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Dr Chi David Cheng

Dr Chi David Cheng

Senior Lecturer

Postdoc, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University
BEng, Polymer Materials and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology

Engineering
School of Chemical Engineering

Dr Chi (David) Cheng is a Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow in Chemical Engineering at UNSW Sydney, and Deputy Director of the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology. He joined UNSW in 2023, following appointments as a Postdoctoral Scholar and Research Scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Monash University.

His research focuses on nanofluidics, membrane science, and nanopore technologies for advanced chemical separations, green energy, and sustainable resources.

Dr Cheng has been recognised with the MSA Membrane Science Award, ARC Future Fellowship, and Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship.

Group website: https://chidavcheng.github.io/chi-lab/
Phone
+61 2 9348 1053
E-mail
chi.cheng2@unsw.edu.au
Location
Hilmer Building, RM 522 UNSW Sydney Kensington NSW 2052
  • Journal articles | 2026
    Zhou L; Li C; Shen N; Chen K; Jiang H; Feng M; Zhao M; Cheng C; Huang X, 2026, 'Whole-ear finite element analysis of superior semicircular canal dehiscence and its impact on inner-ear responses', Hearing Research, 470, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2025.109506
    Journal articles | 2025
    Cheng C; Kim L; Persad AH; Chow CM; Karnik R, 2025, 'Edge-activated graphene nanopores for thermally robust hydrogen membrane separations', Nature Communications, 16, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61110-8
    Journal articles | 2025
    Ishaq M; Jabeen M; Ma Z; Ilyas F; Li L; Haider R; Zia A; Yuan GX; Liao XZ; Cheng C; He YS; Ma ZF, 2025, 'A review on phosphorus and metal phosphides as anodes for sodium-ion batteries', Rare Metals, 44, pp. 5115 - 5164, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12598-024-03190-x
    Journal articles | 2025
    Kim L; Persad A; Cheng C; Field R; Karnik R, 2025, 'Reversibly Switching Hydrogen-Responsive Palladium–Graphene Composite Membranes', Advanced Functional Materials, 35, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202421831
    Journal articles | 2025
    Nara M; Fujii K; Matsui D; Ogura A; Murakami T; Ogawa T; Ito S; Cheng CD; Scholes CA; Wada S, 2025, 'Evaluating Cation-Exchange Membrane Properties Affecting Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis', ACS Omega, 10, pp. 10425 - 10431, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c10548
    Journal articles | 2025
    Shen H; Shi F; Cheng C; Ren X; Guo M; Xu R; Jin D; Zhong J, 2025, 'Designing nanohydrogels/organosilica composite membranes to stabilize CO2 separation performance in dry and wet conditions', Journal of Membrane Science, 717, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2024.123642
    Journal articles | 2025
    Zhang M; Hakobyan K; Cheng C; Xu J, 2025, 'Surface Engineering of Polymer Hydrogels Toward Functional Soft Material Innovations', Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 226, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/macp.202400511
    Journal articles | 2024
    Liu B; Zhu Y; Sha S; Ge R; Cheng C; Yin J; Huang Z; Dai L; Li S; Li W, 2024, 'Strong Interaction between Molybdenum Compounds and Mesoporous CMK-5 Supports Boosts Hydrogen Evolution Reaction', Advanced Functional Materials, 34, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202408613
    Journal articles | 2024
    Zhao H; Cheng C; Guo Q; Ma R; Yang Y, 2024, 'Analysis of Phase Mismatch for Mercurous Bromide-Based Non-Collinear AOTF Design in Spectral Imaging Applications', MATERIALS, 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma17071703
    Journal articles | 2024
    Zhao H; Cheng C; Guo Q; Yu K; Yang Y, 2024, 'Angular-Spectral Characteristics of Acousto-Optic Tunable Filters Based on Mercurous Halide Crystals', MATERIALS, 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma17050967
    Journal articles | 2024
    Zhu M; Yu L; Sha S; Ge R; Cheng C; Dai L; Li S; Liu B; Qu Z; Li W, 2024, 'Highly efficient nanosized MoS2/MoP heterocatalyst for enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction over a wide pH range', Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 41, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2024.e01090
    Journal articles | 2023
    Chen P; Cheng C; Yang X; Sha T-T; Zou X; Zhang F; Jiang W; Xu Y; Cao X; You Y-M; Luo Z, 2023, 'Wireless Deep Brain Stimulation by Ultrasound-Responsive Molecular Piezoelectric Nanogenerators', ACS NANO, 17, pp. 25625 - 25637, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.3c10227
