Huang, Y

Inorganic

Biography

Dr. Yu Huang holds the Traugott and Dorothea Frederking Endowed Chair in Engineering and serves as a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), her MA in Chemistry and her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Harvard University. Following her doctoral studies on bottom-up assembly of functional circuits, Dr. Huang was awarded the prestigious Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellowship. She pursued a joint postdoctoral appointment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During this time, her research delved into the intricate interfaces between biomolecules and materials, laying the foundation for her ongoing contributions at the intersection of chemistry, biology and materials science.

Research Interests

Professor Yu Huang’s research at UCLA focuses on understanding nanoscale phenomena and utilizing the unique properties of nanoscale materials to advance technology. By exploring the critical roles of nanoscale surfaces and interfaces, she develops innovative methodologies to probe, understand and manipulate nanoscale processes, and to create integrated systems where materials chemistry innovation can be applied to drive advancements in materials synthesis, catalysis, biosynthesis, energy technology, and next-generation electronics.

Honors & Awards

  • Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Materials Chemistry Horizon Prize: Stephanie L. Kwolek Prize
  • Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Faraday Horizon Prize
  • ENI Award, Energy Transition Prize
  • Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (Top 1% Most Cited Researcher, consecutive years, in Materials Science, Chemistry or Crossfield)
  • Elected Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
  • Elected Fellow of Materials Research Society (MRS Fellow)
  • ISE-Elsevier Prize for Experimental Electrochemistry (International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE))
  • International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) Premier Award: Carol Tyler Award
  • Distinguished Panel Speaker, Beckman Symposium, Beckman Foundation
  • Kavli Fellow (National Academy of Science & Kavli Foundation, The Frontiers Alumni)
  • NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
  • DARPA Young Faculty Award
  • Sloan Research Fellowship (Alfred Sloan Foundation)
  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
  • Nano 50 Innovator Award (NASA Nanotech Brief)
  • IUPAC Young Chemist Prize (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry)
  • MIT Technology Review World Top 100 (TR100) Young Innovators
  • Grand Prize winner of Collegiate Inventors Competition (National Inventors Hall of Fame)

Representative Publications

Complete list at http://yhuang.seas.ucla.edu.

