Xu Yunhua

Research direction

Energy storage and conversion, battery materials and devices, fundamental battery electrochemistry

Education

6/2008 Ph. D. in Material Physics and Chemistry, South China University of Technology, China
6/2002 B. S. in Applied Physics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Zhengzhou University, China

Employment history

7/2015 - present Professor, Tianjin University.
9/2009 - 11/2015 Visiting scholar, Research Associate, Assistant Research Scientist, University of Maryland - College Park.
2/2014 - 7/2014 Research Associate, Iowa State University.
12/2006 - 6/2009 Visiting Scholar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of California at Santa Barbara.
6/2003 - 6/2008 Research Assistant, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.

Areas of research interest

Rechargeable batteries, including Li-ion batteries, Na-ion batteries, Li-S and Na-S batteries, solid state batteries;
Supercapacitors;
Nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion;

Organic materials for energy storage and conversion;

Fundamental electrochemistry

Honors and awards

1. May 2015 1000Plan Program for Young Talents, China
2. Nov. 2010 National Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award (Top 100), China
3. Mar. 2010 Ellen Williams Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship, UMD - College Park, USA
4. Dec. 2009 Outstanding Ph.D. thesis Award of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
5. Nov. 2009 Outstanding Ph.D. thesis Award of South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
6. Jan. 2009 Science and Technology Award of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
7. Oct. 2007 Outstanding Graduate student Award of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
8. Dec. 2005 Doctorate Foundation Award of South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
9. Nov. 2005 First-class scholarship of the outstanding graduate students of SCUT, Guangzhou, China
10. Feb. 2002 Outstanding student award of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 

Selected publications(Journal articles, patents and books)

74. Peixun Xiong, Xinpeng Han, Xinxin Zhao, Panxing Bai, Yang Liu, Jie Sun, Yunhua Xu,* Room temperature potassium-sulfur batteries enabled by microporous carbon stabilized small-molecule sulfur cathodes ACS Nano, under revision.

73. Chong Zhang, Yu Qiao, Peixun Xiong, Wenyan Ma, Panxing Bai, Xue Wang, Qi Li, Jin Zhao, Yunfeng Xu, Yu Chen, Jing Hui Zeng, Feng Wang, Yunhua Xu,* Jia-Xing Jiang,* Conjugated microporous polymers with tunable electronic structure for high performance potassium-ion batteries, ACS Nano, 2019, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b08046.

72. Benfang Li, Jin Zhao, Zihe Zhang, Chen Zhao, Pengfei Sun, Panxing Bai, Jixing Yang, Zhen Zhou*, Yunhua Xu,* Electrolyte-regulated solid-electrolyte interphase enables long cycle life performance in organic cathodes for potassium-ion batteries, Advanced Functional Materials, 2018, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201807137.

71. Yongwu He, Panxing Bai, Shuyan Gao,* Yunhua Xu,* The marriage of an ether-based electrolyte with hard carbon anodes creates superior sodium-ion batteries with high mass loading, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2018, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b15274.

70. Yichun Wang, Xin Zhang, Peixun Xiong, Fuxing Yin, Yunhua Xu, Biao Wan, Qingzhou Wang, Gongkai Wang,* Puguang Ji,* Huiyang Gou,* Insight into the intercalation mechanism of WSe2 onions toward metal ion capacitors: sodium rivals lithium, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6, 21605, 2018.

69.Honglin Luo, Peixun Xiong, Jing Xie, Zhiwei Yang, Yuan Huang, Jimin Hu,* Yizao Wan,* Yunhua Xu,* Uniformly dispersed free-standing carbon nanofiber/graphene electrodes made by a scalable biological method for high-performance flexible supercapacitors, Advanced Functional Materials, 28, 1803075, 2018.

68.Shuibin Tu, Xiang Chen, Xinxin Zhao, Mingren Cheng, Peixun Xiong, Yongwu He, Qiang Zhang,* Yunhua Xu,* A polysulfide-immobilizing polymer retards the shuttle of polysulfide intermediates in lithium-sulfur batteries, Advanced Materials, 30, 1804581, 2018.

67. Qiang Jiang, Yusen Li, Xinxin Zhao, Peixun Xiong, Xiang Yu, Yunhua Xu,* Long Chen,* Inverse-vulcanization of vinylic functionalized covalent organic frameworks as efficient cathode materials for Li-S batteries, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6, 17977, 2018.

66. Peixun Xiong, Panxing Bai, Shuibin Tu, Mingren Cheng, Jinfeng Zhang, Jie Sun, Yunhua Xu,* Red phosphorus nanoparticle@3D interconnected carbon nanosheet framework composite for potassium-ion battery anodes, Small, 14, 1802140, 2018.