    Journal articles | 2023
    Cheng C; Li H; Zhang C; Guo C; Li J; Zhang H; Lin S; Wang Q, 2023, 'Effect of substrate bias on structure and properties of (AlTiCrZrNb)N high-entropy alloy nitride coatings through arc ion plating', SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY, 467, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2023.129692
    Journal articles | 2023
    Ding S; Xia B; Li M; Lou F; Cheng C; Gao T; Zhang Y; Yang K; Jiang L; Nie Z; Guan H; Duan J; Chen S, 2023, 'An abnormal size effect enables ampere-level O2 electroreduction to hydrogen peroxide in neutral electrolytes', Energy and Environmental Science, 16, pp. 3363 - 3372, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d3ee00509g
    Journal articles | 2023
    Liu SYV; Chen Y-Y; Cheng C, 2023, 'Genetic structure and relatedness of juvenile sicklefin lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens) at Dongsha Island', SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28186-y
    Journal articles | 2023
    Mao G; Sun Q; Jiang J; Sun J; Wu T; Cheng C; Teng M; Zhao Y; Zhou X; Zhang H; Bian W, 2023, 'Dopamine and epigallocatechin-3-gallate cross-linked coating demonstrates improved osteointegration of polyetheretherketone in rabbits', MATERIALS & DESIGN, 226, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2023.111607
    Journal articles | 2023
    Nie Z; Yu L; Jiang L; Li M; Ding S; Xia B; Cheng C; Duan J; Chen S, 2023, 'Back Cover Image: Carbon Neutralization, Volume 2, Issue 4, July 2023', Carbon Neutralization, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cnl2.84
    Journal articles | 2023
    Nie Z; Yu L; Jiang L; Li M; Ding S; Xia B; Cheng C; Duan J; Chen S, 2023, 'Metal-organic framework (MOF) thickness control for carbon dioxide electroreduction to formate', Carbon Neutralization, 2, pp. 458 - 466, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cnl2.66
    Journal articles | 2023
    Wang J; Cheng C; Zheng X; Idrobo JC; Lu AY; Park JH; Shin BG; Jung SJ; Zhang T; Wang H; Gao G; Shin B; Jin X; Ju L; Han Y; Li LJ; Karnik R; Kong J, 2023, 'Cascaded compression of size distribution of nanopores in monolayer graphene', Nature, 623, pp. 956 - 963, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06689-y
    Journal articles | 2023
    Xu P; Zhang M; Chen Z; Wang B; Cheng C; Liu R, 2023, 'A Deep Learning Framework for Day Ahead Wind Power Short-Term Prediction', APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app13064042
    Journal articles | 2023
    Yu K; Guo Q; Zhao H; Cheng C, 2023, 'The Calibration Methods of Geometric Parameters of Crystal for Mid-Infrared Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter-Based Imaging Systems Design', MATERIALS, 16, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma16062341
    Journal articles | 2023
    Yu L; Nie Z; Xie S; Jiang L; Xia B; Li M; Cheng C; Duan J; Antonietti M; Chen S, 2023, 'Bioinspired inhibition of aggregation in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)', Iscience, 26, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106239
    Journal articles | 2022
    Lyu C; Cheng C; He Y; Qiu L; He Z; Zou D; Li D; Lu J, 2022, 'Graphene Hydrogel as a Porous Scaffold for Cartilage Regeneration', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 14, pp. 54431 - 54438, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c11307
    Journal articles | 2021
    Cheng C; Iyengar SA; Karnik R, 2021, 'Molecular size-dependent subcontinuum solvent permeation and ultrafast nanofiltration across nanoporous graphene membranes', Nature Nanotechnology, 16, pp. 989 - 995, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41565-021-00933-0
    Journal articles | 2021
    Shen L; Shi Q; Zhang S; Gao J; Cheng DC; Yi M; Song R; Wang L; Jiang J; Karnik R; Zhang S, 2021, 'Highly porous nanofiber-supported monolayer graphene membranes for ultrafast organic solvent nanofiltration', Science Advances, 7, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abg6263
    Journal articles | 2021
    Wang P; Yan Y; Cheng C; Zhang W; Zhou D; Li L; Yang X; Liao XZ; Ma ZF; He YS, 2021, 'Structural and chemical interplay between nano-active and encapsulation materials in a core-shell SnO2@MXene lithium ion anode system', Crystengcomm, 23, pp. 368 - 377, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0ce01468k
    Journal articles | 2020
    Pan D; Bing G; Cheng C; Fan Y; Ping L, 2020, 'Research on the Thermal-Electric Coupling Behavior Under Compound AC-DC Voltage Within Saddle-Like Electric-Stress Dependence', IEEE ACCESS, 8, pp. 107442 - 107451, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2939277
