2017-2022 The Penn State University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Ph.D
2013-2016 Nanjing University, Department of Chemistry, M. S.
2007-2011 Nanjing University, Department of Chemistry, B. S.

2023-present Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Professor
2022-2023 The Penn State University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering/Department of Electrical Engineering, Postdoc
2011-2013 Nanjing University, Department of Chemistry, Research Assistant

Xin Chen's research focuses on the cross-coupling effects in polymeric ferroelectrics, with particular emphasis on the mechanistic understanding, material design, and device demonstration of polymer-based electromechanical coupling phenomena, including piezoelectricity, electrostriction, and flexoelectricity.

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Science Fund for Creative Research Groups: "Light-Controlled Soft Matter Science" (2025–2029, Key Member)
2. NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas): "Mechanism and Application of Energy Conversion and Storage in Polymer Dielectrics" (2024–2026, Principal Investigator)
3. NSFC General Program: "Regulation of the Piezoelectric Effect in β-Phase Ferroelectric Polymers via Cross-Scale Structural Defects" (2025–2028, Principal Investigator)
4. Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2030 Initiative: "Super Artificial Muscle" (2025–2026, Principal Investigator)
5. Guangdong Provincial Key Research and Development Program: "Development and Application of High-Resolution Multi-Channel Ultrasound Scanning Microscopes" (2026–2029, SJTU Principal Investigator)

Paper list (†Contributed equally, *Corresponding authors)：

Year 2026

1. C. Huang†, F. Du†, S. Zhu, X. Wang, Y. Lin, F. Wang, X. Wang, T. Yang, X. Qian*, and X. Chen*, Activating stress-induced dipole rotation in ferroelectric polymers. Physical Review Letters, 137, 096801 (2026)

1. F. Yang, H. Yang, G. Zhang*, S. Xu, L. Zhu, X. Gong, L. Liu, F. Luo, S. Xu, C. Liu, J. Wu, S. Jiang, K. Li, L. Dong, X. Chen, S. Zhang, Y. Zhang*, Q. Wang*, Mechanoelectrical metamaterials for broad-range, high-sensitivity pressure sensing. Science, 392, 1177-1182 (2026)

2. Y. Chen*, Y. Nie, H. Fang, Y. Li, L. Zhang, X. Chen*, J. Zhang, X. Zhang*, Configurable ferroelectric domain in the irradiated P (VDF-TrFE) film for memory application. Chemical Engineering Journal, 538, 176622 (2026).

3. Q. Li, T. Yang*, X. Chen, H. Qiu, Y. Zhang, D. Han, S. Zheng, C. Huang, R. Luo, T. Yao, F. Chen, F. Du, Y. Zhao, Z. Ma, Y. Lin, C. Guo, H. Chen, F. Zhang, C. Wang, L. Yu, J. Chen, D. Qian, G. Meng, Q. Wei*, X. Qian*, Tailoring ferroelectric-semiconductor heterointerfaces generates lightly correlated polarization for efficient electrocaloric cooling. Joule, 10, 102377 (2026).

4. X. Wang, G. Hou*, F. Zhang, F. Du, R. Luo, Z. Ma, Y. Lin, C. Wang, Y. Zhao, B. Sun, C. Huang, L. Yu, S. Zheng, Q. Li, D. Han, H. Qiu, J. Zou, X. Chen, T. Yang, W. Li, W. Zhu, X. Zhu, D. Zhang, Y. Lu*, G. Meng*, X. Qian*, Self-regulated optomechanics achieves ultrabroadband and high-efficiency all-optical devices. The Innovation, 7, 101348 (2026).

5. T. Yang, W. Deng*, X. Chen*, Q. Wang, G. Tian, Y. Sun, S. Wang, D. Xiong, J. Song, L. Huang, B. Wu, B. Zhang, B. Lan, L. Jin, W. Yang*, Q. Wang*, Topological Structure‐Induced Piezoelectricity from the α‐Phase Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride). Advanced Materials, 7, e18326 (2026).

Year 2025

1. F. Du†, S. Yang†, T. Yao, D. Han, Q. Li, S. Zheng, R. Luo, C. Huang, Y. Zhao, Y. Lin, Z. Ma, H. Chen, C. Guo, H. Qiu, T. Yang, X. Chen*, X. Qian*, Infinitesimal amount of perovskite quantum dots enhances electrocaloric cooling performances in diluted nanocomposites. Joule 9, 102057 (2025).