65. Xinxin Zhao, Yifan Tang, Chaolun Ni, Jiangwei Wang,* Alexander Star,* Yunhua Xu,* Free-standing nitrogen-doped cup-stacked carbon nanotube mats for potassium-ion battery anodes, ACS Applied Energy Materials, 1, 1703, 2018.

64. Panxing Bai, Yongwu He, Peixun Xiong, Xinxin Zhao, Kang Xu,* Yunhua Xu,* Long cycle life and high rate sodium-ion chemistry for hard carbon anodes, Energy Storage Materials, 13, 274, 2018..

63. Panxing Bai, Yongwu He, Xiaoxi Zou, Xinxin Zhao, Peixun Xiong, Yunhua Xu,* Elucidation of the sodium-storage mechanism in hard carbons, Advanced Energy Materials, 2018, DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201703217.

62. Chong Zhang, Yongwu He, Pan Mu, Xue Wang, Qian He, Yu Chen, Jinghui Zeng, Feng Wang, Yunhua Xu,* Jia-Xing Jiang,* Toward high performance thiophene-containing conjugated microporous polymer anodes for lithium-ion batteries through structure design, Advanced Functional Materials, 28, 1705432, 2018.

61. Peixun Xiong, Xinxin Zhao, Yunhua Xu,* Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes derived from metal-organic frameworks for potassium-ion battery anodes, ChemSusChem, 11, 202, 2018.

60. Jin Zhao, Jixing Yang, Pengfei Sun, Yunhua Xu,* Sodium sulfonate groups substituted anthraquinone as an organic cathode for potassium batteries, Electrochemistry Communications, 86, 34, 2018.

59. Xinxin Zhao, Peixun Xiong, Jianfang Meng, Yanqin Liang, Jiangwei Wang, Yunhua Xu,* High rate and long cycle life porous carbon nanofiber paper anodes for potassium-ion batteries, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 5, 19237, 2017.

58. Xiaoxi Zou, Peixun Xiong, Jin Zhao, Jimin Hu, Zhitian Liu,* Yunhua Xu,* Recent research progress in non-aqueous potassium-ion batteries, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19, 26495, 2017.

57. Qiannan Wang, Xinxin Zhao, Chaolun Ni, He Tian, Jixue Li, Ze Zhang, Scott X. Mao, Jiangwei Wang,* Yunhua Xu,* Reaction and capacity fading mechanisms of tin nanoparticles in potassium-ion batteries, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 121, 12652, 2017.

56. Jin Zhao, Xiaoxi Zou, Yujie Zhu, Yunhua Xu,* Chunsheng Wang, Electrochemical intercalation of potassium into graphite, Advanced Functional Materials, 26, 8103, 2016.

55. Chao Luo, Yujie Zhu, Oleg Borodin, Tao Gao, Xiulin Fan, Yunhua Xu, Kang Xu, Chunsheng Wang, Activation of oxygen-stabilized sulfur for Li and Na batteries, Advanced Functional Materials, 26, 745, 2016.

54. Yunhua Xu, Yang Wen, Yujie Zhu, Gaskell Karen, Katie A. Cychosz, Bryan Eichhorn, Kang Xu, Chunsheng Wang, Sulphur confined in microporous carbon renders superior cycling stability in lithium-sulphur battery, Advanced Functional Materials, 25, 4313, 2015.

53. Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, Fudong Han, Chao Luo, Chunsheng Wang, 3D Si/C fiber paper electrodes fabricated by a combined electrospray/electrospinging technology for Li-ion batteries, Advanced Energy Materials, 5, 1400753, 2015.

52. Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, Chunsheng Wang, Mesoporous carbon/silicon composite anodes with enhancement performance for lithium-ion batteries, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2, 9751, 2014.

51. Yunhua Xu, Guoqiang Jian, Yihang Liu, Yujie Zhu, Michael R. Zachariah, Chunsheng Wang, Superior electrochemical performance and structure evolution of mesoporous Fe₂O₃ anodes for lithium-ion battereis, Nano Energy, 3, 26, 2014.

50. Guoqiang Jian, Yunhua Xu, Li-Chung Lai, Chunsheng Wang, Michael R. Zachariah, Mn3O4 hollow spheres for lithium-ion batteries with high rate and capacity, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2, 4627, 2014.

49. Yang Wen, Kai He, Yujie Zhu, Fudong Han, Yunhua Xu, Isamu Matsuda, Yoshitaka Ishii, John Cumings, Chunsheng Wang, Superior sodium-ion battery anodes based on expanded graphite and atomic-scale investigation of storage mechanisms, Nature Communications, 5, 4033, 2014.

