Yuelang Chen

All Publications

• Fast-Charging of Hybrid Lithium-Ion/Lithium-Metal Anodes by Nanostructured Hard Carbon Host ACS ENERGY LETTERS Gong, H., Chen, Y., Chen, S., Xu, C., Yang, Y., Ye, Y., Huang, Z., Ning, R., Cui, Y., Bao, Z. 2022; 7 (12): 4417-4426

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c02130

  View details for Web of Science ID 000898367800001

• Formation Mechanism of Flower-like Polyacrylonitrile Particles. Journal of the American Chemical Society Gong, H., Ilavsky, J., Kuzmenko, I., Chen, S., Yan, H., Cooper, C. B., Chen, G., Chen, Y., Chiong, J. A., Jiang, Y., Lai, J., Zheng, Y., Stone, K. H., Huelsenbeck, L., Giri, G., Tok, J. B., Bao, Z. 2022

  Abstract

  Flower-like polyacrylonitrile (PAN) particles have shown promising performance for numerous applications, including sensors, catalysis, and energy storage. However, the detailed formation process of these unique structures during polymerization has not been investigated. Here, we elucidate the formation process of flower-like PAN particles through a series of in situ and ex situ experiments. We have the following key findings. First, lamellar petals within the flower-like particles were predominantly orthorhombic PAN crystals. Second, branching of the lamellae during the particle formation arose from PAN's fast nucleation and growth on pre-existing PAN crystals, which was driven by the poor solubility of PAN in the reaction solvent. Third, the particles were formed to maintain a constant center-to-center distance during the reaction. The separation distance was attributed to strong electrostatic repulsion, which resulted in the final particles' spherical shape and uniform size. Lastly, we employed the understanding of the formation mechanism to tune the PAN particles' morphology using several experimental parameters including incorporating comonomers, changing temperature, adding nucleation seeds, and adjusting the monomer concentration. These findings provide important insights into the bottom-up design of advanced nanostructured PAN-based materials and controlled polymer nanostructure self-assemblies.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.2c07032

  View details for PubMedID 36102706

• Tuning the Mechanical and Electric Properties of Conjugated Polymer Semiconductors: Side-Chain Design Based on Asymmetric Benzodithiophene Building Blocks ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS Liu, D., Lei, Y., Ji, X., Wu, Y., Lin, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, S., Zheng, Y., Chen, Y., Lai, J., Zhong, D., Cheng, H., Chiong, J. A., Gu, X., Gam, S., Yun, Y., Tok, J., Bao, Z. 2022

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adfm.202203527

  View details for Web of Science ID 000843763400001

• Tuning Fluorination of Linear Carbonate for Lithium-Ion Batteries JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY Yu, Z., Yu, W., Chen, Y., Mondonico, L., Xiao, X., Zheng, Y., Liu, F., Hung, S. T., Cui, Y., Bao, Z. 2022; 169 (4)

  View details for DOI 10.1149/1945-7111/ac67f5

  View details for Web of Science ID 000788721400001

• Reprocessable and Recyclable Polymer Network Electrolytes via Incorporation of Dynamic Covalent Bonds CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS Lin, Y., Chen, Y., Yu, Z., Huang, Z., Lai, J., Tok, J., Cui, Y., Bao, Z. 2022; 34 (5): 2393-2399

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c04396

  View details for Web of Science ID 000812192800001

• Suspension electrolyte with modified Li+ solvation environment for lithium metal batteries. Nature materials Kim, M. S., Zhang, Z., Rudnicki, P. E., Yu, Z., Wang, J., Wang, H., Oyakhire, S. T., Chen, Y., Kim, S. C., Zhang, W., Boyle, D. T., Kong, X., Xu, R., Huang, Z., Huang, W., Bent, S. F., Wang, L., Qin, J., Bao, Z., Cui, Y. 1800

  Abstract

  Designing a stable solid-electrolyte interphase on a Li anode is imperative to developing reliable Li metal batteries. Herein, we report a suspension electrolyte design that modifies the Li+ solvation environment in liquid electrolytes and creates inorganic-rich solid-electrolyte interphases on Li. Li2O nanoparticles suspended in liquid electrolytes were investigated as a proof of concept. Through theoretical and empirical analyses of Li2O suspension electrolytes, the roles played by Li2O in the liquid electrolyte and solid-electrolyte interphases of the Li anode are elucidated. Also, the suspension electrolyte design is applied in conventional and state-of-the-art high-performance electrolytes to demonstrate its applicability. Based on electrochemical analyses, improved Coulombic efficiency (up to ~99.7%), reduced Li nucleation overpotential, stabilized Li interphases and prolonged cycle life of anode-free cells (~70 cycles at 80% of initial capacity) were achieved with the suspension electrolytes. We expect this design principle and our findings to be expanded into developing electrolytes and solid-electrolyte interphases for Li metal batteries.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41563-021-01172-3

