Mission Statement
We design new materials, integrate them into functional devices, and develop scalable manufacturing technologies for a better world.
Research Area 1: Wood Nanotechnologies (Platform)
Wood and other lignocellulosic materials are among the Earth’s most abundant, renewable, and carbon-storing resources. At the heart of these materials are cellulose nanofibers—nature’s high-performance building blocks—which combine exceptional mechanical properties, hierarchical organization, and sustainable abundance.
Our research group harnesses the unique properties of cellulose nanofibers and natural hierarchical architectures from wood, bamboo, grasses, and other plant-derived materials to create next-generation materials and technologies. By integrating nanoscale engineering, molecular design, and scalable manufacturing, we develop multifunctional materials for structural applications, energy, electronics, photonics, thermal management, and beyond, transforming abundant natural resources into high-performance technologies for a more sustainable future.
In the past years, my research group has made a few original, high-impact contributions to engineered wood technologies.
- Invented super strong and tough wood (Super Wood, stronger than steel, but six-times lighter, Nature). The Super Wood research has been widely reported in many media including BNN Bloomberg, VOA news, New York Post, Scientific America and many others. This technology won the R&D 100 Award in 2019, widely recognized as the “Oscars of Invention.” The research received $4M in research funding from DOE ARPA-E to scale up the manufacturing of Super Wood for energy-efficient lightweight vehicle applications. In 2023, my startup company, InventWood LLC, received $20M ARPA_E SCALEUP (the largest DOE ARPA_E grant) funding to scale up the manufacturing and commercialization of Super Wood technology.
- Invented transparent wood (a transmittance of > 92%, a low thermal conductivity 1/6 of glass, and better mechanical toughness and light guiding effects, Advanced Materials, 6, 22, 2016). This transparent wood has been broadly covered by mass media, including CNN, Yahoo Finance, Insider, Science Alert, Phys. Org., etc.
- Invented cooling wood (achieving interior temperatures of up to 9 ºC below ambient, Science, 364, 760, 2019). While other radiative cooling materials have been demonstrated (e.g., dielectric coating layers, metallized polymer films, and even organic gases), it remains a challenge to both manufacture and apply these structures at the size and scale required for construction purposes. I led an engineering strategy to tailor the optical and thermal properties of wood to achieve a high-performance radiative cooling effect. The multiscale fibers and channels function as randomized and disordered scattering elements for an intense broadband reflection at all visible wavelengths. Meanwhile, the molecular vibration and stretching of chemically treated cellulose in cooling wood facilitate strong emission in the infrared. This invented cooling wood has been reported by Xinhua Net, Chemial & Engineering News, MIT Technology Review, The India Express, Phys. Org. and others.
- Invented moldable wood that can be shaped like plastic and metal (Science, 374, 465, 2021; Cover). Wood is a sustainable structural material, but it cannot be easily shaped while maintaining its mechanical properties. I led an invention that that uses cell wall engineering to shape flat sheets of hardwood into versatile three-dimensional structures. This approach widens wood’s potential as a structural material, with lower environmental impact for buildings and transportation applications. This moldable wood has been covered by media including Chemical & Engineering News, Yahoo News, Physics World, Chemistry World, Daily Magazine News and others.
- Invented thermal insulating nanowood (Science Advances, 4,3,2018). The material features a low thermal conductivity of ~0.03 W/m·K. When compared with synthetic, nonrenewable structures (e.g., Styrofoam), the Insulating Nanowood possesses a similar thermal conductivity but significantly higher mechanical strength (highlighted in the Los Angeles Times, and the 2018 HIVE 500 Building Tech Award Winner). Other media have also reported this work on insulating nanowood, including Phys. Org., Nova Next, Inverse, Europa Press, Physics World, etc.
- Invented wood cellulose batteries (Nature, 598, 590, 2021; patent). Opening the molecular channels between the cellulose chains through Cu2+ coordination, my group achieve a Li-ion conductivity as high as 1.5×10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature—a record among all known polymer ion conductors. My group was awarded a $2.6M DOE ARPA_E grant to further develop solid-state battery technology using these Cu-Cellulose-based ion conductors. This work has been broadly covered by media including Physics World, Nature, Yahoo, Green Car Congress, AZO Materials, Eco Inventos, Science Magazine and others.
