Yigao Yuan

All Publications

• Optimizing Plasmonic Photocatalysis by Controlling the Temporal Distribution of Incident Photons ACS CATALYSIS Yuan, Y., Schirato, A., Deneen, S., Chung, S., Fabiano, C., Smith, W., Bayles, A., Dhindsa, P., Ahmad, A. A., Maiuri, M., Della Valle, G., Everitt, H. O., Alabastri, A., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2026

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acscatal.6c00415

  View details for Web of Science ID 001770407600001

• Light-Driven Dehydrogenation of Propane Using Plasmonic Al@TiO₂ Core-Shell Nanoparticles with Pt Single Atoms and Clusters ACS ENERGY LETTERS Dhindsa, P., Marino, S., Ahrens, A., Craft, N., Yuan, Y., Yuan, L., Ahmad, A., Bayles, A., Robatjazi, H., Christopher, P., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c02714

  View details for Web of Science ID 001368379100001

• Algae-Derived Nacre-like Dielectric Bionanocomposite with High Loading Hexagonal Boron Nitride for Green Electronics ACS NANO Saadi, M. R., Likhi, F., Nath, M., Jayan, R., Zahin, F., Thakur, M., Yuan, Y., Islam, M., Panat, R., Karim, A., Ajayan, P. M., Rahman, M. M. 2024; 18 (48): 33081-33096

  Abstract

  The surging demand for electronics is causing detrimental environmental consequences through massive electronic waste production. Urgently shifting toward renewable and eco-friendly materials is crucial for fostering a green circular economy. Herein, we develop a multifunctional bionanocomposite using an algae-derived carbohydrate biopolymer (alginate) and boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS) that can be readily employed as a multifunctional dielectric material. The adopted rational design principle includes spatial locking of superhigh loading of BNNS via hydrogel casting followed by layer-by-layer assembly via solvent evaporation, successive cross-link engineering, and hot pressing. We harness the hierarchical assembly of BNNS and the molecular interaction of alginates with BNNS to achieve synergistic material properties with excellent mechanical robustness (tensile strength ∼135 MPa, Young's modulus ∼18 GPa), flexibility, thermal conductivity (∼4.5 W m-1 K-1), flame retardance, and dielectric properties (dielectric constant ∼7, dielectric strength ∼400 V/μm, and maximum energy density ∼4.33 J/cm3) that outperform traditional synthetic polymer dielectrics. Finally, we leverage the synergistic material properties of our engineered bionanocomposite to showcase its potential in green electronic applications, for example, supercapacitors and flexible interconnects. The supercapacitor device consisting of aerosol jet-printed single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes on our engineered bionanocomposite demonstrated a volumetric capacitance of ∼7 F/cm3 and robust rate capability, while the printed silver interconnects maintained conductivity in various deformed states (i.e., bending or flexing).

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnano.4c09365

  View details for Web of Science ID 001358960900001

  View details for PubMedID 39560110

• Steam methane reforming using a regenerable antenna-reactor plasmonic photocatalyst NATURE CATALYSIS Yuan, Y., Zhou, J., Bayles, A., Robatjazi, H., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2024; 7 (12): 1339-1349

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41929-024-01248-8

  View details for Web of Science ID 001345891800001

• Reduced-Dimensionality Al Nanocrystals: Nanowires, Nanobars, and Nanomoustaches NANO LETTERS Solti, D., Jacobson, C. R., Yates, J., Hammel, B., Naidu, G., Arndt, C. E., Bayles, A., Yuan, Y., Dhindsa, P., Luu, J. T., Farr, C., Wu, G., Everitt, H. O., Tsai, A., Yazdi, S., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2024; 24 (23): 6897-6905

  Abstract

  Aluminum nanocrystals created by catalyst-driven colloidal synthesis support excellent plasmonic properties, due to their high level of elemental purity, monocrystallinity, and controlled size and shape. Reduction in the rate of nanocrystal growth enables the synthesis of highly anisotropic Al nanowires, nanobars, and singly twinned "nanomoustaches". Electron energy loss spectroscopy was used to study the plasmonic properties of these nanocrystals, spanning the broad energy range needed to map their plasmonic modes. The coupling between these nanocrystals and other plasmonic metal nanostructures, specifically Ag nanocubes and Au films of controlled nanoscale thickness, was investigated. Al nanocrystals show excellent long-term stability under atmospheric conditions, providing a practical alternative to coinage metal-based nanowires in assembled nanoscale devices.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00895

