Sheng Guo is a Principal Investigator, Distinguished Research Fellow, and PhD Supervisor, and a recipient of a national young talent program. In 2025, he was awarded the May Fourth Youth Medal of Nanjing University and selected for the Program for Enhancing the Research Innovation Capacity of Young Faculty at Central Universities. His research is long driven by major national needs in energy transition, petrochemical engineering, and advanced functional materials, with a focus on the engineering-oriented development and application of high-performance functional polymers, separation membranes, and cross-disciplinary frontier materials.

He received his B.S. degree in 2011 from the College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University. During his undergraduate studies, he joined the research group of Prof. Aiwen Lei, where he conducted research in organic synthetic methodology. He subsequently joined the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in the research group of Academician Dawei Ma, focusing on the total synthesis of polycyclic terpenoid natural products, and obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2016.

In 2017, he carried out postdoctoral research in the group of Prof. Stephen L. Buchwald at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on asymmetric catalysis and palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions. In 2020, he joined the group of  Timothy M. Swager at MIT for further postdoctoral research, shifting his focus to the molecular design of functional polymer materials and their applications in separation, sensing, and device-related systems.

In 2022, he joined the Aramco Research Center–Boston as a Polymer & Membrane Scientist, where he led and coordinated research on membrane-based separation of acidic natural gas, systematically advancing membrane material design and conducting technology validation under realistic energy operating conditions, directly supporting industrial application and scale-up.

He joined the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Nanjing University in December 2022 and established an independent research program. His current research is centered on high-performance membrane materials as a core technology platform, emphasizing original polymer molecular design as the source of innovation, and aims to promote the engineering implementation and translational application of membrane and functional materials in energy, chemical engineering, and frontier interdisciplinary fields.

Recruitment Information：https://www.x-mol.com/groups/guogroup/positions

2022/12－present, Nanjing University, Assistant Professor

2022, Aramco Americas, Polymer & Membrane Scientist

2020－2022, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Postdoctoral Associate，Advisor：Prof. Timothy M. Swager

2017－2019, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Postdoctoral Associate，Advisor：Prof. Stephen L. Buchwald

2011－2016, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, CAS, Ph.D., Advisor：Prof. Dawei Ma

2007－2011, Wuhan University, B.S., Advisor: Prof. Aiwen Lei.

Our research group conducts original research in functional polymer materials and membrane science to address national strategic needs in green chemical processing, energy conversion and storage, and emerging future technologies. By designing polymer systems with unique architectures and programmable functionalities, and by advancing high-efficiency membrane separation and interfacial regulation technologies, we aim to enable low-carbon, high-performance chemical processes while expanding the frontiers of polymer materials across energy, life sciences, and information-technology interfaces.

In functional polymer materials, our work centers on the molecular innovation that governs polymer structure–property relationships. We develop fluorine-rich polymers, rigid-backbone architectures, and ion-functionalized polymer systems, and systematically investigate their stability and functional mechanisms under extreme chemical environments and energy-conversion conditions. In parallel, we pioneer light-responsive polymers and intelligent membrane materials to achieve optically regulated separations and advanced interfacial responses, establishing material foundations for next-generation sensing, stimulus-responsive systems, and intelligent control technologies.

In advanced membrane technologies, we address key challenges in low-energy separation for green chemical processes by developing high-performance organic-solvent reverse osmosis membranes and gas-separation materials, enabling transformative membrane processes for liquid-hydrocarbon systems. At the same time, aligned with national priorities in new energy and energy storage, we design high-performance ion-exchange membranes and solid polymer electrolytes to support technical breakthroughs in water-electrolysis hydrogen production, redox-flow batteries, and all-solid-state lithium batteries. Looking toward future cross-disciplinary frontiers, the group is also developing polymeric thin-film materials for vision-related neural and brain–machine interfaces, exploring new classes of biocompatible, high-sensitivity neural interface systems.

[5] 赵佩鈜,郭盛.高性能液流电池隔膜的多尺度协同设计[J]. 膜科学与技术, 2026, 46(01): 178-198.

[4] Jean-Baptiste, P.; Pierre-Louis, J. R.; Yeo, J. Y.; Guo, S.; Wu, Y.; Dean, P. A.; Swager, T. M.; Smith, Z. P., Spinning of Defect-Free Poly(arylene ether) Asymmetric Hollow Fiber Membranes for Gas Separations. J. Membr. Sci. 2026, 125268.

[3] Liu, Z.; Jiang, H.; Li, Z.; Xiao, Y.; Li, L.; Zhang, J.; Guo, S.; Zhong, M., Sustainable and Efficient Bicarbonate Electrolysis via Enhanced CO2 and Cation Availability on a Gas–Water Dual-Permeable Electrode. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2026. 148,  2039–2047.

[2] Ren, Y.; Wright, P. T.; Liu, Z.; Yang, S.; Lu, L.; Yang, J.; Wang, X.; Guo, S., Melamine-Copolymerization Strategy Engineered Fluorinated Polyimides for Membrane-Based Sour Natural Gas Separation. Adv. Sci.2025, 2416109.

[1] Ren, Y.†; Ma, H.†; Kim, J.; Al Otmi, M.; Lin, P.; Dai, C.; Lee, Y. J.; Zhai, Z.; Jang, W. J.; Yang, S.; Sarswat, A.; Feliachi, Y.; Sampath, J.; Realff, M. J.; Lively, R. P.; Guo, S., Fluorine-rich poly(arylene amine) membranes for the separation of liquid aliphatic compounds. Science 2025, 387 (6730), 208-214. 

