Associate Professor Yahui Xue graduated from the Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science at Peking University in 2009 and 2015 with a bachelor's degree in theoretical and applied mechanics and a doctorate in solid mechanics, respectively. From 2011 to 2013, he worked as a visiting scholar in the Institute of Materials Research at Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht in Germany. From 2016 to 2021, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Berkeley. From June 2021 to May 2022, he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology, and from June 2022 served as an associate professor.

The research interest lies in the fields of micro-nanomechanics, solid-liquid interfaces, and micro/nanostructured materials, etc., and the main aim is to use novel materials and new methods to resolve fundamental problems related but not limited to wetting stability of micro/nanostructures and liquid flow control at nanometer. Main scientific achievements include:

(1) A thermodynamic framework was established to describe the wetting states and their stability on the surfaces of submerged complex micro/nanostructures under the influence of hydrostatic pressure, gas diffusion and fluid flow. The optimized power-law relationship was found between the diameter and spacing of the setae on superhydrophobic surfaces of water striders’ legs or some insects’ wings. The dependence of liquid slippage on the adhesion property of solid surfaces was uncovered and the underlying micromechanism was explained. This inspires more energy-efficient vessel designs with improved hydrodynamic performance.

(2) A new method based on electrocapillary flow was proposed for precise control of liquid transport in extremely small volume. On-off switchable capillary flow in nanoscale pores was demonstrated by using low voltage control, and the law governing the electrocapillary imbibition in novel nanoporous media (such as nanoprous gold and carbon nanotube sponges) was revealed. The application in enhanced oil recovery using those novel nanoporous media was demonstrated.

 (3) The mechanism of concerted ion movement induced by electrostatic interaction between densely packed ions was discovered, and a mean-field theoretical model was established to predict the effective diffusion coefficient of ions in atomic scale graphene channels, and simultaneously ultrafast and highly selective ion transport in atomic-scale graphene channels under electrical gate control was realized. The finding can contribute to the design of artificial neuron networks and emerging electrodes with superfast charging speed.

论文：

1. Yahui Xue, and Xiang Zhang. Self-adaptive acoustic cloak enabled by soft mechanical metamaterials. Extreme Mechanics Letters 46: 101347, 2021.

2. Yahui Xue#, Yang Xia#, Sui Yang, Yousif Alsaid, King Yan Fong, Yuan Wang, and Xiang Zhang. Atomic-scale ion transistor with ultrahigh diffusivity. Science 372 (6541): 501-503, 2021 (#equal contribution).

3. Quanwei Li, Wei Bao, Zhaoyu Nie, Yang Xia, Yahui Xue, Yuan Wang, Sui Yang, and Xiang Zhang. A non-unitary metasurface enables continuous control of quantum photon–photon interactions from bosonic to fermionic. Nature Photonics 15 (4): 267-271, 2021.

4. Yaolei Xiang, Shenglin Huang, Tian-Yun Huang, Ao Dong, Di Cao, Hongyuan Li, Yahui Xue, Pengyu Lv, and Huiling Duan. Superrepellency of underwater hierarchical structures on Salvinia leaf. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 (5): 2282-2287, 2020.

5. Yaolei Xiang, Shenglin Huang, Pengyu Lv, Yahui Xue, Qiang Su, and Huiling Duan. Ultimate stable underwater superhydrophobic state. Physical review letters 119 (13): 134501, 2017.

6. Pengyu Lv, Yaolei Xiang, Yahui Xue, Hao Lin, and Huiling Duan. Morphological bubble evolution induced by air diffusion on submerged hydrophobic structures. Physics of Fluids 29 (3): 032001, 2017.

7. Xiying Li, Yahui Xue, and Huiling Duan. Electrocapillary Rise in Nanoporous Media. Procedia IUTAM 21: 71-77, 2017.

8. Pengyu Lv, Yahui Xue, and Huiling Duan. Stability and Evolution of Liquid-gas Interfaces on Superhydrophobic Surfaces. Advances in Mechanics 46: 179-225, 2016.

9. Yahui Xue, Pengyu Lv, Hao Lin, and Huiling Duan. Underwater superhydrophobicity: Stability, design and regulation, and applications. Applied Mechanics Reviews 68 (3):  030803, 2016.

10. Xiying Li, Yahui Xue, Mingchu Zou, Dongxiao Zhang, Anyuan Cao, and Huiling Duan. Direct oil recovery from saturated carbon nanotube sponges. ACS applied materials & interfaces 8 (19): 12337-12343, 2016.

11. Hao Liu, Dandan Li, Yahui Xue, Pengyu LV, Yipeng Shi, and Huiling Duan. Numerical simulation of cavitating flow around a slender body with slip boundary condition. SCIENCE CHINA Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy 59 (2): 624702, 2016.

12. Yaolei Xiang, Yahui Xue, Pengyu Lv, Dandan Li, and Huiling Duan. Influence of fluid flow on the stability and wetting transition of submerged superhydrophobic surfaces. Soft Matter 12 (18): 4241-4246, 2016.

13. Dandan Li, Yahui Xue, Pengyu Lv, Shenglin Huang, Hao Lin, and Huiling Duan. Receding dynamics of contact lines and size-dependent adhesion on microstructured hydrophobic surfaces. Soft matter 12 (18): 4257-4265, 2016.

14. Xiaoguang Li, Yahui Xue, Pengyu Lv, Hao Lin, Feng Du, Yueyun Hu, Jun Shen, and Huiling Duan. Liquid plasticine: controlled deformation and recovery of droplets with interfacial nanoparticle jamming. Soft Matter 12 (6): 1655-1662, 2016.

15. Yahui Xue, Yanbing Yang, Hui Sun, Xiying Li, Shiting Wu, Anyuan Cao, and Huiling Duan. A switchable and compressible carbon nanotube sponge electrocapillary imbiber. Advanced Materials 27 (44): 7241-7246, 2015.