  View details for Web of Science ID 001234472600001

  View details for PubMedID 38805366

• A Quasi-Bound States in the Continuum Dielectric Metasurface-Based Antenna-Reactor Photocatalyst. Nano letters Yuan, L., Zhao, Y., Toma, A., Aglieri, V., Gerislioglu, B., Yuan, Y., Lou, M., Ogundare, A., Alabastri, A., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2024; 24 (1): 172-179

  Abstract

  Metasurfaces are a class of two-dimensional artificial resonators, creating new opportunities for strong light-matter interactions. One type of nonradiative optical metasurface that enables substantial light concentration is based on quasi-Bound States in the Continuum (quasi-BIC). Here we report the design and fabrication of a quasi-BIC dielectric metasurface that serves as an optical frequency antenna for photocatalysis. By depositing Ni nanoparticle reactors onto the metasurface, we create an antenna-reactor photocatalyst, where the virtually lossless metasurface funnels light to drive a chemical reaction. This quasi-BIC-Ni antenna-reactor drives H2 dissociation under resonant illumination, showing strong polarization, wavelength, and optical power dependencies. Both E-field-induced electronic and photothermal heating effects drive the reaction, supported by load-dependent reactivity studies and our theoretical model. This study unlocks new opportunities for photocatalysis that employ dielectric metasurfaces for light harvesting in an antenna-reactor format.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c03585

  View details for PubMedID 38156648

• Al@TiO2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Plasmonic Photocatalysis ACS NANO Bayles, A., Tian, S., Zhou, J., Yuan, L., Yuan, Y., Jacobson, C. R., Farr, C., Zhang, M., Swearer, D. F., Solti, D., Lou, M., Everitt, H. O., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2022; 16 (4): 5839-5850

  Abstract

  Plasmon-induced photocatalysis is a topic of rapidly increasing interest, due to its potential for substantially lowering reaction barriers and temperatures and for increasing the selectivity of chemical reactions. Of particular interest for plasmonic photocatalysis are antenna-reactor nanoparticles and nanostructures, which combine the strong light-coupling of plasmonic nanostructures with reactors that enhance chemical specificity. Here, we introduce Al@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles, combining earth-abundant Al nanocrystalline cores with TiO2 layers of tunable thickness. We show that these nanoparticles are active photocatalysts for the hot electron-mediated H2 dissociation reaction as well as for hot hole-mediated methanol dehydration. The wavelength dependence of the reaction rates suggests that the photocatalytic mechanism is plasmonic hot carrier generation with subsequent transfer of the hot carriers into the TiO2 layer. The Al@TiO2 antenna-reactor provides an earth-abundant solution for the future design of visible-light-driven plasmonic photocatalysts.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnano.1c10995

  View details for Web of Science ID 000813107000001

  View details for PubMedID 35293740

• Earth-abundant photocatalyst for H2 generation from NH3 with light-emitting diode illumination. Science (New York, N.Y.) Yuan, Y., Zhou, L., Robatjazi, H., Bao, J. L., Zhou, J., Bayles, A., Yuan, L., Lou, M., Lou, M., Khatiwada, S., Carter, E. A., Nordlander, P., Halas, N. J. 2022; 378 (6622): 889-893

  Abstract

  Catalysts based on platinum group metals have been a major focus of the chemical industry for decades. We show that plasmonic photocatalysis can transform a thermally unreactive, earth-abundant transition metal into a catalytically active site under illumination. Fe active sites in a Cu-Fe antenna-reactor complex achieve efficiencies very similar to Ru for the photocatalytic decomposition of ammonia under ultrafast pulsed illumination. When illuminated with light-emitting diodes rather than lasers, the photocatalytic efficiencies remain comparable, even when the scale of reaction increases by nearly three orders of magnitude. This result demonstrates the potential for highly efficient, electrically driven production of hydrogen from an ammonia carrier with earth-abundant transition metals.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/science.abn5636

