Jing CAO

Dr Jing Cao earned her Ph.D. at the Device Materials Group in Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge (U.K.) in 2019. She did her postdoctoral research at MSE, NUS, before joining Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), A*STAR in 2021 as a research scientist. Dr Jing is currently a principal investigator at IMRE and also an adjunct assistant professor at NUS, MSE, where she holds several research grants as the lead PI. Her research focuses on electronic properties of energy and sustainability materials, using approaches that integrate both experimental and computational technique to explore their potential for future applications. Recognized as a 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry A Emerging Investigator, a 2024 Nanoscale Emerging Investigator, she was also named as a Vebleo Fellow.

Personal Webpage: https://jingcao-jc.github.io/

Research Interests

Our research interest revolves around the exploration of functional materials with unique electronic properties and how these materials can be used for future energy applications. Leveraging on novel materials synthesis guided by first-principles methods such as Density Functional Theory (DFT), we aim to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of electron-phonon interactions, charge transport and structure-property relationships to design high-performance materials especially in thermoelectric materials. Our work spans computational design, materials discovery, and device integration, aiming to address global energy challenges through innovative solid-state energy harvesting and resource-efficient solutions.

Selected Publications:

1. Jing Cao, Jinfeng Dong, Jing Wu, Ady Suwardi. “Evapolectrics: Direct Harvesting of Electricity from Evaporation Using Thermoelectrics.” ACS Nano 2025 19 (28), 26249-26258.
2. Gong, Zichen, Ady Suwardi, and Jing Cao. “Electricity Generation From Ambient Water Evaporation in the Absence of Sunlight via PVA‐Based Porous Hydrogels.” Advanced Functional Materials (2025): 2423371.
3. Danwei Zhang, Jayanthi Ramiah, Mehmet Cagirici, Kivanc Saglik, Samantha Faye Duran Solco, Jing Cao, Jianwei Xu and Ady Suwardi. Materials Horizons, 2024.
4. Xian Yi Tan, Hongfei Liu, Jinfeng Dong, Andrew Chun Yong Ngo, Ady Suwardi, Jing Cao. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2024,12, 17771-17792.
5. Zichen Gong, Kivanc Saglik, Jing Wu, Ady Suwardi, Jing Cao. Nanoscale, 2023,15, 18283-18290.
6. Jing Cao, Jinfeng Dong, Kivanc Saglik, Danwei Zhang, Samantha Faye Duran Solco, Ivan Joel Wen Jie You, Hongfei Liu et al. Nano Energy 107 (2023): 108118
7. Jing Cao^✉, Xian Yi Tan, Ning Jia, Jie Zheng, Sheau Wei Chien, Hong Kuan Ng, Chee Kiang Ivan Tan et al. Nano Energy 96 (2022): 107147.
8. Jia, Ning^#, Jing Cao^#, Xian Yi Tan, Jie Zheng, Sheau Wei Chien, Le Yang, Kewei Chen et al. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 9, no. 41 (2021): 23335-23344.
9. Jing Cao, Ying Sim, Xian Yi Tan, Jie Zheng, Sheau Wei Chien, Ning Jia, Kewei Chen et al. Advanced Materials 34, no. 19 (2022): 2110518.
10. Jing Cao, Xian Yi Tan, Jinfeng Dong, Hongfei Liu, Yun Zheng, Qiang Zhu, Jianwei Xu, Gang Zhang, Jing Wu, and Ady Suwardi. Materials Today Physics (2023): 101071.