2. G. Hou, X. Wang, F. Zhang, W. Lu, X. Chen, T. Yang, G. Meng, X. Qian*, A photo-mechanically inactive tough gel exhibits multimodal, light-guided underwater navigation. Science Advances 11 (22), eads4507 (2025)

3. H. Chen, D. Han*, X. Zhao, R. Mai, C. Huang, R. Luo, S. Zheng, Q. Li, Y. Zhao, Z. Ma, Y. Lin, F. Zhang, T. Yao, X. Chen, T. Yang, J. Shi, J. Chen, F. Du*, X. Qian*, Tailoring Hierarchical Interfaces Enhances Dielectric and Electrocaloric Performance in Relaxor Ferroelectric Polymers. Advanced Fiber Materials 7, 1290–1301 (2025).

4. Y. Cai†, X. Chen†*, D. Han†, Y. Li†, Y. Chen, R. Mai, S. Zheng, Y. Zhang, C. Huang, R. Luo, T. Yao, Q. Li, F. Du, Y. Zhao, Z. Ma, Y. Lin, C. Guo, H. Chen, F. Zhang, T. Yang, K. Ren, G. Meng, X. Zhang*, X. Qian*, High-entropy alloy enhances electrocaloric effect in ferroelectric polymers for magnetic-field-driven, solid-state refrigeration. Cell Reports Physical Science 6, 102513 (2025)

5. C. Li†, H. Qin†, Y. Zhou†, T. Yang, X. Chen, L. Li, Z. Yuan, K. Wang, B.Zhang, W. Lu, L.‐Q. Chen, Y. Liu*, J Bernholc, Q. Wang*, Strain‐Induced Polar Interfaces in Ferroelectric Polymer Nanocomposites. Advanced Functional Materials 35, 2421825 (2025)

6. F. Du†, T. Yang†, H. Hao, S. Li, C. Xu, T. Yao, Z. Song, J. Shen, C. Bai, R. Luo, D. Han, Q. Li, S. Zheng, Y. Zhang, Y. Lin, Z. Ma, H. Chen, C. Guo, J. Feng, S. Zhong, R. Mai, G. Hou, H. Qiu, M. Xie, X. Chen, Y. Yuan, D. Qian, D. Xiang, X. Chen, Z. Fu, G. Wang, H. Liu, J. Chen, G. Meng, X. Zhu, L.-Q. Chen, S. Zhang*, X. Qian* Giant electrocaloric effect in high-polar-entropy perovskite oxides. Nature 640, 924–930 (2025)

Year 2024

1. D. Han†, Y. Zhang†, C. Huang, S. Zheng, D. Wu, Q. Li, F. Du, H. Duan, W. Chen, J. Shi, J. Chen, G. Liu, X. Chen, X. Qian*, Self-oscillating polymeric refrigerator with high energy efficiency. Nature 629, 1041–1046 (2024).

Year 2023

1. X. Qian†, X. Chen†, L. Zhu, Q. M. Zhang*, Fluoropolymer ferroelectrics: Multifunctional platform for polar-structured energy conversion. Science 380, eadg0902 (2023)

2. Y. Liu†*, Y. Zhou†, H. Qin, T. Yang, X. Chen, L. Li, Z. Han, K. Wang, B. Zhang, W. Lu, L.-Q. Chen, J. Bernholc, Q. Wang*, Electro-thermal actuation in percolative ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites. Nature Materials 22, 873-879 (2023)

3. Z. Han, H. Qin, X. Chen, W. Xu, Y. Liu, J. Bernholc, Q. Wang*, Microstructures and Ferroelectric Properties of Poly(vinylidene fluoride-ter-trifluoroethylene-ter-vinyl fluoride) Terpolymers. Macromolecules 56, 4065-4074 (2023)

4. X. Chen, W. Zhu, Q. M. Zhang*, Electrocaloric cooling technologies for a sustainable world. iEnergy 2, 100-108 (2023)

5. X. Chen†, W. Zhu†, A. S. Rattner, Q. M. Zhang*, A self-actuated electrocaloric polymer heat pump design exploiting the synergy of ectrocaloric effect and electrostriction. Journal of Physics: Energy 5, 024009 (2023)

