Zhen-Chao Dong-Hefei Laboratory

Zhen-Chao Dong

zcdong@ustc.edu.cn

Education

1987.5-1990.12Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

1983.9-1987.4Master's Degree in Physical Chemistry, Xiamen University

1979.9-1983.6Bachelor's Degree in Physical Chemistry, Sichuan University

Experience

2021.12-Present Senior Researcher, Hefei National Laboratory

2004.4 -PresentProfessor, University of Science and Technology of China

1996.1 -2004.3Senior Researcher, National Institute for Materials Science (Japan)

1992.3 -1995.12Postdoc Research Associate, Iowa State University/Ames Lab

1990.12-1992.2Assistant Research Fellow, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, CAS

Overview of Academic Research

Prof. Zhen-Chao Dong’s research interest is in the field of single-molecule optoelectronics, particularly on scanning tunneling microscope (STM) based single-molecule electroluminescence/photluminescence and single-molecule Raman scattering as well as nanoscale energy transfer at the individual molecule level. The aim of his research is to provide fundamental understanding on the optoelectronic behavior of single molecules in a nanoscopic environment and related underlying physics that governs the exciton generation, light emission and scattering, and energy transfer at the nanoscale. Focusing on these frontiers of single-molecule physics and chemistry, he has been making persistent efforts to develop advanced optoelectronic measurement systems, particularly by combining atomically resolved STM with ultrasensitive optical detection techniques. Along with such instrumental development, he has carried out in-depth research on both single-molecule optical spectromicroscopy and optoelectronics under confined fields. His major achievements include:

* Single-molecule Raman scattering:

For the first time in the world, achieved unprecedented subnanometer-resolved single-molecule Raman imaging and even pushed the spatial resolution down to the single chemical bond level, which overturned the understanding at that time about the resolution limit of optical imaging and the confinement capability of light fields.

* Single-molecule electroluminescence:

Demonstrated the visualization of intermolecular coherent dipole coupling in real space as well as the transition of energy transfer from incoherent hopping-like FRET mechanism to coherent excitonic couping in donor-acceptor systems, opening up a new way to study intermolecular interaction and energy transfer.

* Single-molecule photoluminescence:

Achieved subnanometer resolution in single-molecule photoluminescence imaging, realizing the long-sought goal of mapping light-matter interaction at the submolecular level in the field of near-field nano-optic imaging.

Research Directions/Fields:

1. Single-molecule luminescence and related optoelectronics

2. Single-molecule Raman scattering and high-resolution chemical imaging

3. Single-molecule scale energy transfer and related dynamics

Major Honors and Awards

2020 Annual China’s Top 10 Optical BreakthroughsBasic Research

2018 China Vacuum Science and Technology Achievement Prize by Chinese Vacuum Society

2014 Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (Major Contributor)

2013 Annual Top 10 News Stories of Scientific and Technological Progress in China

2013 Annual Top 10 Scientific Advances in China

2013 Grand Prize of the CAIA Science and Technology Award

2010 National Outstanding Science and Technology Worker by CAST

Representative Publications

[1] Zhu, R.#, Dong, X. R.#, Yang, B., Han, R. L., Mao, W., J., Chen, G.*, Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Revealing single-molecule photocurrent generation mechanisms under on- and off-resonance excitation. Nano Letters, 25(1), 578-585 (2025).

[2] Han, Y.#, Dong, L.#, Zhu, L. Y.#, Hu, C. R., Li, H., Zhang, Y., Zhang, C.*, Zhang, Y.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Real-space spectral determination of short single-stranded DNA sequence structures. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146(49), 33865-33873 (2024).

[3] Meng, Q. S.#, Zhang, J. X.#, Zhang, Y.*, Chu, W. Z., Mao, W. J., Zhang, Y., Yang, J. L., Luo, Y., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Local heating and Raman thermometry in a single molecule. Science Advances, 10(3), eadl1015 (2024).

[4] Luo, Y. #, Kong, F. F. #, Tian, X. J., Yu, Y. J., Jing, S. H., Zhang, C., Chen, G.*, Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Li, X. G., Zhang, Z. Y., Dong, Z. C.*, Anomalously bright single-molecule upconversion electroluminescence. Nature Communications, 15, 1677 (2024).

[5] Yang, B.#, Chen, G.#, Ghafoor, A., Zhang, Y. F., Zhang, X. B., Li, H., Dong, X. R., Wang, R. P., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Dong, Z. C.*, Chemical enhancement and quenching in single-molecule tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 62(13), e202218799 (2023).

[6] Itoh, T.*, Prochazka, M.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Ji, W., Yamamoto, Y. S., Zhang, Y., Ozaki, Y.*, Toward a new era of SERS and TERS at the nanometer scale: from fundamentals to innovative applications. Chemical Reviews, 123(4), 1552-1634 (2023).

[7] Kong, F. F.#, Tian, X. J. #, Zhang, Y.*, Zhang, Y., Chen, G., Yu, Y. J., Jing, S. H., Gao, H. Y., Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Wavelike electronic energy transfer in donor-acceptor molecular systems through quantum coherence. Nature Nanotechnology, 17(7), 729-736 (2022).

[8] Kong, F. F.#, Tian, X. J.#, Zhang, Y.*, Yu, Y. J., Jing, S. H., Zhang, Y., Tian, G. J.*, Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G., Probing intramolecular vibronic coupling through vibronic-state imaging. Nature Communications, 12, 1280 (2021).

[9] Xu, J. Y.#, Zhu, X.#, Tan, S. J.*, Zhang, Y., Li, B., Tian, Y. Z., Shan, H., Cui, X. F., Zhao, A. D., Dong, Z. C., Yang, J. L., Luo, Y., Wang, B.*, Hou, J. G.*, Determining structural and chemical heterogeneities of surface species at the single-bond limit. Science, 371(6531), 818-822 (2021).

