• Ultrafast synthesis of low-dimensional functional materials

• Interface engineering of two-dimensional semiconductors

• Two-dimensional neuromorphic devices

• Outstanding Staff Member, Tsinghua University (2026)

• Distinguished Professor, National High-Level Talent Program (2024)

• First Prize of Science and Technology Award, Chinese Materials Research Society (2024, ranked 4/8)

• IUMRS Frontier Materials Young Scientists Award (2022)

• First Prize of Science and Technology Award, Chinese Materials Research Society (2020, ranked 1/6)

• National Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award (2010)

• Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate Award, Tsinghua University (2008)

• Outstanding Ten Academic Postgraduate Students, Tsinghua University (2008)

Published >150 papers in Science, Nature Electronics, Nature Synthesis, Science Advances, Nature Communications, etc.

Cited by >16,000 times, H index 63.

Granted > 50 invention patents.

Selected publications:

1. Peng, Ruixuan; Wu, Yonghuang; Wang, Bolun; Shi, Run; Xu, Longlong; Pan, Ting; Guo, Jing; Zhao, Bochen; Song, Cheng; Fan, Zhiyong; Wang, Chen; Zhou, Peng; Fan, Shoushan; Liu, Kai*. Programmable graded doping for reconfigurable molybdenum ditelluride devices. Nature Electronics, 6, 852 (2023).

2. Li, Chenyu; Zhang, Zhichao; Zhu, Kunlei; Liu, Mingda; Chen, Jiayuan; Zhou, Liang; Zhang, Qinghua; Wu, Yonghuang; Guo, Jing; Shi, Run; Xin, Zeqin; Sun, Yinghui; Liu, Peng; Wu, Hui; Gu, Lin; Wang, Dingsheng; Wang, Rongming; Li, Yadong; Fan, Shoushan; Li, Jia*; Liu, Kai*. Nanoconfined Impulse Synthesis of High-Entropy Nanocarbides for Highly Active and Stable Electrocatalysts. Nature Synthesis, 4, 1422 (2025).

3. Shi, Run; Wu, Yonghuang; Zhou, Liang; Jiang, Wengui; Li, Zonglin Li; Chen, Jiayuan; Cao, Ning; Wu, Chenghui; Liu, Mingda; Sun, Yinghui*; Liu, Kai*. A family of ultrathin non-van der waals kamiokite-type oxides for two-dimensional electronics. Nature Communications, 17, 9411 (2026).

4. Wu, Yonghuang; Liang, Xiangpeng; Pan, Ting; Wu, Chenghui; Wang, Wenxin; Chen, Jiayuan; Peng, Ruixuan; Zhu, Yuanmin; Zhen, Cheng; Shi, Run; Zhao, Bochen; Li, Zonglin; Liu, Yiqun; Zhu, Zhou; Ma, Jing; Gu, Meng Danny; Tang, Jianshi*; Liu, Kai*. All-two-dimensional, ion-gating synaptic transistors for high-temperature and ultralow-energy-consumption neuromorphic applications. Science Advances, 12, eaec7731 (2026).

5. Liu, Mingda; Zhang, Zhichao; Li, Chenyu; Jin, Sen; Zhu, Kunlei; Fan, Shoushan; Li, Jia*; Liu, Kai*. High-entropy alloyed single-atom Pt for methanol oxidation electrocatalysis. Nature Communications, 16, 6359 (2025).

6. Wang, Enze; Xiong, Zixin; Chen, Zekun; Xin, Zeqin; Ma, Huachun; Ren, Hongtao; Wang, Bolun; Guo, Jing Guo; Sun, Yufei; Wang, Xuewen; Li, Chenyu; Li, Xiaoyan*; Liu, Kai*. Water nanolayer facilitated solitary-wave-like blisters in MoS2 thin films. Nature Communications, 14, 4324 (2023).

7. Sun, Yufei; Wang, Yujia; Wang, Enze; Wang, Bolun; Zhao, Hengyi; Zeng, Yongpan; Zhang, Qinghua; Wu, Yonghuang; Gu, Lin; Li, Xiaoyan*; Liu, Kai*. Determining the interlayer shearing in twisted bilayer MoS2 by nanoindentation. Nature Communications, 13, 3898 (2022).

8. Li, Chenyu; Wang, Zhijie; Liu, Mingda; Wang, Enze; Wang, Bolun; Xu, Longlong; Jiang, Kaili; Fan, Shoushan; Sun, Yinghui*; Li, Jia*; Liu, Kai*. Ultrafast self-heating synthesis of robust heterogeneous nanocarbides for high current density hydrogen evolution reaction. Nature Communications, 13, 3338 (2022).

9. Peng, Ruixuan; Chen, Jiayuan; Zhao, Bochen; Zhang, Boxuan; Wu, Yonghuang; Shi, Run; Liu, Yiqun; Li, Zonglin; Guo, Jing; Pan, Ting; Lang, Wenjian; Ma, Jing; Shen, Yang; Liu, Kai*. All-solid-state, ferroelectric-graded-doping reconfigurable molybdenum ditelluride devices. Advanced Materials, 38, e73338 (2026).

10. Wu, Yonghuang; Xin, Zeqin; Zhang, Zhibin; Wang, Bolun; Peng, Ruixuan; Wang, Enze; Shi, Run; Liu, Yiqun; Guo, Jing; Liu, Kaihui; Liu, Kai*. All‐transfer Electrode Interface Engineering Towards Harsh‐Environment‐Resistant MoS2 Field‐Effect Transistors. Advanced Materials, 35, 210735 (2023).