    Journal articles | 2020
    Zhan H; Xiong Z; Cheng C; Liang Q; Liu JZ; Li D, 2020, 'Solvation-Involved Nanoionics: New Opportunities from 2D Nanomaterial Laminar Membranes', Advanced Materials, 32, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201904562
    Journal articles | 2019
    Mao J; Liu C; Cheng C; Zhang W; Liao XZ; Wang J; Li L; Yang X; He YS; Ma ZF, 2019, 'A Porous and Interconnected Polypyrrole Film with High Conductivity and Ion Accessibility as Electrode for Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitors', Chemelectrochem, 6, pp. 5479 - 5485, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/celc.201901514
    Journal articles | 2018
    Cheng C; Jiang G; Simon GP; Liu JZ; Li D, 2018, 'Low-voltage electrostatic modulation of ion diffusion through layered graphene-based nanoporous membranes', Nature Nanotechnology, 13, pp. 685 - 690, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0181-4
    Journal articles | 2018
    Jiang G; Wang P; Cheng C; Li D; Liu JZ, 2018, 'An equivalent 1D nanochannel model to describe ion transport in multilayered graphene membranes', Progress in Natural Science Materials International, 28, pp. 246 - 250, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2018.02.009
    Journal articles | 2018
    Wu S; Cheng C; Jin J; Wang J; Peng T, 2018, 'Low-Temperature Processed Nanostructured Rutile TiO2 Array Films for Perovskite Solar Cells With High Efficiency and Stability', SOLAR RRL, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/solr.201700164
    Journal articles | 2018
    Zhang M; Cheng C; Simon GP; Li D, 2018, 'Ion-Transport Experiments to Probe the Nanostructure of Graphene/Polymer Membranes', Small Methods, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/SMTD.201800187
    Journal articles | 2016
    Cheng C; Jiang G; Garvey CJ; Wang Y; Simon GP; Liu JZ; Li D, 2016, 'Nanotechnology: Ion transport in complex layered Graphene-Based membranes with tuneable interlayer spacing', Science Advances, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501272
    Journal articles | 2016
    Jiang G; Cheng C; Li D; Liu JZ, 2016, 'Molecular dynamics simulations of the electric double layer capacitance of graphene electrodes in mono-valent aqueous electrolytes', Nano Research, 9, pp. 174 - 186, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0978-5
    Journal articles | 2016
    Lu J; Cheng C; He YS; Lyu C; Wang Y; Yu J; Qiu L; Zou D; Li D, 2016, 'Multilayered Graphene Hydrogel Membranes for Guided Bone Regeneration', Advanced Materials, 28, pp. 4025 - 4031, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201505375
    Journal articles | 2014
    Qiu L; Liu D; Wang Y; Cheng C; Zhou K; Ding J; Truong VT; Li D, 2014, 'Mechanically robust, electrically conductive and stimuli-responsive binary network hydrogels enabled by superelastic graphene aerogels', Advanced Materials, 26, pp. 3333 - 3337, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201305359
    Journal articles | 2014
    Wang Y; Hou X; Cheng C; Qiu L; Zhang X; Simon GP; Li D, 2014, 'Optical characterisation of non-covalent interactions between non-conjugated polymers and chemically converted graphene', Australian Journal of Chemistry, 67, pp. 168 - 172, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/CH13243
    Journal articles | 2013
    Cheng C; Li D, 2013, 'Solvated graphenes: An emerging class of functional soft materials', Advanced Materials, 25, pp. 13 - 30, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201203567
    Journal articles | 2013
    Cheng C; Zhu J; Yang X; Qiu L; Wang Y; Li D, 2013, 'Dynamic electrosorption analysis: A viable liquid-phase characterization method for porous carbon?', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 1, pp. 9332 - 9340, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c3ta10801e
    Journal articles | 2013
    Guo W; Cheng C; Wu Y; Jiang Y; Gao J; Li D; Jiang L, 2013, 'Bio-inspired two-dimensional nanofluidic generators based on a layered graphene hydrogel membrane', Advanced Materials, 25, pp. 6064 - 6068, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201302441
    Journal articles | 2013
    Lu J; He YS; Cheng C; Wang Y; Qiu L; Li D; Zou D, 2013, 'Self-supporting graphene hydrogel film as an experimental platform to evaluate the potential of graphene for bone regeneration', Advanced Functional Materials, 23, pp. 3494 - 3502, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201203637
    Journal articles | 2013
    Shen W; Chen X; Cormier O; Cheng DC-P; Reed B; Harden N, 2013, 'Modulation of Morphogenesis by Egfr during Dorsal Closure in Drosophila', PLOS ONE, 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0060180
