Yidan Cao

Prof. Yidan Cao currently is a faculty member at Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI). She graduated with the honor of Outstanding Graduate from Tsinghua University and received B.E. degree in 2011 and Ph.D. degree in 2016. She has been a visiting scholar at MIT in USA from 2013 to 2014, and has been a Killam Laureates Postdoctoral Scholar at Dalhousie University in Canada from 2016 to 2019. She has been a collaborator with some world-leading companies including BASF and 3M. With extensive interdisciplinary experience in catalysis, electrochemistry, materials science, and energy storage technologies, Dr. Yidan Cao’s lab primarily focuses on materials’ architecture design and devices’ development in electrochemical system, aiming to not only create new and efficient materials with advanced architectures for applications in energy storage and conversion, but also enrich the fundamental chemistry understanding in materials science.

Aug. 2011 - Jul. 2016, Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, China

Sep. 2013 - Sep. 2014, Joint PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, USA

Aug. 2007 - Jul. 2011, B.E. in Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, China

Dec. 2022-present, Associate Professor/PhD supervisor, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, China

Jan. 2021 – Nov. 2022, Assistant Professor/PhD supervisor, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, China

Nov. 2019 – Dec. 2020, Assistant Professor/PhD supervisor, Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), Tsinghua University, China

Oct. 2016 – Oct. 2019, Postdoc, Dalhousie University, Canada

Member of Chinese Materials Research Society (CMRS)

Postdoctoral Researcher Position

A postdoctoral researcher position is currently open. The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. degree in chemistry/material science. Interested applicants please email a CV to yidancao@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn.

Graduate Student Position (PhD and Master)

Applications are encouraged from students with an excellent educational background in chemistry, physics, or material science. Interested applicants please contact yidancao@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn about PhD and Master openings.

• Materials and Devices for Energy Storage and Conversion

• Surface and Interface of Materials

Master’s & PhD Advising: PhD Supervisor, Master Supervisor. Open for Postdoc, PhD, and Master applications.

 PhD Supervisor, Master Supervisor. Open for applications.

• Materials’ Architecture Design

• Nano Energy Materials

• Lithium-ion Battery

• Energy Storage Materials and Devices

• Electrochemistry

National Key R&D Program of China, Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, Shenzhen Science and Technology Program, and Killam Fellowship, etc.

[1] G Xiao, K Yang, Y Cao*, et al. Dielectric-Tailored Space Charge Layer and Ion Coordination Structure for High-Voltage Polymer All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries. Advanced Materials 2025, 37, 2415411.

[2] J Biao, C Bai, Y Cao*, et al. Perspectives on Li Dendrite Penetration in Li7La3Zr2O12-Based Solid-State Electrolytes and Batteries: Materials, Interfaces, and Charge Transfer. Advanced Energy Materials 2024, 14(10), 2303128.

[3] Y Lv, S Huang, Y Cao*, et al. Antimony Doping Enabled Radially Aligned Microstructure in LiNi0.91Co0.06Al0.03O2 Cathode for High‐Voltage and Low‐Temperature Lithium Battery. Advanced Functional Materials 2024, 34(28), 2312284.

[4] K Cai, G Kang, Y Cao*, et al. Reconstruction of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase through an In-Situ Periodic Healing Strategy in Anode-Free Lithium Metal Batteries. ACS Energy Letters 2025, 10, 3014.

[5] G Kang, G Zhong, Y Cao*, et al. Dimethyl Sulfide Electrolyte Additive Enabled High-Voltage Lithium-ion Battery. ACS Energy Letters 2024, 9 (6), 2572.

• Electrochemically Active Dispersions and Composites for Rechargeable Battery Anodes. M Obrovac, Y Cao, J Wang. US patent application No. 62782008.

• Y Cao, S Huang, N Li, et al. Lithiophilic interfacial engineering of Cu current collector. Application No. 202210013126.7.

Youth Talent (Guandong), High-Caliber Personnel (Shenzhen), Killam Postdoc Fellow