6. X. Chen, H. Qin, W. Zhu, B. Zhang, W. Lu, J. Bernholc, Q. M. Zhang*, Giant Electrostriction Enabled by Defect-Induced Critical Phenomena in Relaxor Ferroelectric Polymers. Macromolecules 56, 690-696 (2023)

7. X. Chen, H. Qin, Y. Liu, Y.-T. Lin, B. Zhang, W. Lu, S. H. Kim, J. Bernholc, Q. Wang, Q. M. Zhang*, Interfacial origin of dielectric constant enhancement in high-temperature polymer dilute nanocomposites. Applied Physics Letters 122, 212901 (2023).

Year 2022

1. X. Chen†, H. Qin†, X. Qian, W. Zhu, B. Li, B. Zhang, W. Lu, R. Li, S. Zhang, L. Zhu, F. Domingues Dos Santos, J. Bernholc, Q. M. Zhang*, Relaxor ferroelectric polymer exhibits ultrahigh electromechanical coupling at low electric field. Science 375, 1418-1422 (2022)

2. X. Wu, X. Chen, Q. M. Zhang, D. Q. Tan*, Advanced dielectric polymers for energy storage. Energy Storage Materials 44, 29-47 (2022)

3. Y. Liu, X. Chen, Z. Han, H. Zhou, Q. Wang*, Defects in poly(vinylidene fluoride)-based ferroelectric polymers from a molecular perspective. Applied Physics Reviews 9, 031306 (2022)

4. M.-D. Li, X.-Q. Shen, X. Chen, J.-M. Gan, F. Wang, J. Li, X.-L. Wang, Q.-D. Shen*, Thermal management of chips by a device prototype using synergistic effects of 3-D heat-conductive network and electrocaloric refrigeration. Nature Communications 13, 5849 (2022)

5. L. Li, Y. Zhou, Y. Liu, X. Chen, Z. Han, Q. Wang*, Perspective on scalable high-energy-density polymer dielectrics with ultralow loadings of inorganic nanofillers. Applied Physics Letters 120, 050502 (2022)

6. Z. Han, Y. Liu, X. Chen, W. Xu, Q. Wang*, Enhanced Piezoelectricity in Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene) Random Terpolymers with Mixed Ferroelectric Phases. Macromolecules 55, 2703-2713 (2022)

7. X. Chen†, Q. Zhang†, Z. Liu, Y. Sun, Q. M. Zhang*, High dielectric response in dilute nanocomposites via hierarchical tailored polymer nanostructures. Applied Physics Letters 120, 162902 (2022)

8. X. Chen, V. V. Shvartsman, D. C. Lupascu, Q. M. Zhang*, Electrocaloric cooling—From materials to devices. Journal of Applied Physics 132, 240901 (2022).

Year 2021

1 Y. Zhang, C. K. Jeong, J. Wang, X. Chen, K. H. Choi, L. Q. Chen, W. Chen, Q. M. Zhang, Q. Wang*, Hydrogel Ionic Diodes toward Harvesting Ultralow‐Frequency Mechanical Energy. Advanced Materials 33, (2021)

2. Q. Zhang†, X. Chen†*, B. Zhang†, T. Zhang, W. Lu, Z. Chen, Z. Liu, S. H. Kim, B. Donovan, R. J. Warzoha, E. D. Gomez, J. Bernholc*, Q. M. Zhang*, High-temperature polymers with record-high breakdown strength enabled by rationally designed chain-packing behavior in blends. Matter 4, 2448-2459 (2021)

3. B. Zhang†, X. Chen†, W. Lu, Q. M. Zhang, J. Bernholc*, Morphology-induced dielectric enhancement in polymer nanocomposites. Nanoscale 13, 10933-10942 (2021)

4. X. Qian†*, D. Han†, L. Zheng†, J. Chen†, M. Tyagi, Q. Li, F. Du, S. Zheng, X. Huang*, S. Zhang, J. Shi, H. Huang*, X. Shi, J. Chen, H. Qin, J. Bernholc, X. Chen, L.-Q. Chen, L. Hong*, Q. M. Zhang, High-entropy polymer produces a giant electrocaloric effect at low fields. Nature 600, 664-669 (2021)