[10] Wang, R. P.#, Yang, B.#, Fu, Q.#, Zhang, Y.*, Zhu, R., Dong, X. R., Zhang, Y., Wang, B., Yang, J. L., Luo, Y., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Raman detection of bond breaking and making of a chemisorbed up-standing single molecule at single-bond level. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 12(7), 1961-1968 (2021).

[11] Yang, B.#, Chen, G.#, Ghafoor, A., Zhang, Y. F., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y.*, Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Sandoghdar, V., Aizpurua, J., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Sub-nanometre resolution in single-molecule photoluminescence imaging. Nature Photonics, 14(11), 693-699 (2020).

[12] Zhang, Y.#, Yang, B.#, Ghafoor, A., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y. F., Wang, R. P., Yang, J. L., Luo, Y.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Visually constructing the chemical structure of a single molecule by scanning Raman picoscopy. National Science Review, 6(6), 1169-1175 (2019).

[13] Luo, Y.#, Chen, G.#, Zhang, Y.*, Zhang, L., Yu, Y. J., Kong, F. F, Tian, X. J, Zhang, Y., Shan, C. X., Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Sandoghdar, V., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Electrically driven single-photon superradiance from molecular chains in a plasmonic nanocavity. Physical Review Letters, 122(23), 233901 (2019).

[14] Chen, G.#, Luo, Y.#, Gao, H. Y., Jiang, J., Yu, Y. J., Zhang, L., Zhang, Y., Li, X. G.*, Zhang, Z. Y.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Spin-triplet-mediated up-conversion and crossover behavior in single-molecule electroluminescence. Physical Review Letters, 122(17), 177401 (2019).

[15] Zhang, L.#, Yu, Y. J.#, Chen, L. G., Luo, Y., Yang, B., Kong, F. F., Chen, G., Zhang, Y.*, Zhang, Q., Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Electrically driven single-photon emission from an isolated single molecule. Nature Communications, 8, 580 (2017).

[16] Zhang, Y.#, Meng, Q. S.#, Zhang, L., Luo, Y., Yu, Y. J, Yang, B., Zhang, Y., Esteban, R., Aizpurua, J.*, Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Sub-nanometre control of the coherent interaction between a single molecule and a plasmonic nanocavity. Nature Communications, 8, 15225 (2017).

[17] Zhang, R.#, Zhang, X. B.#, Wang, H. F., Zhang, Y., Jiang, S., Hu, C. R., Zhang, Y., Luo, Y.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Distinguishing individual DNA bases in a network by non-resonant tip-enhanced Raman scattering. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 56(20), 5561-5564 (2017).

[18] Richard-Lacroix, M.#, Zhang, Y.#, Dong, Z. C.*, Deckert, V.*, Mastering high resolution tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: towards a shift of perception. Chemical Society Reviews, 46(13), 3922-3944 (2017).

[19] Zhang, Y.#, Luo, Y.#, Zhang, Y.#, Yu, Y. J., Kuang, Y. M., Zhang, L., Meng, Q. S., Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Visualizing coherent intermolecular dipole-dipole coupling in real space. Nature, 531, 623-627 (2016).

[20] Liao, M. H., Jiang, S., Hu, C. R., Zhang, R., Kuang, Y. M., Zhu, J. Z., Zhang, Y., Dong, Z. C.*, Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopic imaging of individual carbon nanotubes with subnanometer resolution. Nano Letters, 16(7), 4040-4046 (2016).

[21] Jiang, S., Zhang, Y., Zhang, R., Hu, C. R., Liao, M. H., Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G.*, Distinguishing adjacent molecules on a surface using plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering. Nature Nanotechnology, 10(10), 865-869 (2015).

[22] Duan, S., Tian, G. J., Ji, Y. F., Shao, J. S., Dong, Z. C., Luo, Y.*, Theoretical modeling of plasmon-enhanced Raman images of a single molecule with subnanometer resolution. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 137(30), 9515-9518 (2015).

[23] Zhang, R.# Zhang, Y.#, Dong, Z. C.*, Jiang, S., Zhang, C., Chen, L. G., Zhang, L., Liao, Y., Aizpurua, J., Luo, Y., Yang, J. L., Hou, J. G.*, Chemical mapping of a single molecule by plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering. Nature, 498(7452), 82-86 (2013).

[24] Zhu, S. E.#, Kuang, Y. M.#, Geng, F., Zhu, J. Z., Wang, C. Z., Yu, Y. J., Luo, Y., Xiao, Y., Liu, K. Q., Meng, Q. S., Zhang, L., Jiang, S., Zhang, Y., Wang, G. W.*, Dong, Z. C.*, Hou, J. G., Self-decoupled porphyrin with a tripodal anchor for molecular-scale electroluminescence. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(42), 15794-15800 (2013).

[25] Dong, Z. C.*, Zhang, X. L.#, Gao, H. Y.#, Luo, Y., Zhang, C., Chen, L. G., Zhang, R., Tao, X., Zhang, Y., Yang, J. L., Hou, J. G.*, Generation of molecular hot electroluminescence by resonant nanocavity plasmons. Nature Photonics, 4(1), 50-54 (2010).

[26] Dong, Z. C.*, Guo, X. L., Trifonov, A. S., Dorozhkin, P. S., Miki, K., Kimura, K., Yokoyama, S., Mashiko, S., Vibrationally resolved fluorescence from organic molecules near metal surfaces in a scanning tunneling microscope. Physical Review Letters, 92(8), 86801 (2004).