Chinese fascination with civil architecture has been evident for hundreds of years. Predecessors have poems as evidence, "five frames and three new grass halls, stone steps and laurel pillar bamboo walls" "Gao Xuan Linbizhu, flying eaves are overhead", in the exquisite verses, we can not only glimpse the structural wisdom of the ancients for architecture, but also have a glimpse of the development process of Chinese building materials.
Materials are the material basis for human survival and development. In the 1970s, information, materials and energy were the pillars of social civilization. In the 1980s, with the rise of high-tech groups, new materials and information technology and biotechnology became an important symbol of the new technological revolution. Nowadays, materials have become an important part of national economic construction, national defense construction and people's lives. As a result, a large number of young outstanding scientists represented by Li Shaochun have gradually emerged in the blue ocean of materials science, who have been adhering to the preparation and durability research of high-performance concrete in the marine environment for several years, and contributing to the construction projects of the mainland.
A piece of ice begins with porcelain
Li Shaochun was associated with materials science at Taiyuan Institute of Heavy Machinery (now Taiyuan University of Science and Technology). In 1998, Li Shaochun, who had just finished the college entrance examination, filled in the major of "mechanical manufacturing and automation" with his own interests, and after starting to study, he found that the curriculum was somewhat different from his imagination, and the learning content was more inclined to the heat treatment of metals. However, after hard work, he gradually became attracted by the ever-changing and unique charm of materials, and his four-year undergraduate study career solidly laid the foundation for his deep love of materials science.
At the graduate level, Li Shaochun followed in the footsteps of a materials science tutor he knew in his early years and was admitted to Qingdao Technological University. "Although the professional name is environmental engineering, throughout the master's degree, I have been doing research related to ceramics, and the contact with a new material not only deepens my interest in this field, but also makes me realize that to further study, the absorption of knowledge must not be taken lightly." Based on this belief, Li Shaochun carried a sincere heart and went to Zhejiang University with a dream. After 3 years of doctoral research, he received olive branches from two alma maters, namely Qingdao Technological University and Zhejiang University, with excellent performance. After some careful consideration, he finally chose to return to his hometown of Shandong to participate in the construction. "I have a very deep affection for my hometown, and Qingdao Technological University is more familiar to me, with familiar teachers and environments, there is no problem of re-adaptation, which was the best choice for me at that time."
Although he returned to his hometown, Li Shaochun's identity changed. From being guided to research to forming an independent team to carry out research, it takes a relatively difficult process, but the good research habits cultivated at the master's and doctoral stages have accelerated this process. "I was fortunate that the mentors I met during my master's and doctoral stages were very helpful to me. In all my research topics and directions, they have always adhered to the attitude of 'only guiding, not interfering'. It can be said that to a certain extent, my independent scientific research ability was cultivated by these two mentors. Reality is always extremely dramatic, and scientific research seems to be about "the right time and place.". The ability has been "in place", but soon reality has brought Li Shaochun another insurmountable pass - after Qianfan, because of the characteristics of Qingdao Technological University, it is necessary to choose another course.
Looking back, the obstacles of that time also gave birth to new opportunities. In 2010, Li Shaochun met Professor Zhao Tiejun, then vice president of Qingdao Technological University, and his team, thus opening a new chapter in the "companionship" of concrete materials on the road of scientific research.
In the next 4 years, Li Shaochun focused on the research of concrete protective materials. In 2013, Li Shaochun and his team participated in the project "Corrosion and Protective Measures of Cracked Concrete in Marine Environment", which won the second prize of Qingdao Science and Technology Progress Award, and in 2014, he was approved the first National Natural Science Foundation of China project "Bionic Design, Construction and Performance Research on Permeable Superhydrophobic Coatings on Concrete Surfaces" in his scientific research career. Based on the theory of biomimicry, starting from the surface chemical composition and microstructure design, the project uses the sol-gel method, combined with phase separation and self-assembly technology, and directly constructs an organosilane/SiO2 permeable superhydrophobic coating on its surface according to the composition and structural characteristics of concrete materials. To study the regularity of the formation process of superhydrophobic coatings on the surface of concrete, to achieve controllable adjustment of the chemical composition and microstructure of concrete surfaces, to explore the formation mechanism of surface micro and nano secondary structures and the impact on concrete permeability, to a great extent, it has made constructive contributions to the waterproofing of concrete materials in the mainland construction industry.
