Junyan Li

All Publications

• Atomic layer-deposited nucleation layers to control zinc morphology and suppress hydrogen evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Ravi, A., Shuchi, S. B., Feng, G., Li, Y., Zhang, P., Li, J., Liu, T. L., D'Acunto, G., Cai, A., Li, T., Sanroman Gutierrez, K. M., Liu, Z., Wang, J., Zhang, G., Lee, J. H., Lee, J., Xu, X., Guan, X., Zheng, X., Bent, S. F., Cui, Y. 2026; 123 (22): e2533390123

  Abstract

  Aqueous zinc (Zn) batteries are among the most promising candidates for safe, low-cost, and sustainable grid-scale energy storage. However, their practical application is significantly constrained by inhomogeneous Zn electrodeposition and the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we introduce an electrodeposition architecture to mitigate these challenges. Using atomic layer deposition, we coat the copper current collector with ZnO and Al2O3 nanofilms-positioned below the plated Zn. Our strategy marks a significant departure from previous works in which thin films are situated above Zn foil to function as artificial solid electrolyte interphases. Notably, we achieve substantial performance improvements with our 2-nm-thick ZnO coatings, including long cycle life (>1,400 cycles) and high Coulombic efficiencies (>99.8%). Our mechanistic investigation suggests that these improvements arise from HER suppression and controlled Zn morphology. This work offers an interface engineering approach to fundamentally understand Zn nucleation and growth processes. We anticipate that our electrodeposition architecture could be applied to enhance the cyclability of other aqueous battery systems.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2533390123

  View details for PubMedID 42190004

• Three-dimensional and nanoscale resolved hierarchical structure of electroplated zinc complex in aqueous zinc battery. National science review Li, J., Guan, X., Wang, J., Zhang, G., Holoubek, J., Cui, Y., Li, Y., Wang, H., Chiu, W., Cui, Y. 2026; 13 (9): nwag114

  Abstract

  Aqueous zinc batteries offer safety and cost-effectiveness for grid-scale energy storage although the electrochemical and chemical corrosion of zinc in water results in complex Zn species and 3D morphology, ultimately degrading battery performance. Thus far, the atomic and nanoscale 3D structure of the electroplated Zn complex remains unclear. Here, by employing advanced transmission electron microscopy, particularly cryogenic electron tomography, we resolve the preserved 3D architecture of electroplated zinc. A hierarchical solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) comprising two critical structures that could impact battery performance is delineated-an epitaxial ZnO nanolayer on a Zn nanoplate as the inner SEI and petal-like zinc hydroxide sulfate (ZHS) flakes emerging from the edges of a Zn-ZnO crystal as the extended SEI. We discovered three epitaxial conditions of ZnO on electrochemically plated Zn nanocrystals: (0001)ZnO ∥ (0001)Zn, (10[Formula: see text]0)ZnO ∥ (10[Formula: see text]0)Zn and (0001)ZnO ∥ (10[Formula: see text]0)Zn. This complex Zn-ZnO-ZHS structure implies a correlation between the zinc-crystal edges and the heterogeneous chemical environment, which can be correlated with the zinc-texture- dependent battery performance.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/nsr/nwag114

  View details for PubMedID 42157869

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC13182254

• Kaolin-derived zeolite enables high-performance carbon capture with gigaton-scale potential. National science review Li, J., Li, J., Fang, S., Zhang, G., Zhang, P., Shum, S., Zhang, Z., Cui, Y. 2026; 13 (8): nwag064

  Abstract

  Gigaton-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) capture is an indispensable part of the way towards global carbon neutrality, but has lagged in developing an adsorbent that simultaneously has high performance, low cost, and scalability from earth-abundant raw materials coupled with industrially compatible synthesis processes. Here we discover that high-performing CO2 adsorbent of Linde Type A (LTA) zeolite can be converted from ubiquitous kaolin clay (reserves >30 gigatons) via scalable processes and exhibits record high CO2 uptake with good cycling stability. The synthesis route, comprising mainly calcination and a hyperthermal reaction, is readily compatible with existing industrial infrastructure and avoids the use of complex or toxic chemicals. Benefiting from an optimized crystal structure for CO2 trapping, the material achieves CO2 adsorption capacities that surpass all previously reported clay-derived zeolites across a wide concentration range, from ambient air (∼400 ppm) to flue gas conditions (<20%). It also maintains stable performance over 50 adsorption-desorption cycles. Beyond material and method development, we provide a proof-of-concept showing that integrating radiative cooling for CO2 adsorption and solar heating for sorbent regeneration could enable a low-carbon pathway for passive sorbent operation. This study offers a feasible route to explore scalable carbon capture using widely available materials and passive energy strategies.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/nsr/nwag064

  View details for PubMedID 42064842

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC13127140

• Scalable Carbon Dioxide Capture Using Clay-Derived Zeolites via Atomic Rearrangement. Journal of the American Chemical Society Li, J., Li, J., Fang, S., Lyu, H., Yuan, L., Guan, X., Feng, G., Chi, X., Mao, H., Wu, Y., Li, Y., Liu, Z., Zhang, Z., Catrysse, P., Dionne, J., Fan, S., Cui, Y. 2026