48. Ying Liu, Feifei, Fan, Jiangwei Wang, Yang Liu, Hailong Chen, Katherine Jungjohann, Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, David Biqio, Ting Zhu, Chunsheng Wang, In situ TEM study of electrochemical sodiation and potassiation of carbon nanofibers, Nano Letters, 14, 3445, 2014.

47. Ying Liu, Jiangwei Wang, Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, Yihang Liu, David Bigio, Chunsheng Wang, Lithium-tellurium batteries based on tellurium/porous carbon composite, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2, 12201, 2014.

46. Shiyou Zheng, Feng Yi, Zhipeng Li, Yujie Zhu, Yunhua Xu, Chao Luo, Junhe Yang and Chunsheng Wang, Copper-stabilized sulfur-microporous carbon cathodes for Li-S batteries, Advanced Functional Materials, 24, 4156, 2014.

45. Chao Luo, Yujie Zhu, Tao Gao, Yunhua Xu, Yihang Liu, Jing Wang, Chunsheng Wang, Graphene oxide wrapped croconic acid disodium salt for sodium ion battery electrodes, Journal of Power Sources, 250, 372, 2014.

44. Bo Liang*, Yanping Liu, Yunhua Xu, Silicon-based composite materials as high capacity anodes for next generation lithium ion batteries, Journal of Power Sources, 267, 469, 2014.

43. Yunhua Xu, Guoqiang Jian, Michael R. Zachariah, Chunsheng Wang, Nano-structured carbon-coated hollow CuO spheres as high rate anodes for lithium-ion batteries, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 1, 15486, 2013.

42. Yunhua Xu, Qing Liu, Yujie Zhu, Yihang Liu, Alex Langrock, Michael R. Zachariah, Chunsheng Wang, Uniform nano-Sn/C composite anodes for lithium ion batteries, Nano Letters, 13, 470, 2013.

41. Shiyou Zheng, Yvonne Chen, Yunhua Xu, Feng Yi, Yujie Zhu, Yihang Liu, Junhe Yang, Chunsheng Wang, Superior electrochemical performance of in situ formed lithium sulfide/microporous carbon cathodes for lithium-ion batteries, ACS Nano, 7, 10995, 2013.

40. Yujie Zhu, Jiangwei Wang, Yang Liu, Xiaohua Liu, Akihiro Kushima, Yihang Liu, Yunhua Xu, Scott X. Mao, Ju Li, Chunsheng Wang, Jianyu Huang, In-situ atomic-scale imaging of phase boundary migration in FePO4 microparticles during electrochemical lithiation, Advanced Materials, 25, 5461, 2013.

39. Yujie Zhu, Xiaogang Han, Yunhua Xu, Yihang Liu, Shiyou Zheng, Kang Xu, Liangbing Hu, Chunsheng Wang, Electrospun Sb/C fibers for a stable and fast sodium ion battery anode, ACS Nano, 7, 6378, 2013.

38. Yihang Liu, Wei Zhang, Yujie Zhu, Yanting Luo, Yunhua Xu, Adam Brown, James N. Culver, Cynthia A. Lundgren, Kang Xu, Yuan Wang, Chunsheng Wang, Architecturing hierarchical function layers on self-assembled viral templates as 3D nano-array electrodes for integrated Li-ion microbatteries, Nano Letters, 13, 293, 2013.

37. Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, Yihang Liu, Chunsheng Wang, Electrochemical performance of porous carbon/tin composite anodes for sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, Advanced Energy Materials, 3, 128, 2013.

36. Chao Luo, Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, Yihang Liu, Shiyou Zheng, Ying Liu, Alex Langrock, Chunsheng Wang, Selenium@mesoporous carbon composite with superior lithium and sodium storage capacity, ACS Nano, 7, 8003, 2013.

35. Xiaogang Han, Yunhua Xu, Xinyi Chen, Yu-Chen Chen, Nicholas Weadock, Jiayu Wan, Hongli Zhu, Yonglin Liu, Heqin Li, Gary Rubloff, Chunsheng Wang, Liangbing Hu, Reactivation of dissolved polysulfides in Li-S batteries based on atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃ in porous carbon cloth, Nano Energy, 2, 1197, 2013.

34. Yihang Liu, Yunhua Xu, Yujie Zhu, James N. Culver, Cynthia A. Lundgren, Kang Xu, Chunsheng Wang, Tin coated viral-nanoforests as sodium-ion battery anodes, ACS Nano, 7, 3627, 2013.

