We focus on the material engineering based on light atoms for the purpose of realizing a wide-range electronic/band property tuning, from insulators (e. g. h-BN), semiconductors (carbon nitride) to conductors (carbon). This should be of fundamental importance in understanding many other interesting properties for a material, including optical, luminescent, optoelectrical properties, etc. We explore these materials for drug delivery, bioimaging, and implantable device applications.

　　Light atoms including boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen can form various building blocks that could be used for further construction of many materials. These atoms locate at the neighboring positions at the second row of the periodic table, which are close with each other and can effectively form conjugated structures. It is expected that the structures and properties of this type of materials are highly tunable through rational designs.