  Abstract

  Effective carbon capture materials are crucial for mitigating climate change and supporting sustainable industrial processes. However, developing scalable, cost-effective adsorbents with high carbon dioxide capacity, superior selectivity, and long-term stability remains a major challenge. Here, we report the scalable synthesis of Linde Type A zeolite via atomic reassembly of halloysite clay using mature industrial processes, achieving a high carbon dioxide adsorption capacity of 5.0 mmol g-1 with good cyclic stability. The transformation from a layered to a cubic framework with enlarged vacant spaces significantly enhances carbon dioxide accommodation. Additionally, the as-prepared zeolite demonstrates outstanding carbon dioxide/nitrogen selectivity (178 for 5% carbon dioxide) and robust thermal stability over multiple adsorption-desorption cycles. In situ tests reveal that adsorption is primarily governed by weakly bound interactions, allowing for the easy regeneration. This study presents a promising and scalable strategy for developing high-performance adsorbents toward gigaton-scale carbon dioxide capture applications.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.5c20976

  View details for PubMedID 41736194

• NiSO4-Driven In Situ Alloy Formation To Unlock Highly Reversible Iron Electrochemistry in Aqueous Batteries. Journal of the American Chemical Society Feng, G., Liu, Z., Li, J., Li, Y., Guan, X., Ravi, A., Liu, C., Chi, X., Ai, H., Zheng, X., Cui, Y. 2026

  Abstract

  Grid-scale stationary energy storage requires technologies that are both safe and economically viable. Iron (Fe) metal-based aqueous batteries offer an attractive option owing to the abundance, low cost, and environmental benignity of iron, but their development has been hampered by uncontrolled hydrogen evolution and poor reversibility of iron plating and stripping. Here, we report using nickel sulfate (NiSO4) as an electrolyte additive to induce the in situ formation of a FeNi3 alloy interphase during early cycling. This alloy lowers the Fe nucleation barrier and promotes uniform iron deposition. Moreover, dynamic codeposition and stripping of Ni with Fe sustains fast reaction kinetics and stabilizes the alloy interphase during long-term cycling. As a result, Fe||Fe symmetric cells achieve over 3000 h of stable cycling, nearly an order of magnitude improvement over the baseline electrolyte. Fe||Cu cells with NiSO4 additives enable stable long-term cycling with a high average Coulombic efficiency (CE) of ∼99.4%, while the control electrolyte rapidly fails with an average CE of 82.9%. These findings demonstrate that functional electrolyte additives and the controlled alloying interphase provide a viable pathway to high-performance, cost-effective iron metal-based aqueous batteries for large-scale energy storage.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.5c15954

  View details for PubMedID 41593008

• Epitaxial Electrodeposition of Fe with Controlled In-Plane Variants for a Reversible Metal Anode in an Aqueous Electrolyte. Nano letters Sui, C., Fu, C. T., Feng, G., Li, Y., Li, J., Yan, G., Hsu, P. C., Chu, S., Cui, Y. 2026

  Abstract

  The development of reversible metal anodes is a key challenge for advancing aqueous battery technologies, particularly for scalable and safe stationary energy storage applications. Here we demonstrate a strategy to realize epitaxial electrodeposition of iron (Fe) on single-crystal copper (Cu) substrates in aqueous electrolytes. We compare the electrodeposition behavior of Fe on polycrystalline and single-crystalline Cu substrates, revealing that the latter enables highly uniform, dense, and crystallographically aligned Fe growth. Comprehensive electron backscatter diffraction and X-ray diffraction analyses confirm the formation of Fe with specific out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, including well-defined rotational variants. Our findings highlight that epitaxial electrodeposition of Fe can suppress dendritic growth and significantly enhance the Coulombic efficiency during plating/stripping cycles. This approach bridges fundamental crystallography with practical electrochemical performance, providing a pathway toward high-efficiency aqueous batteries utilizing Earth-abundant materials.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05270

  View details for PubMedID 41513252

• Capacity recovery by transient voltage pulse in silicon-anode batteries. Science (New York, N.Y.) Yang, Y., Biswas, S., Xu, R., Xiao, X., Xu, X., Zhang, P., Gong, H., Zheng, X., Peng, Y., Li, J., Ai, H., Wu, Y., Ye, Y., Gao, X., Serrao, C., Zhang, W., Sayavong, P., Huang, Z., Chen, Z., Cui, Y., Vilá, R. A., Boyle, D. T., Cui, Y. 2024; 386 (6719): 322-327

  Abstract

  In the quest for high-capacity battery electrodes, addressing capacity loss attributed to isolated active materials remains a challenge. We developed an approach to substantially recover the isolated active materials in silicon electrodes and used a voltage pulse to reconnect the isolated lithium-silicon (LixSi) particles back to the conductive network. Using a 5-second pulse, we achieved >30% of capacity recovery in both Li-Si and Si-lithium iron phosphate (Si-LFP) batteries. The recovered capacity sustains and replicates through multiple pulses, providing a constant capacity advantage. We validated the recovery mechanism as the movement of the neutral isolated LixSi particles under a localized nonuniform electric field, a phenomenon known as dielectrophoresis.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/science.adn1749

  View details for PubMedID 39418354