The success of the project not only brought joy, but also aroused Li Shaochun's deeper sense of inquiry. Many scholars around him invariably chose to visit abroad, but he thought twice and resolutely chose Professor Shi Caijun of Hunan University as the leader who led him into the "next stop" of materials science research. Previously, Professor Shi Caijun lived abroad to carry out research, and his academic achievements attracted worldwide attention, "Being able to get the guidance of such a scholar who has studied in China and the West can not only meet my needs to understand the progress of foreign scientific research, but also let me experience the changes around me in the motherland, such a choice is undoubtedly the best of both worlds for me." Just one year later, Li Shaochun once again won the second prize of the 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research in Colleges and Universities for the project of "Research on the Principle and Key Technology of Sacrificial Concrete Preparation in Nuclear Power Plants". For many years, only the "ice heart" of love for materials science has not changed; after repeated breakthroughs, he has plunged into the next stage of scientific research.
Li Shaochun (back row, fifth from left) poses with students
I know I have to do this
"The difficulty in studying concrete as a material is that in addition to its extremely complex composition, the applicability of the material is also very strong. But I've been in the lab for too long, and no matter how well-established the theory is, whenever it comes to engineering practice, there are always accidents that are far from what I expected. Even if Li Shaochun has been adhering to the road of concrete material research for many years, there is still such a dilemma. In the face of challenges, some people choose to escape, and naturally some people choose to face them.
Obviously, Li Shaochun is the latter.
In 2016, with the help of the east wind of "western construction talent introduction", Li Shaochun carried out his postdoctoral research work in China Construction West Construction Xinjiang Co., Ltd. as "high-level introduction of talents in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (flexible introduction)". He conducts activation research on local minerals in Xinjiang, aiming to contribute to the mainland's energy conservation and emission reduction cause by stimulating mineral activity and exploring the development of green high-performance concrete materials. The project lasted for 3 years and finally won the third prize of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Science and Technology Progress Award, and Li Shaochun also realized the close combination of academic and practical at the same time. Since then, he has also gained a deeper understanding and understanding of the practical application of the results. In the midst of countless achievements, Li Shaochun has relied on his excellent scientific perception to explore another urgent problem to be solved in the application of concrete in the marine field - the corrosion and fouling of marine microorganisms.
Marine microbial corrosion is an important issue to ensure the durability and safety of offshore concrete structures. Subsequently, Li Shaochun determined this scientific research direction, and in 2020, he applied for the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China with the "Study on the Construction of Biomimetic Superhydrophobic Coating on the Surface layer of Concrete and the Inhibition Mechanism and Effect of Marine Biological Corrosion". Starting from the adhesion law and mechanism of marine microorganisms on the surface of concrete, the project establishes a corrosion kinetic model of marine microorganisms on concrete by studying the formation and growth process of biofilm.
On this basis, based on biomimetic theory, the silane SiO2 sol/silane graphene oxide superhydrophobic coating was constructed on the concrete surface by sol gel method and surface modification technology, and the reaction process and construction mechanism of superhydrophobic coating on the concrete surface were explored, so as to realize the controllable adjustment of the chemical composition and microstructure of the concrete surface. By studying the influence mechanism and law of superhydrophobic coatings on the adhesion behavior of marine microorganisms on concrete surfaces, Li Shaochun and his team deeply explored the influence mechanism of superhydrophobic coatings on the corrosion dynamics of marine microorganisms, and established the quantitative relationship between the microstructure of superhydrophobic coatings and the anti-biological corrosion effect through solid sea exposure experiments, and clarified the influence of spatio-temporal changes on the long-term protective effect of superhydrophobic coatings, aiming to provide theoretical basis and technical support for ensuring the safety and long-life operation of offshore concrete structures.
Civil engineering researchers are the "builders" of the country. It is precisely because of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders that Li Shaochun does not dare to slack off for a moment, and he is only willing to move forward without distractions. In addition to scientific research, as the deputy dean of the School of Civil Engineering of Qingdao Technological University, Li Shaochun has the same enthusiasm and perseverance as scientific research for teaching and educating people, and always puts the cultivation of students' scientific literacy in the first place. In addition, due to the strong applicability of the field of scientific research and his own scientific research experience, Li Shaochun also never forgets to remind students that the theoretical basis is still important, but the results of the test must be carried out.