Zixuan Li

Dr. Zixuan Li is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Hunter College. Dr. Li earned his B.S. in Optical Information Science and Technology from Sun Yat-sen University and his M.S.E. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining Hunter, Dr. Li was a postdoctoral scholar in the Advanced Light Source (ALS) Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL). 

• PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2022)
• MSE in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania (2017)
• BS in Optical Information Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University (2014)

• Developing scanning probe-based spectromicroscopy techniques coupled with theoretical analysis to study material interfaces
• Functionalizing two-dimensional quantum materials for optimized device performance
• Investigating solid/liquid interfaces for energy applications

• Dr. Li's research focuses on using advanced experimental techniques and theoretical tools to elucidate the fundamental physics governing the interfacial phenomena in functional materials with broad implications for energy applications, nanoelectronics, and quantum technology.
• In particular, he employs in situ scanning probe methods and synchrotron-based spectromicroscopy techniques to investigate mechanically and electrochemically driven interfacial dynamics of ionic liquids at the nanoscale. He also integrates multimodal infrared nanospectroscopy with density functional theory (DFT) to study liquid/solid interfaces in energy devices, functionalized two-dimensional materials, and other quantum systems. 

• Zixuan Li, Jerzy T. Sadowski, Andrei Dolocan, Filippo Mangolini. Ionic Liquid-Mediated Scanning Probe Electro-Oxidative Lithography as a Novel Tool for Engineering Functional Oxide Micro- and Nano-Architectures. Adv. Funct. Mater., 33, 2306660 (2023). [url]
• Zhichao Chen, Zixuan Li, Wei Zhao, Ray A Matsumoto, Matthew W Thompson, Oscar Morales-Collazo, Peter T Cummings, Filippo Mangolini, Joan F Brennecke. Investigation of Multilayered Structures of Ionic Liquids on Graphite and Platinum Using Atomic Force Microscopy and Molecular Simulations. Langmuir, 38, 4036-4047 (2022). [url]
• Zixuan Li, Oscar Morales-Collazo, Robert Chrostowski, Joan F Brennecke, Filippo Mangolini. In situ nanoscale evaluation of pressure-induced changes in structural morphology of phosphonium phosphate ionic liquid at single-asperity contacts. RSC Adv., 12, 413-419 (2022). [url]
• Zixuan Li, Hugo Celio, Andrei Dolocan, Nicolás Molina, Jude Kershaw, Oscar Morales-Collazo, Joan F Brennecke, Filippo Mangolini. Tuning the Surface Reactivity and Tribological Performance of Phosphonium-Based Ionic Liquid at Steel/Steel Interfaces by Bromide/Phosphate Anion Mixtures. Appl. Surf. Sci., 570, 151245 (2021). [url]
• Zixuan Li, Filippo Mangolini. Recent Advances in Nanotribology of Ionic Liquids. Exp. Mech., 61, 1093-1107 (2021). [url]
• Filippo Mangolini, Zixuan Li, Matthew A Marcus, Reinhard Schneider, Martin Dienwiebel. Quantification of the carbon bonding state in amorphous carbon materials: A comparison between EELS and NEXAFS measurements. Carbon, 173, 557-564 (2021). [url]
• Zixuan Li, Andrei Dolocan, Oscar Morales‐Collazo, Jerzy T Sadowski, Hugo Celio, Robert Chrostowski, Joan F Brennecke, Filippo Mangolini. Lubrication Mechanism of Phosphonium Phosphate Ionic Liquid in Nanoscale Single-Asperity Sliding Contacts. Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 7, 2000426 (2020). [url]