5. Y. Hambal, V. V. Shvartsman, D. Lewin, C. H. Huat, X. Chen, I. Michiels, Q. M. Zhang, D. C. Lupascu*, Effect of Composition on Polarization Hysteresis and Energy Storage Ability of P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) Relaxor Terpolymers. Polymers 13, 1343 (2021)

6. L.-Q. Cheng, Y. Yan, X. Li, X. Xiong, X. Chen, L.-F. Zhu, W. Li, K. Chen, M. Sanghadasa, S. Priya*, Electrocaloric Performance of Multilayer Ceramic Chips: Effect of Geometric Structure Induced Internal Stress. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 13, 38508-38516 (2021)

7. X. Chen, W. Zhu, Q. M. Zhang*, Improving electric thermal stability of polypropylene by chemically linking small amount of hindered phenol groups. MRS Advances 6, 321-326 (2021)

8. X. Chen, T. Yang, Q. Zhang, L. Q. Chen, V. Bobnar, C. Rahn, Q. M. Zhang*, Topological structure enhanced nanostructure of high temperature polymer exhibiting more than ten times enhancement of dipolar response. Nano Energy 88, (2021)

9. X. Chen, V. Shvartsman, D. C. Lupascu, Q. M. Zhang*, Comment on “Giant pyroelectric energy harvesting and a negative electrocaloric effect in multilayered nanostructures” by G. Vats, A. Kumar, N. Ortega, C. R. Bowen and R. S. Katiyar, Energy Environ. Sci., 2016, 9, 1335. Energy & Environmental Science 14, 1612-1614 (2021)

10. X. Chen, S. Li, X. Jian, Y. Hambal, S.-G. Lu, V. V. Shvartsman, D. C. Lupascu, Q. M. Zhang*, Maxwell relation, giant (negative) electrocaloric effect, and polarization hysteresis. Applied Physics Letters 118, 122904 (2021).

Year 2020

1. T. Zhang, X. Chen, Q. Zhang, Q. M. Zhang*, Dielectric enhancement over a broad temperature by nanofiller at ultra-low volume content in poly(ether methyl ether urea). Applied Physics Letters 117, 072905 (2020)

2. T. Zhang†, X. Chen†, Y. Thakur, B. Lu, Q. Zhang, J. Runt, Q. M. Zhang*, A highly scalable dielectric metamaterial with superior capacitor performance over a broad temperature. Science Advances 6, eaax6622 (2020)

3. W. Xu, Z. Han, Y. Liu, X. Chen, H. Li, L. Ren, Q. M. Zhang, Q. Wang*, Composition Dependence of Microstructures and Ferroelectric Properties in Poly(vinylidene fluoride-ter-trifluoroethylene-ter-chlorodifluoroethylene) Terpolymers. Macromolecules 53, 3139-3147 (2020)

4. J.-H. Liu, X. Chen, Y. Ren, Q.-D. Shen*, All-organic flexible logical computing system based on electrical polarization of ferroelectric polymers. Applied Physics Letters 116, 253301 (2020)

5. Y.-X. Chen, X. Chen, X.-F. Zhang, Q.-D. Shen*, Spatial- and Time-Resolved Mapping of Interfacial Polarization and Polar Nanoregions at Nanoscale in High-Energy-Density Ferroelectric Nanocomposites. ACS Applied Energy Materials 3, 3665-3672 (2020)

6. X. Chen, T. Zhang, Q. Zhang, Q. M. Zhang, paper presented at the 2020 IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (CEIDP), 2020.

Year 2019

1. Q. Zhang, X. Chen, T. Zhang, Q. M. Zhang*, Giant permittivity materials with low dielectric loss over a broad temperature range enabled by weakening intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Nano Energy 64, (2019)

2. X. Jian, X. Chen, Q. M. Zhang*, Relaxor Ferroelectric Capacitors Embrace Polymorphic Nanodomains. Joule 3, 2296-2298 (2019).

