A full list of publications can be found here or on Google Scholar.

  • Haitao Liu, Siheng Sean You, Zhigang Gao, Ning Hu*, Yunlong Zhao*. "Next generation of gastrointestinal electrophysiology devices." Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology (2024): 1-2.
    Note: This work introduces the evolution from early electrophysiological studies to advanced diagnostic tools, highlighting the challenges and innovations shaping the future of gastrointestinal diagnostics.
  • Xuelei Pan, Mengyu Yan*, Qian Liu, Xunbiao Zhou, Xiaobin Liao, Congli Sun, Jiexin Zhu, Callum McAleese, Pierre Couture, Matthew K. Sharpe, Richard Smith, Nianhua Peng, Jonathan England, Shik Chi Edman Tsang*, Yunlong Zhao* & Liqiang Mai* "Electric-field-assisted proton coupling enhanced oxygen evolution reaction" Nature Communications 15, (2024) 3354. 
    Note: Building on the effectiveness of α-MnO2 as a catalyst, we engineered an on-chip electrocatalytic testing platform centered around a single nanowire configuration. This setup leverages an external gate field, providing precise control over proton-electron coupling. This advanced control mechanism resulted in significant enhancements when scaled up to macro-scale electrodes, achieving marked improvements in both water-splitting current density—a 34% increase—and net power output, which rose by 44.7 mW/cm². This demonstrates the substantial potential of external electric fields in boosting electrocatalytic efficiency for sustainable energy applications.
       
  • Huanxin Li, Yi Gong, Haihui Zhou, Jing Li, Kai Yang, Boyang Mao, Jincan Zhang, Yan Shi, Jinhai Deng, Mingxuan Mao, Zhongyuan Huang, Shuqiang Jiao, Yafei Kuang, Yunlong Zhao* & Shenglian Luo*, Ampere-hour-scale soft-package potassium-ion hybrid capacitors enabling 6-minute fast-charging. Nature Communications, (2023) 14.6407.
    Note: Extreme fast charging of Ampere-hour (Ah)-scale electrochemical energy storage devices targeting charging times of less than 10 minutes are desired to increase widespread adoption. However, this metric is difficult to achieve in conventional Li-ion batteries due to their inherent reaction mechanism and safety hazards at high current densities. In this work, we report 1 Ah soft-package potassium-ion hybrid supercapacitors (PIHCs), which combine the merits of the high-energy density of battery-type negative electrodes and the high-power density of capacitor-type positive electrodes. The full cells (1 Ah) exhibit a cell voltage of up to 4.8 V, high full-cell level specific energy of 140 Wh kg−1 (based on the whole mass of the device) with a full charge of 6 minutes. An 88% capacity retention after 200 cycles at 10 C (10 A) and a voltage retention of 99% at 25 ± 1 °C are also demonstrated.
       
  • Ming Xu, Yuheng Liu, Kai Yang, Shaoyin Li, Manman Wang, Jianan Wang, Dong Yang, Maxim Shkunov, S. Ravi P. Silva, Fernando A. Castro, Yunlong Zhao*, Minimally invasive power sources for implantable electronics. Exploration (2023), 20220106. (invited)
    Note: As healthcare technology advances, there's a growing need for implantable medical devices that are less invasive. Traditional implantable power sources are bulky and can cause issues, limiting the development of smaller devices. This work explores the history of these devices and discusses promising solutions like biodegradable batteries, energy harvesters, and wireless power transfer. These innovations aim to make implantable devices more comfortable and effective for long-term health monitoring and treatment.
       
  • Manman Wang, Kai Yang *, Yuchen Ji,  Xiaobin Liao, Guangpeng Zhang, Mateus G. Masteghin, Nianhua Peng, Filipe Richheimer, Huanxin Li, Jianan Wang, Xinhua Liu, Shichun Yang, Enrico Petrucco, Paul Shearing, Fernando A. Castro, S. Ravi P. Silva, Yan Zhao, Feng Pan * and  Yunlong Zhao *, "Developing highly reversible Li-CO2 battery: from on-chip exploration to practical application". Energy & Environmental Science(2023), 16, 3960.
    Note: Li-CO2 batteries (LCBs) have received extensive attention as a promising alternative to solve both energy crises and CO2 emission issues. In this work, we developed a versatile on-chip electrochemical testing platform to simultaneously achieve efficient catalyst screening and in-situ probing of product chemical composition and morphology evolution of reaction products in LCBs. Following the on-chip platform results, LCB pouch cells were fabricated for practical applications. These results demonstrate the practical competitive advantages of LCBs, and more generally, the demonstrated multimodal platform can be broadly applied to other systems, thereby opening up new opportunities for rapid catalyst screening, mechanism investigation, and the development of practical applications.
       
  • Xuhui Yao, Xuekun Lu, Yundong Zhou, Tomáš Šamořil, Jinxin Bi, Mateus Gallucci Masteghin, Huixing Zhang, Leslie Askew, Jeong Won Kim, Fangyu Xiong, Jianan Wang, David Cox, Tan Sui, Ian Gilmore, S. Ravi P. Silva, Liqiang Mai, Gareth Hinds, Paul Shearing*, Juyeon Park*  and Yunlong Zhao* "Rectifying Interphase for Preventing Li Dendrite Propagation in Solid-State Electrolytes", Energy & Environmental Science, 16, (2023) 2167-2176.
    Note: Solid-state lithium (Li) batteries are considered to be one of the most promising solutions for the future generation of batteries due to their excellent potential energy density and the nonflammability of solid-state electrolytes (SSEs), but the formation and propagation of Li dendrites seriously restrict their practical applications. In this work, we present a conceptual and experimental breakthrough to fundamentally overcome the inevitable dendrite propagation by introducing electronic rectifying interphase on the SSE without compromising the electrochemical reactions.
       
