Biography

Jianhui Wang won the first prize of China High School Chemistry Competition in 2001. He was accepted by Zhejiang University as a direct admission student in 2002. After finishing his undergraduate study, he took a joint PhD training among Zhejiang University, National University of Singapore and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, and obtained his PhD degree in 2011. Then he joined the International Research Center for Hydrogen Energy, Kyushu University as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In 2013, he joined The University of Tokyo and served successively as a Project Researcher, JSPS Fellow and Chief Researcher. Since September 2018, he has joined Westlake University and become the Principle Investigator of Westlake Energy Storage & Conversion Laboratory (WESL). In 2022, he was awarded "IUMRS Frontier Materials Young Scientist".

Research

Our society is facing increasingly pressures from aggressive fossil fuel consumption and global environmental pollution. Development of a green and sustainable energy system is an ultimate solution that can eliminate fossil fuel reliance as well as the environmental pollution caused by using fossil fuels. At Dr. Wang’s lab, we aim to develop next-generation energy-storage materials and technologies, such as high-energy, high-safety, and/or affordable batteries and fuel cells and their corresponding key materials, via integrating the knowledge and techniques in electrochemistry, catalysis, physical chemistry and materials engineering.

Several achievements are shown below:

1) developing the first-case nontransition metal (potassium) catalyst for hydrogen storage materials and unveiling its mechanism (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 2009, ChemSuschem 2013);

2) developing the first-case "single salt single solvent" high-voltage Li-ion electrolyte for a 5V-class battery (Nature Communications 2016);

3) developing fire-extinguishing electrolytes for safe and long-life Li-ion/Na-ion batteries (Nature Energy 2018, Nature Energy 2019);

4) developing a wide-temperature operating (-20 ~ +100˚C) Li-ion full cell for BTMS-free EV power system (Advanced Science 2021);

5) developing "core-shell-solvation" electrolytes (4.5 V) for safe and high-voltage aqueous Li-ion batteries (Joule 2022).   

Representative publications

(† Equal contribution; * Corresponding author)

1. R. Lin†, C. Ke†, J. Chen, S. Liu*, J. Wang*, Asymmetric donor-acceptor molecule regulated core-shell-solvation electrolyte for high-voltage aqueous batteries, Joule 6 (2022) 399-417.  (Featured as Journal Cover)

2. J. Wang†, Q. Zheng†, M. Fang†, S. Ko, Y. Yamada, A. Yamada*, Concentrated electrolytes widen the operating temperature range of lithium-ion batteries, Advanced Science 8 (2021) 2101646. (Featured as Frontispiece)

3. Y. Yamada†, J. Wang†, S. Ko, E. Watanabe, A. Yamada*, Advances and issues in developing salt-concentrated battery electrolytes, Nature Energy 4 (2019), 269-280. (Invited Review)

4. J. Wang, Y. Yamada, K. Sodeyama, E. Watanabe, K. Takada, Y. Tateyama, A. Yamada*, Fire-extinguishing organic electrolytes for safe batteries, Nature Energy 3 (2018), 22-29. (Featured as Journal Cover)

5. J. Wang†, Y. Yamada†, K. Sodeyama, C. Chiang, Y. Tateyama, A. Yamada*, Superconcentrated electrolytes for a high-voltage lithium-ion Battery, Nature Communications 7 (2016), 12032.

6. J. Wang, P. Chen*, H. Pan, Z. Xiong, M. Gao, G. Wu, C. Liang, C. Li, J. Wang, Solid-solid heterogeneous catalysis: The role of potassium in promoting the dehydrogenation of the Mg(NH2)2/2LiH composite, ChemSusChem 6 (2013), 2181-2189.

7. J. Wang*, H. Li*, P. Chen*, Amides and borohydrides for high-capacity solid-state hydrogen storage -- materials design and kinetic improvements, MRS Bulletin 38 (2013), 480-487. (Invited Review)

8. J. Wang, T. Liu, G. Wu, W. Li, Y. Liu, C. M. Araujo, R. H. Scheicher, A. Blomqvist, R. Ahuja, Z. Xiong, P. Yang, M. Gao, H. Pan, P. Chen*, Potassium-Modified Mg(NH2)2/2LiH System for Hydrogen Storage, Angewandte Chemie 121 (2009), 5942-5946; Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 48 (2009), 5828-5832. (Featured as Frontispiece)