Year 2018

1. B. Lu, X. Chen, T. Zhang, S. G. Lu, Q. M. Zhang*, Enhancing the electrocaloric effect in a relaxor polymer by including minor normal ferroelectric phase. Applied Physics Letters 113, 153903 (2018)

2. J.-H. Liu†, X. Chen†, Y. Li, X. Guo, H.-X. Ge, Q.-D. Shen*, Ferroelectric polymer nanostructure with enhanced flexoelectric response for force-induced memory. Applied Physics Letters 113, 042903 (2018)

3. Z. Cheng, W. Zhou, C. Zhang, Q. Li, R. Sha, X. Chen, B. Chu, Q.-D. Shen*, Composite of P(VDF-CTFE) and aromatic polythiourea for capacitors with high-capacity, high-efficiency, and fast response. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics 56, 193-199 (2018)

4. Y. Chen, X. Chen, H. Lu, L. Zhang, Y. Yang, Q.-D. Shen*, Defect-mediated polarization switching in ferroelectric films for low-power-consuming and ultra-high-density memories. Polymer 143, 281-288 (2018)

5. X. Chen†, W. Xu†, B. Lu, T. Zhang, Q. Wang, Q. M. Zhang*, Towards electrocaloric heat pump—A relaxor ferroelectric polymer exhibiting large electrocaloric response at low electric field. Applied Physics Letters 113, 113902 (2018)

6. H. Aziguli, X. Chen, Y. Liu, G. Yang, P. Yu, Q. Wang*, Enhanced electrocaloric effect in lead-free organic and inorganic relaxor ferroelectric composites near room temperature. Applied Physics Letters 112, 193902 (2018).

Before 2017

1. X. Chen, X. Han, Q.-D. Shen*, PVDF-Based Ferroelectric Polymers in Modern Flexible Electronics. Advanced Electronic Materials 3, 1600460 (2017)

2. X. Han†, X. Chen†, X. Tang, Y.-L. Chen, J.-H. Liu, Q.-D. Shen*, Flexible Polymer Transducers for Dynamic Recognizing Physiological Signals. Advanced Functional Materials 26, 3640-3648 (2016)

3. Y. Chen, X. Chen, D. Zhou, Q.-D. Shen*, W. Hu*, Low-temperature crystallization of P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) studied by Flash DSC. Polymer 84, 319-327 (2016)

4. X. Chen, S. Pan, P.-J. Feng, H. Bian, X. Han, J.-H. Liu, X. Guo, D. Chen, H. Ge, Q.-D. Shen*, Bioinspired Ferroelectric Polymer Arrays as Photodetectors with Signal Transmissible to Neuron Cells. Advanced Materials 28, 10684-10691 (2016)

5. X. Guo, L. Liu, Z. Zhuang, X. Chen, M. Ni, Y. Li, Y. Cui, P. Zhan, C. Yuan, H. Ge, Z. Wang, Y. Chen, A New Strategy of Lithography Based on Phase Separation of Polymer Blends. Scientific Reports 5, 15947 (2015)

6. X. Chen, X. Tang, X.-Z. Chen, Y.-L. Chen, X. Guo, H.-X. Ge, Q.-D. Shen*, Nonvolatile data storage using mechanical force-induced polarization switching in ferroelectric polymer. Applied Physics Letters 106, 042903 (2015)

7. X.-Z. Chen†, X. Chen†, X. Guo, Y.-S. Cui, Q.-D. Shen*, H.-X. Ge*, Ordered arrays of a defect-modified ferroelectric polymer for non-volatile memory with minimized energy consumption. Nanoscale 6, 13945-13951 (2014)

8. X.-Z. Chen, Q. Li, X. Chen, X. Guo, H.-X. Ge, Y. Liu, Q.-D. Shen, Nano-Imprinted Ferroelectric Polymer Nanodot Arrays for High Density Data Storage. Advanced Functional Materials 23, 3124-3129 (2013)

9. X. Chen, L. Liu, S.-Z. Liu, Y.-S. Cui, X.-Z. Chen, H.-X. Ge, Q.-D. Shen, P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer thin-film for high performance nonvolatile memory. Applied Physics Letters 102, 063103 (2013).

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Projects reviewer for NSFC, ERC.
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2024: Awardee of the "Shanghai 35 Under 35 Tech Innovators"
2024 & 2025: Included in the World's Top 2% Scientists List by Stanford University and Elsevier
2024: Xiaomi Young Scholar
2023: Shanghai Overseas Leading Talent Plan