33. Yujie Zhu, Yunhua Xu, Yihang Liu, Chao Luo, Chunsheng Wang, Comparison of electrochemical performances of olivine NaFePO4 in sodium-ion batteries and olivine LiFePO4 in lithium-ion batteries, Nanoscale, 5, 780, 2013.

32. Alex Langrock, Yunhua Xu, Yihang Liu, Sheryl Ehrman, Ayyakkannu Manivannan, Cunsheng Wang, Carbon coated hollow Na₂FePO₄F spheres for Na-ion battery cathodes, Journal of Power Sources, 223, 62, 2013.

31. Yunhua Xu, Juchen Guo, Chunsheng Wang, Sponge-like porous carbon/tin composite anode materials for lithium ion batteries, Journal of Materials Chemistry, 22, 9562, 2012.

30. Yonglin Liu, Yunhua Xu, Xiaogang Han, Chris Pellegrinelli, Yujie zhu, Hongli zhu, Jiayu Wan, Alex Chong Chung, Oeyvind Vaaland, Chunsheng Wang, Liangbing Hu, Porous amorphous FePO4 nanoparticles connected by single-wall carbon nanotubes for sodium ion battery cathodes, Nano Letters, 12, 5664, 2012.

29. Juchen Guo, Yunhua Xu, Chunsheng Wang, Sulfur impregnated disordered carbon nanotubes cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries, Nano Letters, 11, 4288, 2011.

28. Zhao Chen, Xuan-Dung Dang, Andrea Gutacker, Andrew Garcia, Huaping Li, Yunhua Xu, Lei Ying, Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, Guillermo C. Bazan, Reconstruction of conjugated oligoelectrolyte electron injection layers, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 132, 12160, 2010.

27. Lei Ying, Lei Wang, An-Qi Zhang, Yunhua Xu, Wei Yang, Yong Cao, Synthesis and electroluminescent properties of hyperbranched light-emitting polymers with iridium complex as core and 3,6-carbazole as branch, Chemical Journal of Chinese Universities, 31, 1480, 2010.

26. Yunhua Xu, Reqiang Yang, Junbiao Peng, Alexander A. Mikhailovsky, Yong Cao, Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, and Guillermo C. Bazan, Solvent effects on the architecture and performance of white emitting polymer light-emitting diodes with conjugated oligoelectrolyte electron transport layers, Advanced Materials, 21, 584, 2009.

25. Bo Liang, Yunhua Xu, Zhao Chen, Junbiao peng, Yong Cao, White polymer phosphorescent light-emitting devices with a new yellow-emitting iridium complex doped into polyfluorene, Synthetic Metals, 159, 1876, 2009.

24. Huaping Li, Yuhua Xu, Jung Hwa Seo, Corey V. Hoven, Chunzeng Li, Guillermo C. Bazan, Zwitterionic electron injection layers: molecular design, device function and surface properties, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131, 8903, 2009.

23. Rong Guan, Yunhua Xu, Lei Ying, Wei Yang, Hongbin Wu, Qiliang Chen and Yong Cao, Novel green-light-emitting hyperbranched polymers with iridium complex as core and 3,6-carbazoleco-2,6-pyridine unit as branch, Journal of Materials Chemistry, 19, 531, 2009.

22. Lei Ying, Yunhua Xu, Wei Yang, Lei Wang, Hongbin Wu, Yong Cao, Efficient red-lightemitting diodes based on novel amino-alkyl containing electrophosphorescent polyfluorenes with Al or Au as cathode, Organic Electronics, 10, 42, 2009.

21. Yan Xiong, Lei Wang, Wei Xu, Jianhua Zou, Hongbin Wu, Yunhua Xu, Junbiao Peng, Jian Wang, Yong Cao, Gang Yu, Performance analysis of PLED based flat panel display with RGBW subpixel layout, Organic Electronics, 10, 857, 2009.

20. Yunhua Xu, Rong Guan, Jiaxing Jiang, Wei Yang, Hongyu Zhen, Junbiao Peng, and Yong Cao, Molecular design of efficient white-light-emitting fluorene-based copolymers by mixing singlet and triplet emission, Journal of Polymer Science Part A, 46, 453, 2008.

19. Renqiang Yang, Yunhua Xu, Dung Dang, Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, Yong Cao, and Guillermo C. Bazan, Conjugated oligoelectrolyte electron transport/injection layers for organic optoelectronic devices, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 130, 3282, 2008.

18. Jeffrey Peet, Erin Brocker, Yunhua Xu, and Guillermo C. Bazan, Controlled β-phase formation in poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorene) by processing with alkyl additives, Advanced Materials, 20, 1882, 2008.

