Research
Research Interests
My research focus lies in extending dimensionality in energy material analysis by developing and employing advanced analytic methods to establish rational design principles for high-performance energy materials.
My works have combined:
(1) Resolving the time-resolved structural dynamics in energy materials under operating conditions through the electrochemical liquid-cell TEM (EC-LCTEM) method: Unraveling their in situ electrochemical reaction mechanisms.
(2) Resolving the 3D atomic structures of inorganic nanocrystals through the graphene liquid-cell (GLC) technique: Revealing their structure-property relationship
01
Electrochemical Liquid-Cell TEM (EC-LCTEM)
Real-time observation of dynamic structural evolution in energy materials, including electrocatalysts and battery materials, under operating conditions provides most direct insights into fundamental electrochemical mechanisms at solid-liquid interfaces. Through the development of advanced EC-LCTEM methods that ensure reliable electrochemical reactions and high-resolution imaging, I aim to unravel elusive mechanistic details in various energy materials.
Completed/Ongoing Research
▪ Unraveling serial degradation process of fuel cell catalysts (Pt/C) under AST (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025)
▪ Revealing in situ formation of Cu2O adparticles on the Cu-Ag alloy during CO2RR (Nature Catalysis, 2025)
▪ Developing heating & cooling electrochemical liquid-cell TEM method (Journal of the American Society, 2025)
▪ Investigating Li plating and stripping behaviors under different current conditions (In preparation)
▪ Investigating MnO2 deposition chemistry under potential applied condition (In preparation)
▪ Real-time observation for Cu nanoparticle evolution from Cu-based single atom catalyst (In preparation)
▪ Demonstrating the reliability of electrochemical liquid-cell TEM for observing energy materials under different electrochemical conditions (In preparation)
02
3D atomic structure identification for metal nanocrystals
Different surface structures have different electronic structures, leading to different adsorption tendencies with external molecules and resulting in different catalytic activities. Nanocrystals that are usually used to practical catalysts consist of various types of surface structures. To decouple their complex collective property, I contributed to the development of the 3D atomic structure identification method, named Brownian one-particle reconstruction. Based on the method, I aim to reveal the structure-property relationship of nanoparticulate catalysts.
Completed/Ongoing Research
▪ Determining the 3D atomic structures of synthesized Pt nanocrystals (Science, 2020) *2nd author
▪ Quantifying surface atomic structures of the synthesized Pt nanocrystals (Nano Letters, 2021)
▪ Investigating adsorption properties of large-sized molecules on complex surfaces (Nanoscale, 2023)
▪ Revealing a structure-activity (alkaline HER) relationship of the synthesized Pt nanocrystals by using multi-scale simulation (In preparation)