    Journal articles | 2013
    Yang X; Cheng C; Wang Y; Qiu L; Li D, 2013, 'Liquid-mediated dense integration of graphene materials for compact capacitive energy storage', Science, 341, pp. 534 - 537, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1239089
    Journal articles | 2013
    Zhu J; Cheng C; Yang X; Wang Y; Qiu L; Li D, 2013, 'Dynamic electrosorption analysis as an effective means to characterise the structure of bulk graphene assemblies', Chemistry A European Journal, 19, pp. 3082 - 3089, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201203219
    Journal articles | 2012
    Cheng C; Uhe J; Yang X; Wu Y; Li D, 2012, 'Multilayered graphene membrane as an experimental platform to probe nano-confined electrosorption', Progress in Natural Science Materials International, 22, pp. 668 - 672, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2012.11.002
    Journal articles | 2011
    Yang X; Qiu L; Cheng C; Wu Y; Ma ZF; Li D, 2011, 'Ordered gelation of chemically converted graphene for next-generation electroconductive hydrogel films', Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 50, pp. 7325 - 7328, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201100723
    Journal articles | 2010
    Yu Q; Zhang Y; Chen H; Wu Z; Huang H; Cheng C, 2010, 'Protein adsorption on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-modified silicon surfaces: Effects of grafted layer thickness and protein size', Colloids and Surfaces B Biointerfaces, 76, pp. 468 - 474, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2009.12.006
  • Conference Papers | 2018
    An A; Lin J; Cheng C; Zhu W, 2018, 'Distributed Model Predictive Control for Two-area Interconnected Power System', in 2018 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF GREEN BUILDINGS AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (GBEM 2018), IOP PUBLISHING LTD, PEOPLES R CHINA, Qingdao, presented at International Conference of Green Buildings and Environmental Management (GBEM), PEOPLES R CHINA, Qingdao, 23 August 2018 - 25 August 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/186/4/012008
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Zhao H; Shi S; Jia G; Zhang Y; Cheng C, 2018, 'Quantitative research of the sidelobe in AOTF-based hyperspectral imaging', in Zhang J; Fu S; Zhuge Q; Tang M; Guo T (eds.), FIBER OPTIC SENSING AND OPTICAL COMMUNICATION, SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, PEOPLES R CHINA, Beijing, presented at Conference on Fiber Optic Sensing and Optical Communication / International Symposium on Optoelectronic Technology and Application (OTA) / Annual Conference of the Chinese-Society-for-Optical-Engineering (CSOE), PEOPLES R CHINA, Beijing, 22 May 2018 - 24 May 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2503260
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Zhao H; Wang Z; Jia G; Zhang Y; Cheng C, 2018, 'Optical design of VIS-SWIR imaging spectrometer based on acousto-optic tunable filter', in Jiang S; Wang L; Liu Z; Shi W; Zhou P (eds.), ADVANCED LASER TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS, SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, PEOPLES R CHINA, Beijing, presented at Conference on Advanced Laser Technology and Applications / International Symposium on Optoelectronic Technology and Application (OTA) / Annual Conference of the Chinese-Society-for-Optical-Engineering (CSOE), PEOPLES R CHINA, Beijing, 22 May 2018 - 24 May 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2505201
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Ji Z; Zhao H; Li Y; Cheng C; Sun X; Song P; Wang S, 2017, 'Target detection in sun glint using the improved MWIR polarization technique', in LeVan PD; Sood AK; Wijewarnasuriya P; DSouza AI (eds.), INFRARED SENSORS, DEVICES, AND APPLICATIONS VII, SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, CA, San Diego, presented at Conference on Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications VII, CA, San Diego, 09 August 2017 - 10 August 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2271295

ARC DP260103186 – Nanofluidic modulation for precision molecular separation
ARC FT210100364 – Atomically thin membranes to transform chemical separations 

Membrane Society of Australasia Membrane Science Award
Australian Research Council Future Fellowship
DOE Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize – Phase I Semi-finalist
Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship
Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad
JASSO Fellowship
National Scholarship (China)

My Teaching

CEIC2001 – Fluid and Particle Mechanics
CEIC8341 – Membrane Processes