  View details for PubMedID 36423268

• A Two-Ended Data-Driven Accelerated Sampling Method for Exploring the Transition Pathways between Two Known States of Protein JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL THEORY AND COMPUTATION Yuan, Y., Zhu, Q., Song, R., Ma, J., Dong, H. 2020; 16 (7): 4631-4640

  Abstract

  Conformational transitions of protein between different states are often associated with their biological functions. These dynamic processes, however, are usually not easy to be well characterized by experimental measurements, mainly because of inadequate temporal and spatial resolution. Meantime, sampling of configuration space with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is still a challenge. Here we proposed a robust two-ended data-driven accelerated (teDA2) conformational sampling method, which drives the structural change in an adaptively updated feature space without introducing a bias potential. teDA2 was applied to explore adenylate kinase (ADK), a model with well characterized "open" and "closed" states. A single conformational transition event of ADK could be achieved within only a few or tens of nanoseconds sampled with teDA2. By analyzing hundreds of transition events, we reproduced different mechanisms and the associated pathways for domain motion of ADK reported in the literature. The multiroute characteristic of ADK was confirmed by the fact that some metastable states identified with teDA2 resemble available crystal structures determined at different conditions. This feature was further validated with Markov state modeling with independent MD simulations. Therefore, our work provides strong evidence for the conformational plasticity of protein, which is mainly due to the inherent degree of flexibility. As a reliable and efficient enhanced sampling protocol, teDA2 could be used to study the dynamics between functional states of various biomolecular machines.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b01184

  View details for Web of Science ID 000607532300053

  View details for PubMedID 32320614

• Toward a Model for Activation of Orai Channel ISCIENCE Dong, H., Zhang, Y., Song, R., Xu, J., Yuan, Y., Liu, J., Li, J., Zheng, S., Liu, T., Lu, B., Wang, Y., Klein, M. L. 2019; 16: 356-+

  Abstract

  Store-operated calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels mediate a variety of cellular signaling functions. The CRAC channel pore-forming protein, Orai1, is a hexamer arranged with 3-fold symmetry. Despite its importance in moving Ca2+ ions into cells, a detailed mechanistic understanding of Orai1 activation is lacking. Herein, a working model is proposed for the putative open state of Orai from Drosophila melanogaster (dOrai), which involves a "twist-to-open" gating mechanism. The proposed model is supported by energetic, structural, and experimental evidence. Fluorescent imaging demonstrates that each subunit on the intracellular side of the pore is inherently strongly cross-linked, which is important for coupling to STIM1, the pore activator, and graded activation of the Orai1 channel. The proposed model thus paves the way for understanding key aspects of calcium signaling at a molecular level.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2019.05.041

  View details for Web of Science ID 000473321700028

  View details for PubMedID 31207498

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6579751

• Molecular Mechanism of Self-Assembly of Aromatic Oligoamides into Interlocked Double-Helix Foldamers JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B Zhao, D., Yang, L., Yuan, Y., Wang, H., Dong, H., Li, S. 2017; 121 (43): 10064-10072

  Abstract

  Foldamer, inspired by the structures and functions of biopolymers, is defined as an artificial molecular architecture that can fold into a three-dimensional structure in solution and has been a growing and active field in supramolecular chemistry. The central issue in foldamer science is to understand how the primary sequence of oligomer folds into conformationally ordered structures as well as how individual subunits self-associate into assembly. For duplex structures, these two issues are always interrelated and inseparable with each other. Although the emergence of new foldamer keeps growing, the detailed mechanism remains elusive. On the basis of an artificially synthesized arylamide oligoamide foldamer with its crystal structure available, we constructed a set of four foldamers with a similar backbone but different substituents and aimed at dissecting the folding and self-association mechanisms of a double-helical foldamer with computations. Using molecular simulations at a microsecond time scale, we observed very consistent processes of the spontaneous self-assembly of two single-helical motifs into an entwined complex. Our results reveal that aggregation of two single-helical motifs driven by extensive π-π interactions is energetically favorable and that this spontaneous self-assembly proceeds through an "unwinding-threading-rewinding" mechanism. The detailed mechanisms about the folding and self-assembly in an aromatic oligoamide foldamer we present here disclose how the sequence is associated with a well-ordered three-dimensional structure at atomic level and therefore may have implications for designing new foldamers with versatile functions.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b09067

  View details for Web of Science ID 000414622600010

  View details for PubMedID 29019673