17. Rui Zhu, Jian Ming Lin, Wei Zhi Wang, Chao Zheng, Wei Wei, Wei Huang, Yunhua Xu, Jun Biao Peng, and Yong Cao, Use of the β-phase of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) as a probe into the interfacial interplay for the mixed bilayer films formed by sequential spin-coating, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 112, 1611, 2008.

16. Yunhua Xu, Bo Liang, Junbiao Peng, Qiaoli Niu, Wenbo Huang and Jian Wang, Efficient Red phosphorescence polymer light-emitting diodes with aluminum cathode, Organic Electronics, 8, 535, 2007.

15. Yong Huang, Yunhua Xu, Wei Xu, Jiangang Zhou, Junbiao Peng, Yong Cao, Efficient top-emitting polymer light-emitting diodes using chromium as anode, Chinese Physics Letters, 24, 2097, 2007.

14. Qiaoli Niu, Yunhua Xu, Jiaxing Jiang, Junbiao Peng, and Yong Cao, Efficient polymer whitelight-emitting diodes with a single-emission layer of fluorescent polymer blend, Journal of luminescence, 126, 531, 2007.

13. Yong Zhang, Yunhua Xu, Qiaoli Niu, Wei Yang, Junbiao Peng, Xuhui Zhu, and Yong Cao, Synthesis and optoelectronic characterization of conjugated phosphorescent polyelectrolytes with neutral Ir complex incorporated into polymer backbone and their neutral precursors, Journal of Materials Chemistry, 17, 992, 2007.

12. Xiuju Zhang, Yunhua Xu, Yi-heng Sun, Huahong Shi, Xu-hui Zhu, Yong Cao, Synthesis of a red electrophosphorescent heteroleptic iridium complex and its application in efficient polymer lightemitting diodes, Thin Solid Films, 515, 7347, 2007.

11. Xiuju Zhang, Yunhua Xu, Huahuong Shi, Synthesis and phosphorescence of a new greenishblue light-emitting iridium(Ⅲ) bis(1-phenylpyridine)(1,2,4-triazole pyridine), Chinese Journal of Luminescence, 28, 44, 2007.

10. Bo Liang, Lei Wang, Yunhua Xu, and Yong Cao, High-efficiency red phosphorescent iridium dendrimers with charge-transporting dendrons: synthesis and electroluminescent properties, Advanced Functional Materials, 17, 3580, 2007.

9. Wei Xu, Junbiao Peng, Yunhua Xu, Jian Wang, Zhe Huang, Qiaoli Niu, Yong Cao, stability study of saturated red polymer light-emitting diodes, Chinese Science Bulletin, 52, 1612, 2007.

8. Yunhua Xu, Xiuju Zhang, Junbiao Peng, Qiaoli Niu, and Yong Cao, Efficient polymer white light-emitting diodes with a phosphorescent dopant, Semiconductor Science and Technology, 21, 1373, 2006.

7. Yunhua Xu, Junbiao Peng, and Yong Cao, Progress of white organic light-emitting diodes, Progress in Chemistry, 18, 389, 2006.

6. Jiaxing Jiang, Yunhua Xu, Wei Yang, Zhenqin Liu, Hongyu Zhen, and Yong Cao, High efficiency white light single polymer by mixing singlet and triplet light-emitting, Advanced Materials, 18, 1769, 2006.

5. Xiuju Zhang, Yunhua Xu, Huahong Shi, Organic phosphorescent electroluminescent materials with iridium core, Progress in Chemistry, 18, 870, 2006.

4. Hongyu Zhen, Wei Xu, Wei Yang, Qiliang Chen, Yunhua Xu, Jiaxing Jiang, Junbiao Peng and Yong Cao, White light-emitting diodes from a single polymer with singlet and triplet chromophores on the backbone, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 27, 2095, 2006.

3. Yunhua Xu, Junbiao Peng, Jiaxing Jiang, Wei Xu, Wei Yang, and Yong Cao, Efficient white-light-emitting diodes based on polymer co-doped with two phosphorescent dyes, Applied Physics Letters, 87, 193502, 2005.

2. Yunhua Xu, Junbiao Peng, Yueqi Mo, Qiong Hou, and Yong Cao, Efficient polymer white-light-emitting diodes, Applied Physics Letters, 86, 163502, 2005.

1. Xiuju Zhang, Changyun Jiang, Yueqi Mo, Yunhua Xu, Huahong Shi, and Yong Cao, High efficiency blue-light-emitting electrophosphorescent device with polymer host, Applied Physics Letters, 86, 051116, 2005.