  View details for PubMedID 35039645

• Rational solvent molecule tuning for high-performance lithium metal battery electrolytes NATURE ENERGY Yu, Z., Rudnicki, P. E., Zhang, Z., Huang, Z., Celik, H., Oyakhire, S. T., Chen, Y., Kong, X., Kim, S., Xiao, X., Wang, H., Zheng, Y., Kamat, G. A., Kim, M., Bent, S. F., Qin, J., Cui, Y., Bao, Z. 2022

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41560-021-00962-y

  View details for Web of Science ID 000742253900001

• Steric Effect Tuned Ion Solvation Enabling Stable Cycling of High-Voltage Lithium Metal Battery. Journal of the American Chemical Society Chen, Y., Yu, Z., Rudnicki, P., Gong, H., Huang, Z., Kim, S. C., Lai, J., Kong, X., Qin, J., Cui, Y., Bao, Z. 2021

  Abstract

  1,2-Dimethoxyethane (DME) is a common electrolyte solvent for lithium metal batteries. Various DME-based electrolyte designs have improved long-term cyclability of high-voltage full cells. However, insufficient Coulombic efficiency at the Li anode and poor high-voltage stability remain a challenge for DME electrolytes. Here, we report a molecular design principle that utilizes a steric hindrance effect to tune the solvation structures of Li+ ions. We hypothesized that by substituting the methoxy groups on DME with larger-sized ethoxy groups, the resulting 1,2-diethoxyethane (DEE) should have a weaker solvation ability and consequently more anion-rich inner solvation shells, both of which enhance interfacial stability at the cathode and anode. Experimental and computational evidence indicates such steric-effect-based design leads to an appreciable improvement in electrochemical stability of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI)/DEE electrolytes. Under stringent full-cell conditions of 4.8 mAh cm-2 NMC811, 50 mum thin Li, and high cutoff voltage at 4.4 V, 4 M LiFSI/DEE enabled 182 cycles until 80% capacity retention while 4 M LiFSI/DME only achieved 94 cycles. This work points out a promising path toward the molecular design of non-fluorinated ether-based electrolyte solvents for practical high-voltage Li metal batteries.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.1c09006

  View details for PubMedID 34709034

• A Design Strategy for Intrinsically Stretchable High-Performance Polymer Semiconductors: Incorporating Conjugated Rigid Fused-Rings with Bulky Side Groups. Journal of the American Chemical Society Liu, D., Mun, J., Chen, G., Schuster, N. J., Wang, W., Zheng, Y., Nikzad, S., Lai, J., Wu, Y., Zhong, D., Lin, Y., Lei, Y., Chen, Y., Gam, S., Chung, J. W., Yun, Y., Tok, J. B., Bao, Z. 2021

  Abstract

  Strategies to improve stretchability of polymer semiconductors, such as introducing flexible conjugation-breakers or adding flexible blocks, usually result in degraded electrical properties. In this work, we propose a concept to address this limitation, by introducing conjugated rigid fused-rings with optimized bulky side groups and maintaining a conjugated polymer backbone. Specifically, we investigated two classes of rigid fused-ring systems, namely, benzene-substituted dibenzothiopheno[6,5-b:6',5'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (Ph-DBTTT) and indacenodithiophene (IDT) systems, and identified molecules displaying optimized electrical and mechanical properties. In the IDT system, the polymer PIDT-3T-OC12-10% showed promising electrical and mechanical properties. In fully stretchable transistors, the polymer PIDT-3T-OC12-10% showed a mobility of 0.27 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 75% strain and maintained its mobility after being subjected to hundreds of stretching-releasing cycles at 25% strain. Our results underscore the intimate correlation between chemical structures, mechanical properties, and charge carrier mobility for polymer semiconductors. Our described molecular design approach will help to expedite the next generation of intrinsically stretchable high-performance polymer semiconductors.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.1c04984

  View details for PubMedID 34284578

• Potentiometric Measurement to Probe Solvation Energy and Its Correlation to Lithium Battery Cyclability. Journal of the American Chemical Society Kim, S. C., Kong, X., Vila, R. A., Huang, W., Chen, Y., Boyle, D. T., Yu, Z., Wang, H., Bao, Z., Qin, J., Cui, Y. 2021

  Abstract

  The electrolyte plays a critical role in lithium-ion batteries, as it impacts almost every facet of a battery's performance. However, our understanding of the electrolyte, especially solvation of Li+, lags behind its significance. In this work, we introduce a potentiometric technique to probe the relative solvation energy of Li+ in battery electrolytes. By measuring open circuit potential in a cell with symmetric electrodes and asymmetric electrolytes, we quantitatively characterize the effects of concentration, anions, and solvents on solvation energy across varied electrolytes. Using the technique, we establish a correlation between cell potential (Ecell) and cyclability of high-performance electrolytes for lithium metal anodes, where we find that solvents with more negative cell potentials and positive solvation energies-those weakly binding to Li+-lead to improved cycling stability. Cryogenic electron microscopy reveals that weaker solvation leads to an anion-derived solid-electrolyte interphase that stabilizes cycling. Using the potentiometric measurement for characterizing electrolytes, we establish a correlation that can guide the engineering of effective electrolytes for the lithium metal anode.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.1c03868

  View details for PubMedID 34184873