Bio


Hong Yang is currently a PhD student in Geological Science working with Wendy L. Mao. He joined Mao’s lab at Stanford University in 2018, after finishing his Master’s Degree at HPSTAR, Shanghai, where he was supervised by Jung-Fu Lin. His Master’s thesis focused on the experimental determination of iron isotopic fractionation behavior of lower mantle phases using the Synchrotron X-ray technique NRIXS. Before that, he was an undergraduate majoring in Geochemistry at the University of Science and Technology of China. There he performed the quality assessment of bottled drinking water and water from Lake Chao under Fang Huang’s supervision.

Hong’s research interests include the chemical (especially isotopic) evolution of the Earth and other planetary bodies; structure and sound velocities of iron-alloys at high pressure; pressure-induced electronic, magnetic, elastic and structural transitions in materials; as well as high pressure photon science. His recent research was published on Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 506, 113-122 (2019), entitled “Iron isotopic fractionation in mineral phases from Earth’s lower mantle: Did terrestrial magma ocean crystallization fractionate iron isotopes?”.

Education & Certifications


  • Master of Science, Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR), Condensed Matter Physics (2018)
  • Bachelor of Natural Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Geochemistry (2015)

Personal Interests


Hong loves outdoor activities off the beaten path. He was the president of Students’ Nature Preservation Association at USTC in 2014 and organized activities including lake water sampling and bird watching. He enjoys travel to national parks, geological parks and nature preserves. He is also a fan of Chinese history with special interest in the study of the “Silk Road”, Dunhuang Caves and the Hsi Hsia empire. His favorite musicians are Yanni, Mayday, Jay Chou, Leehom Wang, Fish Leong and Hebe Tien.

All Publications


  • Phase transition kinetics revealed by in situ x-ray diffraction in laser-heated dynamic diamond anvil cells PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH Ricks, M., Gleason, A. E., Miozzi, F., Yang, H., Chariton, S., Prakapenka, V. B., Sinogeikin, S., Sandberg, R. L., Mao, W. L., Pandolfi, S. 2024; 6 (1)
  • Composition of Earth's initial atmosphere and fate of accreted volatiles set by core formation and magma ocean redox evolution EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Gu, J. T., Peng, B., Ji, X., Zhang, J., Yang, H., Hoyos, S., Hirschmann, M. M., Kite, E. S., Fischer, R. A. 2024; 629
  • Preliminary Characterization of Submarine Basalt Magnetic Mineralogy Using Amplitude-Dependence of Magnetic Susceptibility GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Yang, H., Tikoo, S. M., Carvallo, C., Bilardello, D., Solheid, P., Gaastra, K. M., Sager, W. W., Thoram, S., Hoernle, K., Hoefig, T. W., Avery, A., Del Gaudio, A. V., Huang, Y., Bhutani, R., Buchs, D. M., Class, C., Dai, Y., Dalla Valle, G., Fielding, S., Han, S., Heaton, D. E., Homrighausen, S., Kubota, Y., Li, C., Nelson, W. R., Petrou, E., Potter, K. E., Pujatti, S., Scholpp, J., Shervais, J. W., Tshiningayamwe, M., Wang, X. J., Widdowson, M. 2024; 25 (2)
  • Quasi-One-Dimensional Metallicity in Compressed CsSnI3. Journal of the American Chemical Society Ke, F., Yan, J., Matheu, R., Niu, S., Wolf, N. R., Yang, H., Yin, K., Wen, J., Lee, Y. S., Karunadasa, H. I., Mao, W. L., Lin, Y. 2022

    Abstract

    Low-dimensional metal halides exhibit strong structural and electronic anisotropies, making them candidates for accessing unusual electronic properties. Here, we demonstrate pressure-induced quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) metallicity in delta-CsSnI3. With the application of pressure up to 40 GPa, the initially insulating delta-CsSnI3 transforms to a metallic state. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the starting 1D chain structure of edge-sharing Sn-I octahedra in delta-CsSnI3 is maintained in the high-pressure metallic phase while the SnI6 octahedral chains are distorted. Our experiments combined with first-principles density functional theory calculations reveal that pressure induces Sn-Sn hybridization and enhances Sn-I coupling within the chain, leading to band gap closure and formation of conductive SnI6 distorted octahedral chains. In contrast, the interchain I...I interactions remain minimal, resulting in a highly anisotropic electronic structure and quasi-1D metallicity. Our study offers a high-pressure approach for achieving diverse electronic platforms in the broad family of low-dimensional metal halides.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.2c10884

    View details for PubMedID 36534020

  • Cesium-mediated electron redistribution and electron-electron interaction in high-pressure metallic CsPbI3. Nature communications Ke, F., Yan, J., Niu, S., Wen, J., Yin, K., Yang, H., Wolf, N. R., Tzeng, Y., Karunadasa, H. I., Lee, Y. S., Mao, W. L., Lin, Y. 2022; 13 (1): 7067