Detailed descriptions can be find in the links:
Research Area 2: High Temperature (Platform)
Temperature is one of the most powerful parameters for controlling materials synthesis and manufacturing. Yet today’s furnace technologies have changed little for decades and offer limited maximum temperatures, slow thermal response, and inadequate control over temperature uniformity and thermal history.
Our research aims to redefine high-temperature processing by developing programmable ultrahigh-temperature platforms capable of generating uniform temperatures from hundreds to thousands of degrees with unprecedented precision and speed. These capabilities open new opportunities to discover non-equilibrium materials, accelerate materials innovation, and enable scalable manufacturing across energy, structural, electronic, and quantum materials.
Our group invented a few key furnace and process technologies, including ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS) for bulk ceramics, thermal shock for single atom and nanoparticles (particularly high entropy, and a uniform, ultra-high temperature (up to 8,000 K), stable plasma (USP) at atmospheric pressure.
Our ultrahigh-temperature platforms combine the following key capabilities that distinguish them from conventional furnace technologies:
- spatially uniform temperature for reproducible processing;
- fully programmable temperature–time profiles, including steady-state, thermal shock, periodic, and pulsed heating;
- ultrafast heating and cooling rates for precise thermal control;
- an open architecture that enables in situ characterization and fundamental studies;
- customizable designs optimized for diverse materials systems and AI- and machine learning-driven materials discovery;
- and scalable implementations that translate seamlessly from laboratory research to advanced manufacturing.
Ultrahigh temperature stable plasma (2000–8000 K) pulsed heating demo.
Uniform, stable Joule heating for rapid sintering (~ 10 seconds) of metals and ceramics.
Our group has published extensively in this research direction since 2016, with > 120 publications in top journals, including two Science and one Nature cover articles.
- Discovered high entropy alloy nanoparticles synthesized by a rapid, ultrahigh temperature shock method (Science, Cover). This was the first report of high entropy nanostructures with uniformly distributed atoms in nanoparticles with a diameter of just a few nanometers. This work has been widely reported by media, including Materials Today, Science, EurekAlert (AAAS), Science Daily, among others.
- Extended the high temperature shock synthesis to various compositions and different temperature/time profiles to achieve intermetallic (Science Advances), high entropy oxide (Nature Catalysis), and metallic glass structures (Nature), which are technologically important for catalyst applications but were previously impossible to obtain until now. These catalysts show great promising in various catalytic applications, such as ammonia oxidation (Science), ammonia decomposition (Nature Commun.), nitrate reduction (Nano Letter), and methane (Nature Catalysis, Cover).
- Invented ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS) as the leading inventor (Science, Cover). This exciting breakthrough allows various ceramics to be sintered in just 10 seconds, which is ~1000-times faster than conventional sintering processes, which often take ~10 hours. This technique can greatly accelerate the screening and discovery of high-performance ceramic materials, and it may have a huge impact on multiple technological fields, including solid-state batteries, 3D printing, and high-temperature structural ceramics. This work has been widely reported by media, including Yahoo, Chemical & Engineering News, Nanowerk, Science Daily, Eurek Alert, and others.
- Invented programmable heating and cooling method for the non-equilibrium synthesis of thermo-chemical reactions for ammonia synthesis (Nature, Cover) and plastic upcycling (Nature). The dynamic heating process helps prevent the agglomeration of the nanoparticle catalysts. These works have been highlighted by Nature Synthesis, Packaging Insights, Chemistry World, Nature Podcast, Phys. Org, Nature Physics, among others.
- Invented a uniform, ultra-high temperature (up to 8,000 K), stable plasma (USP) at atmospheric pressure that is achieved using a pair of carbon-tip-enhanced electrodes. This simple and practical plasma technology may help overcome the challenges in high-temperature synthesis and enable large-scale electrified plasma manufacturing powered by renewable electricity. These works have been highlighted by Nature Synthesis.
