Yao Yang

The 3D arrangement of atoms fundamentally determines a material's physical properties. Precisely determining this arrangement is crucial for understanding material structure and function at the most fundamental level. While X-ray crystallography can determine the 3D atomic structure of perfect crystals with high precision, such ideal crystals are rare in nature. In practice, most material properties are governed by factors such as surface reconstructions, grain boundary defects, and dislocations, atomic arrangements that conventional crystallography cannot accurately capture.

Yao Yang has long focused on energy materials and electron microscopy. His AET combines advanced aberration-corrected electron microscopes with computational 3D reconstruction algorithms. It precisely determines every atom's position and type in a material without crystallographic assumptions, enabling high-precision atomic quantitative analysis by identifying defects in crystals and atomic structures in amorphous materials.

Using this technology, he has determined the 3D atomic structure of amorphous materials, characterized nanocatalysts (including platinum-based bimetallic and medium-/high-entropy alloys), and analyzed the 3D atomic structure of 2D materials. He has also captured the early nucleation processes of nanomaterials in dynamic conditions by adding a time dimension.

Today, AET represents a new scientific paradigm that combines electron microscopy and AI algorithms for 3D atomic structure analysis. It is crucial for optimizing energy materials and enhancing reaction efficiency, energy density, and cycle life, and it helps address the path to achieving carbon peaking and neutrality.