Liaoning Daily’s “Revitalization Stories” Features Prof. Li Donghan’s Team: Pioneering the “No-Man’s Land” to Brew “Golden Rubber”

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Pioneering the “No-Man’s Land” to Brew “Golden Rubber”

In critical industrial sectors such as high-end equipment coatings, a key material—high-performance telechelic liquid fluororubber (advanced reactive high-fluorine-content polymer)—is widely used. Dubbed “liquid gold rubber”, it boasts high fluorine content, extreme temperature resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, and efficient curability. However, due to China’s late start and low baseline in fluororubber R&D, high-end materials like perfluoroether rubber and high-fluorine liquid fluororubber have long relied on imports, bottlenecking related industries.

Clearly, without mastering core technologies, we risk being “strangled” at any moment!

For years, domestic research institutes attempted to tackle liquid fluororubber development, but achieving full control remained elusive. China's high-end equipment sectors either depended heavily on imports or settled for inferior substitutes. Gradually, the challenging R&D of liquid fluororubber became a “hard bone” few were willing to chew.

The tide turned in 2022 when Prof. Li Donghan’s team at Shenyang University of Chemical Technology secured a patent for “A Preparation Method of High-Performance Carboxyl-Terminated Low-Molecular-Weight Fluoropolymers.” Their product matched international standards, rivaling imported counterparts, marking a solid leap in high-performance reactive fluoropolymers. Today, Li’s name is synonymous with telechelic liquid fluororubber in the field.

From “Dough” to “Wheat”

Li never imagined his doctoral journey would start at maximum difficulty. “Begin by reviewing fluororubber literature,” his advisor casually suggested—a moment etched in his memory a decade later. His perseverance altered his trajectory, launching an extraordinary scientific odyssey.

Initially, Li only knew fluororubber by name. From grasping its basics to deciphering fluoropolymers’ “temperament” and mastering reliable synthesis, his team’s success traces back to autumn 2014.

As a new Ph.D. student at Dalian Maritime University, Li assumed his research would involve processing imported fluororubber—akin to “baking bread” by tweaking recipes. But his advisor assigned him a far more daunting task: synthesizing telechelic liquid fluororubber from scratch. It was like being told to “grow wheat” instead of baking.

With scant references, Li plunged into literature, compiling notes thicker than bricks. Most ideas failed, but this groundwork became his stepping stone. By 2018, he cracked efficient liquid fluororubber synthesis, earning a Liaoning Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Patching Molecules

Post-graduation, Li returned to his alma mater, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, determined to bridge the gap with foreign tech. His self-synthesized material’s thermal decomposition temperature lagged at 240°C versus 300°C+ for imports.

After exhausting conventional approaches, inspiration struck during a chat with a pharmaceutical synthesis expert. Borrowing from drug-targeting techniques, Li performed “molecular CT scans”, pinpointing structural “loopholes” degrading performance.

For six months, his team labored to design “molecular patches”, customizing solutions for each flaw. They built a “data skyscraper” through thousands of trials, optimizing parameters like temperature and reagent ratios. By 2021, they boosted their material’s heat resistance by 40°C, proving their path viable.

“HanFluor I”: Forged in Perseverance

On the fourth floor of SYUCT’s Zhiben Building, a lab often glows late into the night. Here, Li’s team—averaging under 25 years old—waged a six-year “counterattack” in fluororubber innovation.

They dubbed their stirrers “pots”, but these vessels brewed not food but cycles of hope and despair. Early experiments ran 20+ hours, requiring round-the-clock shifts. A makeshift “recharge room” housed exhausted researchers, its winter chill barely kept at bay by wheezing heaters.

Through 1,000+ experiments and hundreds of failed batches, breakthroughs emerged: “HanFluor 0” (fluorine content >70%, meeting global benchmarks) and “HanFluor I” (thermal stability to 310°C). A pivotal moment came when they traced failures to minute water-content variations in reagents—a lesson in precision.

In 2022, their microwave-assisted multi-field coupling technology slashed reaction times from 20 hours to 30 minutes, cutting energy use by 80%. By 2024, they spun off Shenyang Hansheng Polyfluorine Materials Technology Co., Ltd., commercializing their innovations.

Reporter’s Notes: Sowing “Scientific Wheat” in No-Man’s Land

By Chen Boya

At the interview’s close, Li displayed a decade’s worth of lab notes—yellowed pages edged with wear. Flipping them gently, he traced data and formulas that crystallized his team’s grit.

From struggling with half a page of literature daily to publishing groundbreaking papers, Li’s journey mirrors tilling barren soil into fertile ground. Today, fresh faces inherit this mission, their voices echoing in labs where instruments hum with renewed purpose.

True scientific “wheat fields” grow where none thought possible. Behind China’s technological leaps stand countless teams like Li’s—planting seeds in uncharted territory, reaping golden harvests for the nation.