Detailed descriptions can be find in the links:
- UHS [link]
- USP [link]
- Thermal shock [link]
- High entropy catalysts [link]
- Thermal barrier coating [link]
- Plastic to fuel by vertical 3D reactors [link]
- Thermal barrier coating [link]
- NH3 synthesis [link]
- Extreme metals and ceramics [link]
- High temperature for carbon synthesis and treatment [link]
- Materials discovery, combinatory, AI and ML [link]
Ultrahigh (up to 3500 K); Rapid on/off; Programmable; 2D or 3D Heater
Typical UHS Process for LLZTO, heating rate: ~20,000 C/min. Sintering: ~6s at ~ at 1,500 C.
Electrified vapor deposition using Joule heating
Research Area 3: Energy Storage
Energy storage is a cornerstone of modern society, powering consumer electronics, electric transportation, renewable energy integration, data centers, and the rapidly growing demands of artificial intelligence. As energy consumption continues to rise, there is an urgent need for safer, higher-energy-density, lower-cost, and more sustainable energy storage technologies.
Historically, major breakthroughs in energy storage have been driven by innovations in materials, from new electrode and electrolyte chemistries to advanced interfaces and manufacturing methods. Our research group focuses on materials innovations that transform energy storage technologies.
Over the past 15 years, we have developed a broad portfolio of next-generation energy storage systems, including solid-state batteries (particularly lithium-metal batteries), flexible paper and textile batteries, transient batteries, and batteries with unconventional form factors.
We have pioneered interface engineering for solid-state batteries, ultrafast sintering technologies for the discovery and scalable manufacturing of solid-state electrolytes, and cellulose-based energy storage systems, including solid-state cellulose ion conductors and aqueous batteries.
Our goal is to establish new materials and manufacturing paradigms that enable safer, higher-performance, and more sustainable energy storage for the future.
Detailed descriptions can be find in the links:
- Interface engineering [Link]
- Transient batteries [Link]
- Cellulose batteries [Link]
- 10-second sintering of solid state electrolyte [Link]
- Printed solid state electrolyte and batteries [Link]
- Chitosan batteries [Link]
Research Area 4: Flexible Electronics
Printed electronics are transforming the way electronic devices are manufactured, enabling a future of low-cost, lightweight, flexible, and ubiquitous electronics integrated into everyday objects. Ink-based printing technologies—including sheet-to-sheet and high-throughput roll-to-roll manufacturing—offer scalable pathways for producing electronics over large areas with minimal material waste and energy consumption.
Our research group develops novel functional inks and rapid printing technologies for next-generation electronic devices. We design printable materials based on carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphene oxide, boron nitride nanosheets, nanocellulose, and other emerging nanomaterials, while advancing scalable printing processes that enable high-performance electronic, energy, sensing, and wearable systems.
By integrating innovative materials with advanced manufacturing, we aim to realize the vision of electronics everywhere, where intelligent, connected, and sustainable electronic devices become seamlessly embedded throughout our built environment.
Detailed descriptions can be find in the links:
- Roll to roll printed carbon nanotube electronics [ink]
- New Copper [ink]
- Printed BN thermal management materials [ink]
- Printed batteries [Link]
- Cooling paint [Link]
- Paper substrates [Link]
Research Area 5: Others
Beyond our established research programs, we continuously explore emerging frontiers in materials innovation to address future technological challenges. We embrace an open and curiosity-driven research philosophy, believing that many of the most transformative discoveries cannot be fully planned in advance but instead arise from unexpected observations and scientific curiosity.
We encourage every member of our group to pay close attention to unusual or surprising phenomena in the laboratory and to ask fundamental questions about their origins. These “unexpected results” often become the seeds of entirely new research directions. This discovery-driven approach has led to some of our group’s most significant innovations, including the invention of Super Wood and the development of the ultrahigh-temperature Uniform Stable Plasma (USP) process.
Detailed descriptions can be find in the links:
- Chitosan
- Glass-ceramic Cooling Paint
- BN for thermal management
- Ion intercalation tuned 2D materials
- Carbon fiber upgrading
- Electron battery for ionic system
- Solar steam, clean water