RESEARCH
Our research at UCLA focuses on the discovery, design, and scalable manufacturing of advanced materials for sustainable energy, electronics, and healthcare technologies. We combine chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, and electrochemistry to understand materials at the molecular level and translate fundamental discoveries into practical devices and manufacturing processes.
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Our work covers a broad range of functional materials, including graphene and other two-dimensional materials, conducting polymers, transition metal compounds, carbon nanomaterials, biomaterials, metal and covalent organic frameworks, porous materials, and hybrid organic-inorganic materials. Using advanced synthesis, additive manufacturing, laser processing and device engineering, we develop next-generation batteries, supercapacitors, hydrogen production systems, flexible and wearable electronics, chemical and biological sensors, nanogenerators, and biomedical devices.
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Below are representative examples of our recent research discoveries and current research directions:
Supercapacitors
Electrochemical capacitors, also known as supercapacitors, are energy storage devices like batteries, yet they can be recharged a hundred to a thousand times faster. Because of their enabling features, supercapacitors complement or even replace batteries in an increasing number of applications. However, the low energy density of the current supercapacitors is the main impediment to realizing the full commercial potential of this technology. In order to address these challenges, we are exploring new materials and device structures for the production of supercapacitors with the goal of achieving the energy-storage capability of batteries without sacrificing their power density and cycling life.
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For example, we used a consumer-grade LightScribe DVD burner for the direct writing of graphene films that can be used directly in supercapacitors without the need for binders or conductive additives generally used in conventional supercapacitors. A good way to understand our technology is to view a three-minute video made for the Sundance film festival by the videographer Brian Davis on ideas that could change the world [link]. Following this discovery, our team has received hundreds of inquiries about using the new graphene supercapacitors for storing energy in everything from portable electronic devices to power plants based on solar energy and even hybrid electric vehicles.
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Building on these studies, our current research spans a broad range of advanced electrode materials and device architectures for next-generation supercapacitors. We are developing 3D printed polymer and carbon frameworks, conductive polymer hydrogels and graphene-polymer composites, vapor-grown PEDOT nanofibers with ultrahigh surface areas, and hybrid electrochemical energy storage systems based on multivalent ions such as zinc. Our work combines scalable materials synthesis, mechanistic studies of charge storage and degradation, and innovative device engineering to achieve higher energy density, exceptional power capability, and ultralong cycle life.
Next-Generation Batteries
Batteries are central to the electrification of transportation, portable electronics, and renewable energy storage. Our research focuses on developing safer, higher-energy, and longer-lasting batteries through innovations in materials, cell design, and scalable manufacturing. We investigate advanced lithium-ion batteries based on silicon-rich anodes, engineered binders, conductive carbon nanomaterials, and protective coatings to increase energy density while mitigating degradation associated with large volume changes. We also develop safer battery technologies through non-flammable electrolytes and semi-solid-state electrolyte systems that improve both safety and performance.
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Beyond conventional lithium-ion batteries, our group is actively developing next-generation battery chemistries including lithium-sulfur, sodium-ion, zinc-ion, and zinc-air batteries, while also reinventing classic technologies such as Thomas Edison's nickel-iron battery using modern nanomaterials and electrode architectures. Our research combines advanced nanomaterials, innovative electrode architectures, and electrolyte engineering to overcome key challenges in conductivity, cycling stability, and energy density. We have also translated many of these technologies from the laboratory to commercial-scale manufacturing through Nanotech Energy, bridging fundamental scientific discoveries with practical energy storage solutions for electric vehicles, grid storage, aerospace, and portable electronics.​
Graphene & 2D Materials
One of our group's most influential contributions has been advancing both the chemistry and scalable manufacturing of graphene materials. We have developed production methods that have enabled the transition of graphene from laboratory-scale synthesis to metric ton-scale manufacturing, making high-quality graphene available for industrial applications. In parallel, we introduced laser-scribed graphene, a direct laser writing technique that converts graphene oxide or polymeric carbon precursors into highly conductive porous graphene using a programmable laser. Unlike conventional microfabrication, this approach eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming cleanroom lithography while enabling rapid prototyping and scalable manufacturing of complex graphene architectures with micrometer-scale resolution. Today, these technologies have been widely adopted by research groups worldwide for applications including microbatteries and supercapacitors, flexible and wearable electronics, sensors and biosensors, transistors, resistive memory, photodetectors, microwave circuits, electrocatalysis, flexible heaters, soft robotics, nanogenerators, IoT devices, and biomedical systems.
