Yuqi Li

All Publications

• Next-generation anodes for high-energy and low-cost sodium-ion batteries NATURE REVIEWS MATERIALS Zuo, W., Liu, Z., Dopilka, A., Yang, Z., Li, Y., Kubal, J., Kim, H., Liu, F., Liu, P., Ngo, A. T., Nelson Weker, J., Chen, Z., Kostecki, R., Wulf-Knoerzer, J., Srinivasan, V., Cui, Y., Amine, K., Xu, G. 2026

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41578-025-00857-4

  View details for Web of Science ID 001671848100001

• 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

• End-to-end millisecond-level battery aging diagnostics for electric vehicles JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE Zhao, J., Lv, Z., Che, Y., Li, Y., Burke, A. F. 2026; 143

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.est.2025.119638

  View details for Web of Science ID 001633241600001

• 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

• Hydrotrope-enabled high concentration aqueous electrolytes for reversible and sustainable iron metal anodes. Nature communications Feng, G., Liu, Z., Holoubek, J., Greenburg, L. C., Zhang, G., Li, Y., Guan, X., Cui, Y., Zhang, P., Brest, A., Zheng, X., Cui, Y. 2025

  Abstract

  Iron metal-based energy storage devices hold great potential in stationary grid-scale sustainable energy due to the high theoretical specific capacity, ultralow cost, and abundance of iron. However, their practical deployment is limited by the poor reversibility of iron plating and stripping, as well as competitive hydrogen evolution. Here we introduce the concept of hydrotropy into iron electrolytes by developing an environmentally friendly and cost-effective high-concentration ferrous sulfate electrolyte using urea as a hydrotropic agent. The designed electrolyte increases the Coulombic efficiency of iron metal electrodes to approximately 96.5%, compared with ~84.6% for the dilute electrolyte. Molecular dynamics simulations and Raman spectroscopy illustrate that urea regulates the competitive coordination of anions and urea in the iron solvation sheath, while reconstructing the hydrogen-bond network in free water molecules. This reduces the activity of both solvated and free water, thereby alleviating hydrogen evolution. Moreover, the coordinated anions and urea molecules facilitate the in-situ formation of an organic-inorganic hybrid protective layer on the metallic iron, establishing a physical barrier against water and promoting homogeneous interfacial reactions. This work demonstrates an appealing opportunity to design cost-effective and high-performance electrolytes and propels the practical application of iron metal-based energy storage devices.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-65160-w

  View details for PubMedID 41345082

• Revealing and Quantifying Carbon Corrosion in Aqueous Manganese-Based Batteries. Nano letters Ravi, A., Zhang, G., Holoubek, J., Li, Y., Hao, H., Cai, A., Shuchi, S. B., Feng, G., Han, J., Li, J., Bent, S. F., Zheng, X., Cui, Y. 2025

  Abstract

  The MnO2/Mn2+ cathode chemistry represents a promising avenue for high-energy-density and low-cost aqueous batteries. However, its practical application for grid-scale storage is limited by insufficient cycling stability. Extensive reports have highlighted the poor reversibility of MnO2 deposition and stripping. Here, we reveal an overlooked source of capacity loss under typical operating conditions: corrosion of the carbon current collector. Using gas chromatography, we show that carbon corrosion can account for up to ∼25% of initial capacity losses and can cause thickness losses approaching 200 nm in the first cycle. Corrosion-induced thickness losses are largest under acidic and near-neutral conditions. Corroborating our corrosion measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy results indicate the formation of surface oxygen species and carbon fiber degradation after cycling. Our work provides a quantitative understanding of carbon corrosion in aqueous batteries that can inform strategies for extending their cycle life.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c02166

  View details for PubMedID 40576618

• Epitaxial Electrodeposition of Zinc on Different Single Crystal Copper Substrates for High Performance Aqueous Batteries. Nano letters Xiao, X., Greenburg, L. C., Li, Y., Yang, M., Tzeng, Y. K., Sui, C., Peng, Y., Wu, Y., Zhang, Z., Gao, X., Xu, R., Ye, Y., Zhang, P., Yang, Y., Vailionis, A., Hsu, P. C., Qin, J., Cui, Y. 2025

  Abstract

  The aqueous zinc metal battery holds great potential for large-scale energy storage due to its safety, low cost, and high theoretical capacity. However, challenges such as corrosion and dendritic growth necessitate controlled zinc deposition. This study employs epitaxy to achieve large-area, dense, and ultraflat zinc plating on textured copper foil. High-quality copper foils with Cu(100), Cu(110), and Cu(111) facets were prepared and systematically compared. The results show that Cu(111) is the most favorable for zinc deposition, offering the lowest nucleation overpotential, diffusion energy, and interfacial energy with a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.93%. The study sets a record for flat-zinc areal loading at 20 mAh/cm2. These findings provide some clarity on the best-performing copper and zinc crystalline facets, with Cu(111)/Zn(0002) ranking the highest. Using a MnO2-Zn full cell model, the research achieved an exceptional cycle life of over 800 cycles in a cathode-anode-free battery configuration.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c04535

  View details for PubMedID 39835735

• Battery lifetime prediction across diverse ageing conditions with inter-cell deep learning NATURE MACHINE INTELLIGENCE Zhang, H., Li, Y., Zheng, S., Lu, Z., Gui, X., Xu, W., Bian, J. 2025

