News: Ju Li

Self-healing metal oxides could protect against corrosion

April 12, 2018

Researchers have found that a solid oxide protective coating for metals can, when applied in sufficiently thin layers, deform as if it were a liquid, filling any cracks and gaps as they form. The thin coating layer should be especially useful to prevent leakage of tiny molecules that can…  

Taking Materials to Extremes

June 21, 2017

Lithium-air batteries are the Holy Grail in the worldwide quest for better batteries, because they can store energy at very high densities, at least in theory. On the downside, they suffer from high losses in energy conversion and other drawbacks. Ju Li’s MIT research group, however, has…  

The science of friction on graphene

November 28, 2016

Professor Ju Li is helping unravel the mysteries of graphene's unique properties; specifically, how it behaves when something slides across its surface. "Graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon in…  

New lithium-oxygen battery greatly improves energy efficiency, longevity

July 25, 2016

Professor Ju Li's group has created a new lithium-oxygen battery capable of significantly reducing the negative effects of current lithium-air battery technology, including energy wasted as heat, and the necessity of extra components. These new, fully sealed batteries are called nanolithia…  

Carbon nanotubes improve metal’s longevity under radiation

March 8, 2016

One of the main reasons for limiting the operating lifetimes of nuclear reactors is that metals exposed to the strong radiation environment near the reactor core become porous and brittle, which can lead to cracking and failure. Now, a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere has found that, at least in some reactors, adding a tiny quantity of carbon nanotubes to the metal can dramatically slow this breakdown process.  

Unusual magnetic behavior observed at a material interface

August 18, 2015

An exotic kind of magnetic behavior, driven by the mere proximity of two materials, has been analyzed by a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere using a technique called spin-polarized neutron reflectometry. They say the new finding could be used to probe a variety of exotic physical…