Biqiong Chen is a Professor of Polymer Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). She obtained her PhD from Queen Mary, University of London. Prior to joining QUB, she worked at Trinity College Dublin and then the University of Sheffield. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). 

Biqiong’s current research interests are mainly focussed on (1) smart sustainable polymers and (2) multifunctional polymer nanocomposites. For the former, her research aims to create novel biobased polymers with targeted properties and/or with self-healing or stimuli-responsive behaviour for healthcare, energy, packaging, coating, textiles and other applications. For the latter, her research aims are to develop advanced polymer nanocomposites with controllable morphologies and attractive functionality for applications such as transport, energy storage, sensing, actuation, wearable medical devices, tissue engineering and drug delivery, whilst also gaining a sound scientific understanding of their formation mechanisms and process-structure-property relationships.   

To achieve these aims, her research takes a holistic approach, encompassing the design, synthesis, functionalisation, processing, characterisation and application of polymers, nanoparticles (e.g., clay, cellulose, graphene, gold) and polymer nanocomposites (e.g., bulk materials, foams/scaffolds, hydrogels, fibres, particles). Her current research activities include:

• Sustainable Manufacturing of Self-healing Circular Economy Polymer Products
• Recyclable Polymers and Polymer Fibres from Renewable Source
• Biomimetic Polymers and Nanocomposites for Soft Tissue Engineering
• Biobased Elastomers and Nanocomposites for Stretchable Electronics
• Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites for Energy Storage
• Stimuli-responsive Polymers and Nanocomposites for Transportation Vehicles
• Novel Polymer Nanocomposites for Packaging
• Functional Nanoparticles for Catalysis and Biomedical Applications