Publications

@article{Holoubek2025,

title = {Double-Layer Design Enables Independent Kinetic Modulation in CO                    _{2}                    Electrolysis},

author = {John Holoubek and Kuan-Yu Lin and Xun Guan and Jing Wang and Huayue Ai and Jian Qin and Yi Cui},

doi = {10.1021/acsenergylett.5c03397},

issn = {2380-8195},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-09},

urldate = {2026-01-09},

journal = {ACS Energy Lett.},

volume = {11},

number = {1},

pages = {726--732},

publisher = {American Chemical Society (ACS)},

keywords = {Echem},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Guan2024c,

title = {Seawater alkalization via an energy-efficient electrochemical process for CO            _{2}            capture},

author = {Xun Guan and Ge Zhang and Jinlei Li and Sang Cheol Kim and Guangxia Feng and Yuqi Li and Tony Cui and Adam Brest and Yi Cui},

doi = {10.1073/pnas.2410841121},

issn = {1091-6490},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-05},

urldate = {2024-11-05},

journal = {Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.},

volume = {121},

number = {45},

publisher = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},

abstract = {<jats:p>

            Electrochemical pH-swing strategies offer a promising avenue for cost-effective and energy-efficient carbon dioxide (CO

            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>

            ) capture, surpassing the traditional thermally activated processes and humidity-sensitive techniques. The concept of elevating seawater’s alkalinity for scalable CO

            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>

            capture without introducing additional chemical as reactant is particularly intriguing due to its minimal environmental impact. However, current commercial plants like chlor-alkali process or water electrolysis demand high thermodynamic voltages of 2.2 V and 1.23 V, respectively, for the production of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) from seawater. These high voltages are attributed to the asymmetric electrochemical reactions, where two completely different reactions take place at the anode and cathode. Here, we developed a symmetric electrochemical system for seawater alkalization based on a highly reversible and identical reaction taking place at the anode and cathode. We utilize hydrogen evolution reaction at the cathode, where the generated hydrogen is looped to the anode for hydrogen oxidation reaction. Theoretical calculations indicate an impressively low energy requirement ranging from 0.07 to 0.53 kWh/kg NaOH for established pH differences of 1.7 to 13.4. Experimentally, we achieved the alkalization with an energy consumption of 0.63 kWh/kg NaOH, which is only 38% of the theoretical energy requirements of the chlor-alkali process (1.64 kWh/kg NaOH). Further tests demonstrated the system’s potential of enduring high current densities (~20 mA/cm

            <jats:sup>2</jats:sup>

            ) and operating stability over an extended period (>110 h), showing its potential for future applications. Notably, the CO

            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>

            adsorption tests performed with alkalized seawater exhibited remarkably improved CO

            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>

            capture dictated by the production of hydroxide compared to the pristine seawater.

          </jats:p>},

keywords = {Echem},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Zhang2024,

title = {Spontaneous lithium extraction and enrichment from brine with net energy output driven by counter-ion gradients},

author = {Ge Zhang and Yuqi Li and Xun Guan and Guoliang Hu and Hance Su and Xueer Xu and Guangxia Feng and Sanzeeda Baig Shuchi and Sang Cheol Kim and Jiawei Zhou and Rong Xu and Xin Xiao and Allen Wu and Yi Cui},

doi = {10.1038/s44221-024-00326-2},

issn = {2731-6084},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-00},

urldate = {2024-11-00},

journal = {Nat Water},

volume = {2},

number = {11},

pages = {1091--1101},

publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},

keywords = {Echem},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Xiang2021,

title = {Ag^{II}‐Mediated Electrocatalytic Ambient CH_{4} Functionalization Inspired by HSAB Theory},

author = {Danlei Xiang and Jesus A. Iñiguez and Jiao Deng and Xun Guan and Antonio Martinez and Chong Liu},

doi = {10.1002/anie.202104217},

issn = {1521-3773},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-08-09},

urldate = {2021-08-09},

journal = {Angew Chem Int Ed},

volume = {60},

number = {33},

pages = {18152--18161},

publisher = {Wiley},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Although most class (b) transition metals have been studied in regard to CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> activation, divalent silver (Ag<jats:sup>II</jats:sup>), possibly owing to its reactive nature, is the only class (b) high‐valent transition metal center that is not yet reported to exhibit reactivities towards CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> activation. We now report that electrochemically generated Ag<jats:sup>II</jats:sup> metalloradical readily functionalizes CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> into methyl bisulfate (CH<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>OSO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>H) at ambient conditions in 98 % H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>SO<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>. Mechanistic investigation experimentally unveils a low activation energy of 13.1 kcal mol<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, a high pseudo‐first‐order rate constant of CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> activation up to 2.8×10<jats:sup>3</jats:sup> h<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> at room temperature and a CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> pressure of 85 psi, and two competing reaction pathways preferable towards CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> activation over solvent oxidation. Reaction kinetic data suggest a Faradaic efficiency exceeding 99 % beyond 180 psi CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> at room temperature for potential chemical production from widely distributed natural gas resources with minimal infrastructure reliance.</jats:p>},

keywords = {Echem},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}