Ali Esfandiar received his Ph.D. in Nanophysics from Sharif University of Technology in 2013. He subsequently completed a sabbatical at the University of Pennsylvania, where he focused on high-quality synthesis and device fabrication of graphene-based field-effect transistors. In 2014, he joined the Department of Physics at the University of Manchester, then the National Graphene Institute, under the supervision of Professor Sir Andre Geim. His research there centered on two-dimensional (2D) material heterostructures, the development of novel sub-nanometer 2D channels, and fundamental studies of fluid transport under nanoscale confinement.
From 2018 to 2023, he served as a faculty member at Sharif University of Technology, concentrating on the use of 2D materials as hybrid materials for molecular sieving and energy storage applications. He then joined the Department of Physics at École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris as an academic visitor, collaborating with Prof. Lydéric Bocquet on emerging quantum-coupling mechanisms at solid–liquid interfaces.
In 2024, he moved to the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in the department of Prof. Mischa Bonn, where he contributed to advanced vibrational spectroscopy studies of confined liquids. Since 2026, he has been a group leader and founded the Iontronics of Confined Liquids (IOCL) group.
Research interests
The IOCL group is dedicated to uncovering the fundamental physics and chemistry of ion transport and interfacial phenomena in liquids under extreme confinement. We explore how ionic motion, solvation dynamics, charge regulation, and ion–ion as well as ion–surface interactions are regulated within nanochannels, porous media, electrodes, and membranes. These confined environments, ubiquitous in biological ion channels, synthetic nanopores, electrochemical systems, and osmotic platforms, enable us to unlock atomic-scale transport mechanisms and anomalous behaviors that critically govern reaction kinetics and energy conversion efficiency.
By combining ultra-low-noise ionic transport measurements with advanced time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, we probe the structural and dynamical processes at solid–liquid interfaces with molecular resolution. Channels constructed from minerals, polymers, or 2D crystals offer tunable interfaces for studying electrolyte behavior under sub-nanometer, one-, and 2D confinement. Through the design of multiscale ionic architectures that couple ion dynamics with physical dimensions, surface charges, and electronic charge transport at the walls, our group aims to establish scalable iontronic platforms, realize learning-capable circuits, and develop next-generation smart channels for energy and bioinspired applications.