chen, QUT Academic Profiles. https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/zhigang.chen
2. Honorary Professor Zhi-Gang Chen, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland. https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/profile/3742/zhi-gang-chen
3. Zhi-Gang Chen (0000-0002-9309-7993), ORCID. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-7993
4. Manganese doping induced record-high medium-temperature AgCuTe thermoelectrics, *Energy & Environmental Science*, 2025. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/ee/d5ee02875b
5. Hydrogen-driven thermoelectric trigeneration for sustainable homes: electricity, water, and heat, *Energy & Environmental Science*, 2026. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ee/d6ee02588a
6. Silver Copper Chalcogenide Thermoelectrics: Advance, Controversy, and Perspective, *Advanced Materials*. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202313146
7. QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power, EurekAlert. https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1098776
8. Strategic vacancy engineering advances record-high ductile AgCu(Te, Se, S) thermoelectrics, *Nature Communications*, 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58104-x
9. Browse By Person: Chen, Zhigang, QUT ePrints. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Chen,_Zhigang.html
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Researchers in chemical engineering, batteries, solar, and energy materials › Thermoelectric and energy harvesting materials*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license