On October 25, 2016, Professor Peng, Shie-Ming from Taiwan University showed up as a guest on the 87^th Lecture Forum held by Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), delivering a wonderful speech titled “From Homonuclear Metal String Complexes to Heteronuclear Metal String Complexes” to the teachers and students at the lecture hall in our library, while sharing the magic power of chemistry with the students. The lecture forum was chaired by Zhang Xumu, dean of the Chemistry Department of SUSTech.

Professor Peng, Shie-Ming worked as the Dean of the Chemistry Department and Vice President of Taiwan University, and now is the academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and lifetime distinguished professor of Taiwan University. In 2003, he won the Chemistry Award of the Third World Academy of Sciences.

From the perspective of chemical bond, Mr. Peng introduced his research field, in which he succeeded in metal-metal multiple bond complexes. At the lecture forum, he took out a molecular model and explained the attendees the difference between homonuclear metal string and heteronuclear metal string from the view of different structures of metal strings; and introduced the left- and right-handed molecular, symmetric and asymmetric structures, chemical oxidation of metal string, axial extension and many others. After that, Mr. Peng presented the electronic structure and isotope structure of a metal bond in various structures, describing the metallic bond structure coordinated from single metal to nine metals.

Following that, Mr. Peng showed a group of photos of him in front of spiral-like buildings across the world, by which he introduced a series of ligands and metal complexes. “With the increase of the length of complexes, the synthesis of metal strings will be harder and harder,” said Prof. Peng. Meanwhile, he also showed the structure of metal string complexes with from three nuclear, five nuclear to seven nuclear and even nine nuclear. “This aims to address the basic issues of chemistry,” he added.

In the Q&A session, Prof. Peng responded with patience to all the questions asked by students, and presented metal string gifts made by himself to them, creating a warm atmosphere at the scene.