  • Biomimetic cell stimulation with a graphene oxide antigen-presenting platform for developing T cell-based therapies. Nature Nanotechnology, 19, 1914-1922, (2024), Zhu E., Yu J., Li Y, Ma F., Wang Y., Liu Y., Li M., Kim Y., Zhu, Y., Hahn Z, Zhou Y, Brown J., Zhang Y, Pelegrini M. Hsiai T, Yang L*, and Huang Y*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-024-01781-4
  • Embedded oxide clusters stabilize sub-2 nm Pt nanoparticles for highly durable fuel cells, Nature Catalysis7, 818–828 (2024). Peng B.,  Liu Z., Sementa L., Jia Q., Sun Q.,  Segre C., Liu E., Xu M. Tsai Y., Yan X., Zhao Z, Huang J., Pan X., Duan X., Fortunelli A.* & Huang Y.* https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-024-01180-x.
  • Atomic-scale identification of the active sites of nanocatalysts, Nature Catalysis, 7, 796–806 (2024). Yang Y., Zhou J., Zhao Z., Sun G., Moniri S, Ophus,C., Yang Y., Wei Z., Yuan Y, Zhu C., Liu Y., Sun Q., Jia Q., Heinz H. Ciston J., Ercius P, Sautet P.*, Huang Y.* Miao J.*  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-024-01175-8
  • Surface molecular pump enables ultrahigh catalyst activity, Science Advances 10(36) (2024) Huang J, Peng B, Zhu C, Xu M, Liu Y, Liu Z, Zhou J, Wang S, Duan X, Heinz H*, Huang Y*. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado3942.
  • Amorphous nickel hydroxide shell tailors local chemical environment on platinum surface for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. Nature Materials, 22, 1022–1029, (2023). Wan C, Zhang Z., Dong J., Xu M., Pu H., Baumann D., Lin Z., Wang S., Huang J., Shah A. H., Pan X., Hu,T., Alexandrova A. N.*, Huang Y.*, Duan X*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01584-3
  • Highly selective electrochemical reduction of CO2 into methane on nanotwinned Cu, Am. Chem. Soc. 145, 9136–9143 (2023). Cai J., Zhao Q., Hsu W.-Y., Choi C., Liu Y., Martirez J. M., Chen C., Huang J., Carter E.*, Huang Y.* https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c00847
  • Determining the hydronium pK at platinum surfaces and the effect on pH-dependent hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics, Nat. Acad. Sci. 119 (39) e2208187119 (2022). Zhong G., Cheng T., Shah A.H., Wan C., Huang Z., Wang S., Leng T., Huang Y.*, Goddard III, W.A.*, Duan, X*. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.220818711
  • Graphene nanopocket encaged PtCo nanocatalysts for highly durable fuel cell operation under the demanding ultralow Pt loading conditions, Nature Nanotechnology, 17, 968-975, (2022). Zhao Z., Liu Z., Zhang A., Yan X., Xue W., Peng B., Xin H., Pan X., Duan X, Huang Y*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01170-9
  • Experimental Sabatier plot for predictive design of active and stable Pt-alloy oxygen reduction reaction catalysts, Nature Catalysis, 5, 513-523, (2022). Huang J., Sementa L., Liu Z., Barcaro G., Feng M., Liu E., Jiao L., Xu M., Leshchev D., Lee S. J., Li M., Wan C., Zhu E., Liu Y., Peng B., Duan X., Goddard III WA,* Fortunelli A,* Jia Q,* & Huang Y.* https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-022-00797-0.
  • The role of alkali metal cations and platinum-surface hydroxyl in the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction.Nature Catalysis, 5, 923–933. (2022). Shah, A. H., Zhang, Z., Huang, Z., Wang, S., Zhong, G., Wan, C., Alexandrova, A. N.*, Huang, Y.*, & Duan, X*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-022-00851-x
  • Silver nanoparticles boost charge extraction efficiency in Shewanella microbial fuel cells. Science, 373, 1336-1340, (2021). Cao B., Zhao Z., Peng L., Shiu H., Ding M., Song F, Guan X., Lee C. K., Huang J., Zhu D., Fu X., Wong G. C. L., Liu C., Nealson K., Weiss PS, Duan X,* Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf3427
  • Highly active and stable stepped Cu surface for enhanced electrochemical CO2 reduction to C2H4, Nature Catalysis, 3, 804-812, (2020). Choi, C., Kwon, S., Cheng, T., Xu, M., Tieu, P., Lee, C., Cai, J., Lee, H. M., Pan, X., Duan, X., Goddard, W. A.*, & Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-020-00504-x
  • Tailoring a three-phase microenvironment for high-performance oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Matter, 3, 1774–1790, (2020). Zhao, Z., Hossain, M. D., Xu, C., Lu, Z., Liu, Y.-S., Hsieh, S.-H., Lee, I., Gao, W., Yang, J., Merinov, B. V., Xue, W., Liu, Z., Zhou, J., Luo, Z., Pan, X., Zaera, F., Guo, J., Duan, X., Goddard, W. A.*, & Huang, Y.* (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2020.09.025
  • Differential surface elemental distribution leads to significantly enhanced stability of PtNi-based ORR catalysts. Matter, 1, 1567–1580, (2019). 70. Cao, L., Zhao, Z., Liu, Z., Gao, W., Dai, S., Gha, J., Xue, W., Sun, H., Duan, X., Pan, X., Mueller, T.*, & Huang, Y.*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2019.07.015