  • Roey Elnathan*, Maria Grazia Barbato, Xiangfu Guo, Anna Mariano, Zixun Wang, Francesca Santoro*, Peng Shi*, Nicolas H. Voelcker*, Xi Xie*, Jennifer L. Young*, Yunlong Zhao*, Wenting Zhao* & Ciro Chiappini*, "Biointerface design for vertical nanoprobes" Nature Reviews Materials(2022), 7, 953–973.
    Note: Biointerfaces mediate safe and efficient cell manipulation, which is essential for biomedical innovations in advanced therapies and diagnostics. This Review discusses how the design of a vertical nanoprobe biointerface determines its ability to interrogate and control a cell. Selected as Cover for Volume 7 Issue 12, December 2022.
       

     

  • Shiqi Guo, Kaijin Wu, Chengpan Li, Hao Wang, Zheng Sun, Dawei Xi, Sheng Zhang, Mona E. Zaghloul, Changning Wang, Fernando  A. Castro, Dong Yang, Yunlong Zhao*. "Integrated contact lens sensor system based on multifunctional ultrathin MoS2 transistors." Matter4,3, (2021): 969-985.
    Note: Unlike traditional sensors and circuit chips sandwiched in the lens substrate, this work demonstrates an ultrathin and flexible serpentine mesh sensor layer that could be directly mounted onto a contact lens and maintain direct contact with tears, showing easy assembly, high detection sensitivity, good biocompatibility and mechanical robustness, and not interfering with either blinking or sight of vision. This multifunctional contact lens with ultrathin field-effect transistors can provide diversified signals from the eyes, providing personalised and accurate medical analysis for users. This work attracted widespread attention from the media (BBC, The Times, Daily Mail, etc.) and many investment intentions from industries.
       
  • Jinxin Bi, Jing Zhang, Pavlos Giannakou, Toshan Wickramanayake, Xuhui Yao, Manman Wang, Xueping Liu, Maxim Shkunov, Wei Zhang*, Yunlong Zhao* "A Highly Integrated Flexible Photo-Rechargeable System Based on Stable Ultrahigh-Rate Quasi-Solid-State Zinc-Ion Micro-Batteries and Perovskite Solar Cells" Energy Storage Materials (2022) 51, 239-248.
       
  • Yunlong Zhao, Siheng Sean You, Anqi Zhang, Jae-Hyun Lee, Jinlin Huang, Charles M Lieber* “Scalable ultrasmall nanowire 3D transistor probes for intracellular recording” Nature Nanotechnology 14,(2019) 783–790. 
    Note: This work represents a major step towards scalable intracellular recording. This is the first example of semiconductor devices showing the capability to record full amplitude intracellular action from primary neurons and cardiomyocytes, with the advantage of the device being scalable, causing less discomfort and no fatal damage to the cell (cytosol dilation). This device design also allows for multiplexed recording from single cells and cell networks and could enable future investigations of dynamics in the brain and other tissues. CellPress comments this ultra-small nanoprobe could be a leap forward in high-resolution human-machine interfaces.
       
  • Xiao Yang, Tao Zhou, Ted Zwang, Guosong Hong, Yunlong Zhao, Robert Viveros, Tianming Fu, Teng Gao and Charles M Lieber*, “Bioinspired neuron-like electronics,” Nature Materials18, (2019): 510–517.
    Note: This work presents the first example of a bioinspired and biomimetic brain-machine interface designed such that the key building blocks mimic the subcellular structural features and mechanical properties of neurons. It is a conceptual and experimental breakthrough that, for the first time, literally blurs the ever-present and clear dissimilarities in critical structural and mechanical properties between man-made and living systems. Associated News & Views on Nature Materials comments that “this work will change the perception and power of using bioinspired design for development of integrated devices for next-generation brain-machine interfaces.
       
  • Liqiang Mai, Mengyu Yan, Yunlong Zhao "Track batteries degrading in real-time." Nature546.7659 (2017): 469.

  • Yunlong Zhao, Jiangang Feng, Xue Liu, Fengchao Wang, Lifen Wang, Changwei Shi, Lei Huang, Xi Feng, Xiyuan Chen, Lin Xu, Mengyu Yan, Qingjie Zhang, Xuedong Bai, Hengan Wu, Liqiang Mai "Self-adaptive strain-relaxation optimization for high-energy lithium storage material through crumpling of graphene." Nature Communications5 (2014): 4565.

  • Yunlong Zhao, Jun Yao, Lin Xu, Max N Mankin, Yinbo Zhu, Hengan Wu, Liqiang Mai, Qingjie Zhang, Charles M Lieber "Shape-controlled deterministic assembly of nanowires." Nano Letters16.4 (2016): 2644-2650.

  • Yunlong Zhao, Chunhua Han, Junwei Yang, Jie Su, Xiaoming Xu, Shuo Li, Lin Xu, Ruopian Fang, Hong Jiang, Xiaodong Zou, Bo Song, Liqiang Mai, Qingjie Zhang "Stable alkali metal ion intercalation compounds as optimized metal oxide nanowire cathodes for lithium batteries." Nano Letters15.3 (2015): 2180-2185.

  • Yunlong Zhao, Lin Xu, Liqiang Mai, Chunhua Han, Qinyou An, Xu Xu, Xue Liu, Qingjie Zhang "Hierarchical mesoporous perovskite La0.5Sr0.5CoO2.91 nanowires with ultrahigh capacity for Li-air batteries." PNAS109.48 (2012): 19569-19574.