Jian Sun
About Jian Sun
Jian Sun is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Sandia National Laboratories and a Guest Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with extensive experience in ionic liquids, CO2 capture, and biomass conversion.
Current Positions
Jian Sun is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at both Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. He serves as a Guest Postdoctoral Fellow at the Joint Bioenergy Institute in Emeryville, CA, and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA.
Previous Experience in China
Jian Sun has previous experience working at the Institute of Process Engineering, CAS/State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex System. During his tenure from 2011 to 2013, he held the position of Senior Scientist, and from 2009 to 2011, he was a Scientist. Earlier in his career, from 2003 to 2009, he worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
Doctoral Studies
Jian Sun earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences between 2003 and 2009. His research focused on ionic liquids, carbon dioxide, and catalysis. His extensive study in these fields contributed significantly to his later professional work.
Research Expertise and Skills
Jian Sun has extensive experience in the synthesis and application of task-specific ionic liquids, particularly for CO2 capture and utilization. His expertise includes the scale-up of chemical processes such as ethylene glycol purification and developing polymer/zeolite functionalized catalysts. He is also skilled in defect quality control, yield enhancement, and task force leadership, and proficient with analytical techniques like NMR spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, and chromatography methods.
Catalytic Biomass Conversion and Ionic Liquid Recovery
Jian Sun is experienced in the catalytic conversion of biomass into chemicals such as HMF and lactic acid, utilizing methods like low-temperature lignin solubilization and depolymerization. He is also proficient in recovering ionic liquids through membrane-based techniques, including pervaporation, ultrafiltration, and electrodialysis. His strong background in biomass pretreatment processes involves detailed compositional analysis and enzymatic saccharification.
Data Analysis Proficiency
Jian Sun is an expert in using advanced data analysis software such as MicroLab Origin, Aspen Plus, and Excel VBA. These skills enable him to conduct comprehensive numerical and graphical data analysis, supporting his research and development activities.