  • Single-atom tailoring of platinum nanocatalysts for high-performance multifunctional electrocatalysis. Nature Catalysis 2, 495-503, (2019). Li, M., Zhao, Z., Cheng, T., Fortunelli, A., Chen, C. Y., Yu, R., Zhang, Q., Gu, L., Merinov, B. V., Lin, Z., Zhu, E., Yu, T., Jia, Q., Guo, J., Zhang, L., Goddard, W. A.*, Huang, Y.*, & Duan, X.*https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-019-0279-6
  • Peptide-assisted 2-D assembly toward free-floating ultrathin platinum nanoplates as effective electrocatalysts. Nano Letters, 19, 3730-3736 (2019). Zhu, E., Yan, X., Wang, S., Xu, M., Wang, C., Liu, H., Huang, J., Xue, W., Cai, J., Heinz, H., Li, Y., & Huang, Y.* (2019). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b00867
  • Long-range hierarchical nanocrystal assembly driven by molecular structural transformation, Am. Chem. Soc. 141,1498-1505, (2019). Zhu, E., Wang, S., Yan, X., Sobani, M., Ruan, L., Wang, C., Liu, Y., Duan, X., Heinz, H.* and Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b08023. (cover story)
  • Building two-dimensional materials one row at a time: Avoiding the nucleation barrier. Science, 362, 1135. (2018). Chen, J., Zhu, E., Liu, J., Zhang, S., Lin, Z., Duan, X., Heinz, H., Huang, Y.*, & De Yoreo, J. J.* https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau4146
  • General synthesis and definitive structural identification of MN4C4 single-atom catalysts with tunable electrocatalytic activities, Catalysis 1, 63–72, (2018). Fei, H., Dong, J., Feng, Y., Allen, C. S., Wan, C., Volosskiy, Li, M., Zhao, Z., Wang, Y., Sun, H., An, P., Chen, W., Guo, Z., Lee, C., Chen, D., Shakir, I., Liu, M., Hu, T., Li, Y., Kirkland, A. I., Duan, X.*, & Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-017-0008-y
  • Surface-engineered PtNi-O nanostructure with record-high performance for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. Am. Chem. Soc., 140, 9046–9050, (2018). Zhao, Z., Liu, H., Gao, W., Xue, W., Liu, Z., Huang, J., Pan, X., & Huang, Y. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b04770
  • Roles of Mo surface dopants in enhancing the ORR performance of octahedral PtNi nanoparticles. Nano Letters, 18, 798–804, (2018). Jia, Q.*, Zhao, Z., Cao, L., Li, J., Ghoshal, S., Davies, V., Stavitski, E., Attenkofer, K., Liu, Z., Li, M., Duan, X., Mukerjee, S., Mueller, T.,* & Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b04007
  • Monolayer atomic crystal molecular superlattices. Nature, 555, 231–236, (2018). Wang, C., He, Q., Halim, U., Liu, Y., Zhu, E., Lin, Z., Xiao, H., Duan, X., Feng, Z., Cheng, R., Weiss, N. O., Ye, G., Huang, Y. C., Wu, H., Cheng, H. C., Shakir, I., Liao, L., Chen, X., Goddard, W. A., Huang, Y.*, & Duan, X*. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25774.
  • Van der Waals heterostructures and devices. Nature Reviews Materials, 1, 16042, (2016). Liu, Y., Weiss, N. O., Duan, X., Cheng, H.-C., Huang, Y.*, Duan, X*. https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.42
  • Ultrafine jagged platinum nanowires enable ultrahigh mass activity for the oxygen reduction reaction,Science 354, 1414–1419, (2016). 128. Li, M., Zhao, Z., Cheng, T., Fortunelli, A., Chen, C. Y., Yu, R., Zhang, Q., Gu, L., Merinov, B. V., Lin, Z., Zhu, E., Yu, T., Jia, Q., Guo, J., Zhang, L., Goddard, W. A.*, Huang, Y.*, & Duan, X*. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaf9050.
  • High-performance transition metal – doped Pt3Ni octahedra for oxygen reduction reaction, Science 348, 1230–1234, (2015). Huang, X., Zhao, Z., Cao, L., Chen, Y., Zhu, E., Lin, Z., Li, M., Yan, A., Zettl, A., Wang, Y. M., Duan, X., Mueller, T.*, & Huang, Y.* https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaa8765
  • Integration of molecular and enzymatic catalysts on graphene for biomimetic generation of antithrombotic species. Nature Communications, 5, 3200 (2014). Xue, T., Peng, B., Xue, M., Zhong, X., Chiu, C. Y., Yang, S., Qu, Y., Ruan, L., Jiang, S., Dubin, S., Kaner, R. B., Zink, J. I., Meyerhoff, M. E.*, Duan, X.*, & Huang, Y* (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4200.
  • Biomimetic synthesis of an ultrathin platinum nanowire network with a high twin density for enhanced electrocatalytic activity and durability. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 52(48), 12577–12581, (2013). Ruan, L., Zhu, E., Chen, Y., Lin, Z., Huang, X., Duan, X., & Huang, Y*. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201304658
  • Tailoring molecular specificity toward a crystal facet: A lesson from biorecognition toward Pt{111}, Nano Letters 13, 840–846, (2013). Ruan, L., Ramezani-Dakhel, H., Chiu, C. Y., Zhu, E., Li, Y., Heinz, H.* and Huang, Y.*. https://doi.org/10.1021/nl400022g
  • Facet-selective adsorption on noble metal crystals guided by electrostatic potential surfaces of aromatic molecules. Am. Chem. Soc., 135, 15489–15500, (2013). Chiu, C. Y., Wu, H., Yao, Z., Zhou, F., Zhang, H., Ozolins, V., & Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1021/ja406018u
  • Platinum nanocrystals selectively shaped using facet-specific peptide sequences, Nature Chemistry 3, 393–399, (2011). Chiu, C. Y., Li, Y., Ruan, L., Ye, X., Murray, C. B. and Huang, Y.* https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1025