Song Jin is interested in the chemistry and physics of nanoscale materials and their renewable energy applications. He studies a variety of nanomaterials including transition metal silicide nanowires and metal oxide and chalcogenide nanomaterials, their novel physical properties and applications in photovoltaic and thermoelectric energy conversion, energy storage (Lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors). An area of emphasis of his research is on developing inexpensive and earth-abundant materials for the large scale renewable energy applications. He is interested in the general formation mechanism of one-dimensional nanoscale materials driven by screw dislocations in the context of crystal growth theory and bioinspired assembly of nanoscale functional materials.​