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Our group also investigates other emerging two-dimensional materials, including transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), transition metal oxides, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). By integrating these materials with graphene, we engineer multifunctional heterostructures with tailored optical, electrical, catalytic, and electrochemical properties for applications in energy storage, catalysis, sensing, smart electronic systems, and sustainable infrastructure. Recent examples include oxygen-deficient two-dimensional MoO₃₋ₓ for transparent electrochromic energy storage devices and graphene oxide additives that significantly enhance the strength and durability of cement and concrete while reducing their environmental footprint.​
Nanogenerators
To meet the future need for clean and sustainable energies, there has been considerable interest in the development of nanogenerators (NGs) that scavenge waste mechanical energies. Working with an international team from Canada and the US, our team at UCLA developed a new class of fire-resistant and self-powered sensors for lifesaving applications. This system can be integrated into wearables to ensure greater safety in a world where flammable materials are being increasingly used and where protection against fire remains an issue. In another project, we developed a new NG that creates electricity from snowfall. This wearable device can function as a stretchable energy harvester and a multifunctional sensor for monitoring weather in remote areas. The team has also developed an effective strategy for harvesting the energy of underwater currents with an innovative design of self-standing TENGs. The harvested power is utilized to power pH and turbidity sensors for environmental monitoring of oceanic waters. We are also investigating the performance of TENGs under low-frequency range and planning to understand how they are different from those of piezoelectric devices
Skin Electronics
Once the stuff of science fiction, the electronic skin is becoming a reality thanks to significant advances in innovative materials, microelectronics, and sensors. Great efforts are currently underway to develop an electronic skin that is flexible, stretchable and self-healing, that can mimic the functionalities of the human skin. Working with a team from the University of Toronto, we used a simple printing technique for fabricating an electronic skin that is capable of detecting human physiological signals such as pressure, temperature, and humidity through an array of self-powered and totally flat sensors. The new devices can mimic the skin’s ability to breathe and flex, while also provide new features such as being conformable, anti-inflammatory, and recyclable and can degrade under ambient conditions without the need for water or bio-fluids.
Chemical Sensors, Biosensors & Drug Delivery
Our team uses unique nonmanufacturing tools for the development of novel medical devices for the biomedical industry. Specifically, we are interested in applications such as targeted drug delivery, cellular imaging, healthcare monitoring, and smart biomedical devices. Another subject of interest to us is chemical sensors and biosensors for the precise measurement of the human body’s chemical messengers – neurotransmitters such as dopamine, epinephrine, and L-Dopa, etc.
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Delivering medicine to the site of therapeutic action remain a challenge in the pharmaceutical and medical industry. We are interested in the development of potent drug delivery systems based on drug-loaded nanoparticles that can bind selectively to cancer cells with the help of the proper targeting ligand, allowing for the treatment of those cells without damaging the normal cells in the body. For example, we have recently demonstrated a green route for the preparation of nanodevices consisting of bright-blue emitting cadmium nanoclusters as an effective delivery vehicle and bio-imaging probe, hyaluronic acid as a targeting ligand, and doxorubicin as a model anticancer drug. This platform exhibits strong and efficient therapeutic activities combined with the pH-controllable release of doxorubicin that reaches the tumor with high cellular uptake. In addition, the nanoclusters are well below 5 nm in size, enabling the successful renal filtration of the proposed drug delivery and cellular imaging system.
Water Splitting and Hydrogen Energy
Solar energy is the only renewable energy source with the capacity to completely satisfy the projected energy consumption of our planet over the next century. The development of stable and efficient material systems that can store solar energy by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen has long been considered one of the “Holy Grails” of science and technology. Our research focuses on developing earth-abundant electrocatalysts and integrated energy systems that accelerate both the hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions.
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We have demonstrated integrated dual-function energy devices that combine catalytic water splitting with supercapacitors for simultaneous energy conversion and storage. More recently, our research has expanded to multifunctional electrocatalysts that serve as efficient catalysts for hydrogen production while also functioning as high-performance air electrodes for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. These materials bridge energy conversion and energy storage within a single materials platform.
Journal Covers
​Featured in Chemistry 13e
Our work on graphene supercapacitors was selected for inclusion in the opening chapter of "Chemistry" by Raymond Chang and Jason Overby, one of the world's most widely used general chemistry textbooks. The book presents our work as one of four examples of modern chemistry frontiers shaping the twenty-first century, alongside DNA sequencing, photovoltaics, and ethanol fuel production. This recognition reflects the broader impact of our work.