Open Access Link

Highlighted by 

1. X-MOL:南京大学郭盛课题组Science：可持续液态烃类膜分离

2. 南京大学：可持续液态烃类膜分离有了新方案

3. Zhang, C.; Xu, Z.-K., Design of fluorine-rich poly(arylene amine) membranes for liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon separation. Sci. China Chem.2025.

Patents

[9] 郭盛、孙璐鑫、郭育诚、娄珍珠，CN2026101850985，2026年02月09日

[8] 郭盛、翟子涵、顾诚灏，CN202610082613.7，2026年01月21日

[7] 郭盛、顾佳瑜，CN2025112980189，2025年09月11日

[6] 郭盛、戴昌辉、方志成，CN2025112185914，2025年08月28日

[5] 郭盛、裴翔宇、蓝堃玉、王欣、翟子涵、戴昌辉，一种聚吩噁嗪高分子膜材料的制备方法，专利号ZL202510246306.

[4] 郭盛、杨世杰、翟子涵、李志聪，一种降冰片烷插入的Suzuki聚合方法，CN202510197903.1, 2025年02月21日

[3] 郭盛、戴昌辉、王欣、娄珍珠，一种聚芳基硫醚高分子的合成方法，CN202411842927.X, 2024年12月13日

[2] 郭盛、戴昌辉、顾诚灏、王欣， 一种柴油脱芳烃用有机溶剂反渗透膜分离技术，CN202411310162.5,2024年09月19日

[1] 郭盛、马辉、戴昌辉、杨世杰、翟子涵、顾诚灏，一种富氟聚芳胺高分子膜材料的制备方法，CN202410376273.X,2024年03月27日

Prior to NJU:

[13] Dean, P. A.; Wu, Y.; Guo, S.; Swager, T. M.; Smith, Z. P., Tertiary-Amine-Functional Poly(arylene ether)s for Acid-Gas Separation. JACS Au 2024, 4(10), 3848-3856.

[12] Guo, S.†; Yeo, J. Y.†; Benedetti, F. M.; Syar, D.; Swager, T. M.; Smith, Z. P., A Microporous Poly(Arylene Ether) Platform for Membrane-Based Gas Separation. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202315611.

[11] Dean, P. A.; Mizrahi Rodriguez, K.; Guo, S.; Roy, N.; Swager, T. M.; Smith, Z. P., Elucidating the role of micropore-generating backbone motifs and amine functionality on H2S, CO2, CH4 and N2 sorption. J. Membr. Sci.2024, 122465.

[10] Mizrahi Rodriguez, K.; Dean, P. A.; Guo, S.; Roy, N.; Swager, T. M.; Smith, Z. P., Elucidating the role of micropore-generating backbone motifs and amine functionality on membrane separation performance in complex mixtures. J. Membr. Sci. 2024, 122464.

[9] Guo, S.; Wu, Y.; Luo, S.-X. L.; Swager, T. M., Versatile Nanoporous Organic Polymer Catalyst for the Size-Selective Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling Reaction. ACS Appl. Nano. Mater. 2022. 5, 18603-18611.

[8] Liu, R. Y.†; Guo, S.†; Luo, S.-X. L.; Swager, T. M., Solution-processable microporous polymer platform for heterogenization of diverse photoredox catalysts. Nat. Commun. 2022, 13, 2775.

Highlighted by MIT NEWS:New light-powered catalysts could aid in manufacturing

[7] Guo, S.; Swager, T. M., Versatile Porous Poly (arylene ether) s via Pd-Catalyzed C–O Polycondensation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 11828-11835.

[6] Guo, S.*; Zhu, J.; Buchwald, S. L., Enantioselective Synthesis of β‐Amino Acid Derivatives Enabled by Ligand‐Controlled Reversal of Hydrocupration Regiochemistry. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 20841-20845. 

Highlighted by Synfacts 2020, 16 (10), 1243.

[5] Guo, S.; Yang, J. C.; Buchwald, S. L., A Practical Electrophilic Nitrogen Source for the Synthesis of Chiral Primary Amines by Copper-Catalyzed Hydroamination.J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 15976-15984.

Highlighted by Synfacts 2019, 15 (02), 0116.

[4] Gribble, M. W.†; Guo, S.†; Buchwald, S. L., Asymmetric Cu-Catalyzed 1,4-Dearomatization of Pyridines and Pyridazines without Preactivation of the Heterocycle or Nucleophile. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 5057-5060.

Highlighted by Synfacts 2018, 14 (07), 0707.

[3] Guo, S.; Liu, J.; Ma, D.*, Total Synthesis of Leucosceptroids A and B. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 1298-1301. 

[2] He, C.; Guo, S.; Ke, J.; Hao, J.; Xu, H.; Chen, H.; Lei, A., Silver-Mediated Oxidative C-H/C-H Functionalization: A Strategy to Construct Polysubstituted Furans.J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 5766-5769.

[1] He, C.; Guo, S.; Huang, L.; Lei, A., Copper Catalyzed Arylation/C-C Bond Activation: An Approach toward α-Aryl Ketones. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 8273-8275.

Patents：

[3] Yang, J.; Guo, S.; Yi. Ren, Wright, P. T., Haddad, E. E., Wong, D. Melamine-Containing Co-Polyimide Membranes for Natural Gas Separation. Saudi Aramco patent application 19/013,466, 2025 Jan 08.

[2] Swager, T. M.; Guo, S.; Liu, R. Y., Poly(aryl ether)-Based Polymers and Associated Methods, WO2022/186882. 2021 Dec 23.

[1] Swager, T. M.; Guo, S.; Smith, Z. P.; Benedetti, B. M., Poly(aryl ether)-Based Polymers and Associated Gas Separation Membranes,  WO2022/186881. 2021 Dec 23.