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s42256-024-00972-x

  View details for Web of Science ID 001396148200001

• Coupling Anionic Oxygen Redox with Selenium for Stable High-Voltage Sodium Layered Oxide Cathodes ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS Xue, Z., Bothra, N., Meng, D., Feng, G., Li, Y., Cui, T., Hao, H., Lee, S., Liu, Y., Bajdich, M., Nanda, J., Zheng, X. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adfm.202417758

  View details for Web of Science ID 001383179500001

• Seawater alkalization via an energy-efficient electrochemical process for CO2 capture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Guan, X., Zhang, G., Li, J., Kim, S. C., Feng, G., Li, Y., Cui, T., Brest, A., Cui, Y. 2024; 121 (45): e2410841121

  Abstract

  Electrochemical pH-swing strategies offer a promising avenue for cost-effective and energy-efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, surpassing the traditional thermally activated processes and humidity-sensitive techniques. The concept of elevating seawater's alkalinity for scalable CO2 capture without introducing additional chemical as reactant is particularly intriguing due to its minimal environmental impact. However, current commercial plants like chlor-alkali process or water electrolysis demand high thermodynamic voltages of 2.2 V and 1.23 V, respectively, for the production of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) from seawater. These high voltages are attributed to the asymmetric electrochemical reactions, where two completely different reactions take place at the anode and cathode. Here, we developed a symmetric electrochemical system for seawater alkalization based on a highly reversible and identical reaction taking place at the anode and cathode. We utilize hydrogen evolution reaction at the cathode, where the generated hydrogen is looped to the anode for hydrogen oxidation reaction. Theoretical calculations indicate an impressively low energy requirement ranging from 0.07 to 0.53 kWh/kg NaOH for established pH differences of 1.7 to 13.4. Experimentally, we achieved the alkalization with an energy consumption of 0.63 kWh/kg NaOH, which is only 38% of the theoretical energy requirements of the chlor-alkali process (1.64 kWh/kg NaOH). Further tests demonstrated the system's potential of enduring high current densities (~20 mA/cm2) and operating stability over an extended period (>110 h), showing its potential for future applications. Notably, the CO2 adsorption tests performed with alkalized seawater exhibited remarkably improved CO2 capture dictated by the production of hydroxide compared to the pristine seawater.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2410841121

  View details for PubMedID 39467125

• Spontaneous lithium extraction and enrichment from brine with net energy output driven by counter-ion gradients NATURE WATER Zhang, G., Li, Y., Guan, X., Hu, G., Su, H., Xu, X., Feng, G., Shuchi, S., Kim, S., Zhou, J., Xu, R., Xiao, X., Wu, A., Cui, Y. 2024; 2 (11): 1091-1101

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s44221-024-00326-2

  View details for Web of Science ID 001390107600011

• In situ formation of liquid crystal interphase in electrolytes with soft templating effects for aqueous dual-electrode-free batteries NATURE ENERGY Li, Y., Zheng, X., Carlson, E. Z., Xiao, X., Chi, X., Greenburg, L. C., Zhang, G., Zhang, E., Liu, C., Yang, Y., Kim, M., Feng, G., Zhang, P., Su, H., Guan, X., Zhou, J., Wu, Y., Xue, Z., Li, W., Bajdich, M., Cui, Y. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41560-024-01638-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 001317361000002

• Precision anode vacancy engineering for long-lasting and fast-charging Na-Ion batteries ENERGY STORAGE MATERIALS Fu, X., Yang, M., Zhai, M., Zhang, C., Niu, H., Li, Y. 2024; 70

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ensm.2024.103450

  View details for Web of Science ID 001241445400001

• Kinetics Manipulation for Improved Solid Electrolyte Interphase and Reversible Na Storage ACS ENERGY LETTERS Tang, X., Xie, F., Lu, Y., Mao, H., Chen, Z., Pan, H., Weng, S., Yang, Y., Li, X., Guo, Z., Guo, Q., Ding, F., Hou, X., Li, Y., Wang, X., Titirici, M., Chen, L., Pan, Y., Hu, Y. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c00041

  View details for Web of Science ID 001176754100001

• Origin of fast charging in hard carbon anodes (vol <bold>9</bold> pg 134-142,2024) NATURE ENERGY Li, Y., Vasileiadis, A., Zhou, Q., Lu, Y., Meng, Q., Li, Y., Ombrini, P., Zhao, J., Chen, Z., Niu, Y., Qi, X., Xie, F., van der Jagt, R., Ganapathy, S., Titirici, M., Li, H., Chen, L., Wagemaker, M., Hu, Y. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41560-024-01459-0

  View details for Web of Science ID 001169035300001

• Origin of fast charging in hard carbon anodes NATURE ENERGY Li, Y., Vasileiadis, A., Zhou, Q., Lu, Y., Meng, Q., Li, Y., Ombrini, P., Zhao, J., Chen, Z., Niu, Y., Qi, X., Xie, F., van der Jagt, R., Ganapathy, S., Titirici, M., Li, H., Chen, L., Wagemaker, M., Hu, Y. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41560-023-01414-5

  View details for Web of Science ID 001135841200001