Xintong Yuan

Bio: Xintong received her PhD (‘2025) in Chemical Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), advised by Prof. Yuzhang Li. Her PhD research primarily focused on lithium metal batteries and the use of cryo-EM for characterizing energy materials. Her long-term research goal is to lead innovations in battery and energy conversion development, with a focus on tackling critical issues in energy capacity, circularity, and sustainability. Xintong won MRS Graduate Student Gold Award, Nano Letters Seed Grant, AIChE Women in Chemical Engineering Travel Award, etc. Other than being a researcher, Xintong is an active volunteer in Education Program at California NanoSystems Institute where she developed workshops to train teachers on creating educational modules related to nanoscience for K-12 students.

Postdoctoral research project: Deciphering Continuous Electrochemical Pathways for High-Performance Batteries.  Electrochemical energy storage provides promising solutions for the important global transition from fossil-based resources to renewable energy. Lithium metal batteries have been highly pursued as the next-generation power source because they can offer up to 10 times the energy density of widely used lithium-ion batteries. However, challenges in efficiency, lifespan, and safety have prevented large-scale use. These issues stem from the uncontrolled formation of the solid electrolyte interphase, caused by electrolyte decomposition on the lithium surface. While electrolyte engineering has improved efficiency from 95% to 99%, achieving 99.99% remains critical. Understanding how electrolytes decompose and react at the metal interface could address this challenge and unlock full potential of lithium metal batteries for practical use.

Research focus:  Energy Conversion & Storage - Batteries

Advisors:  Zhenan Bao - Chemical Engineering | Yi Cui - Materials Science & Engineering