    Abstract

    Electron-phonon coupling was believed to govern the carrier transport in halide perovskites and related phases. Here we demonstrate that electron-electron interaction enhanced by Cs-involved electron redistribution plays a direct and prominent role in the low-temperature electrical transport of compressed CsPbI3 and renders Fermi liquid (FL)-like behavior. By compressing delta-CsPbI3 to 80GPa, an insulator-semimetal-metal transition occurs, concomitant with the completion of a slow structural transition from the one-dimensional Pnma (delta) phase to a three-dimensional Pmn21 (epsilon) phase. Deviation from FL behavior is observed upon CsPbI3 entering the metallic epsilon phase, which progressively evolves into a FL-like state at 186GPa. First-principles density functional theory calculations reveal that the enhanced electron-electron coupling results from the sudden increase of the 5d state occupation in Cs and I atoms. Our study presents a promising strategy of cationic manipulation for tuning the electronic structure and carrier scattering of halide perovskites at high pressure.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-34786-5

    View details for PubMedID 36400789

  • High Pressure Brillouin Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction of Cerium Dioxide MATERIALS Frost, M., Lazarz, J. D., Levitan, A. L., Prakapenka, V. B., Sun, P., Tkachev, S. N., Yang, H., Glenzer, S. H., Gleason, A. E. 2021; 14 (13)

    Abstract

    Simultaneous high-pressure Brillouin spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction of cerium dioxide powders are presented at room temperature to a pressure of 45 GPa. Micro- and nanocrystalline powders are studied and the density, acoustic velocities and elastic moduli determined. In contrast to recent reports of anomalous compressibility and strength in nanocrystalline cerium dioxide, the acoustic velocities are found to be insensitive to grain size and enhanced strength is not observed in nanocrystalline CeO2. Discrepancies in the bulk moduli derived from Brillouin and powder X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the properties of CeO2 are sensitive to the hydrostaticity of its environment. Our Brillouin data give the shear modulus, G0 = 63 (3) GPa, and adiabatic bulk modulus, KS0 = 142 (9) GPa, which is considerably lower than the isothermal bulk modulus, KT0∼ 230 GPa, determined by high-pressure X-ray diffraction experiments.

    View details for DOI 10.3390/ma14133683

    View details for Web of Science ID 000670971500001

    View details for PubMedID 34279253

  • Noble gas incorporation into silicate glasses: implications for planetary volatile storage GEOCHEMICAL PERSPECTIVES LETTERS Yang, H., Gleason, A. E., Tkachev, S. N., Chen, B., Jeanloz, R., Mao, W. L. 2021; 17: 1-5
  • Iron force constants of bridgmanite at high pressure: Implications for iron isotope fractionation in the deep mantle GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Wang, W., Liu, J., Yang, H., Dorfman, S. M., Lv, M., Li, J., Zhu, F., Zhao, J., Hu, M. Y., Bi, W., Alp, E. E., Xiao, Y., Wu, Z., Lin, J. 2021; 294: 215–31
  • Iron isotopic fractionation in mineral phases from Earth's lower mantle: Did terrestrial magma ocean crystallization fractionate iron isotopes? (vol 506, 113, 2019) EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Yang, H., Lin, J., Hu, M. Y., Roskosz, M., Bi, W., Zhao, J., Alp, E. E., Liu, J., Liu, J., Wentzcovitch, R. M., Okuchi, T., Dauphas, N. 2019; 524
  • Carbon isotopic signatures of super-deep diamonds mediated by iron redox chemistry Geochemical Perspectives Letters Liu, J., Wang, W., Yang, H., Wu, Z., Hu, M. Y., Zhao, J., Bi, W., Alp, E. E., Dauphas, N., Liang, W., Chen, B., Lin, J. 2019; 10: 51-55

    View details for DOI 10.7185/geochemlet.1915

  • Iron isotopic fractionation between silicate mantle and metallic core at high pressure NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Liu, J., Dauphas, N., Roskosz, M., Hu, M. Y., Yang, H., Bi, W., Zhao, J., Alp, E. E., Hu, J. Y., Lin, J. 2017; 8

    Abstract

    The +0.1‰ elevated (56)Fe/(54)Fe ratio of terrestrial basalts relative to chondrites was proposed to be a fingerprint of core-mantle segregation. However, the extent of iron isotopic fractionation between molten metal and silicate under high pressure-temperature conditions is poorly known. Here we show that iron forms chemical bonds of similar strengths in basaltic glasses and iron-rich alloys, even at high pressure. From the measured mean force constants of iron bonds, we calculate an equilibrium iron isotope fractionation between silicate and iron under core formation conditions in Earth of ∼0-0.02‰, which is small relative to the +0.1‰ shift of terrestrial basalts. This result is unaffected by small amounts of nickel and candidate core-forming light elements, as the isotopic shifts associated with such alloying are small. This study suggests that the variability in iron isotopic composition in planetary objects cannot be due to core formation.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/ncomms14377

    View details for Web of Science ID 000394455700001

    View details for PubMedID 28216664