Junwen Li

Junwen Li is a UMD Postdoctoral Researcher in the Nanoscale Processes and Measurements Group in the Nanoscale Device Characterization Division. He received a B.S. in Physics from Qingdao University, China and a Ph.D. in Computational Materials Physics from Oklahoma State University. His doctoral research focused on first-principles studies of the electronic properties of one dimensional nanostructures. He then worked as Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Engineering at Brown University and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania studying the role of grain boundaries in photovoltaic absorber materials and exploring the feasibility of using two-dimensional materials as anodes for Li ion batteries and as efficient catalysts for hydrogen evolution. Junwen is working with Paul Haney performing first-principles simulations of the electronic and optical properties of nanostructures in thin-film solar cells based on novel materials.

Selected Publications

• Enhanced catalytic activity in strained chemically exfoliated WS₂ nanosheets for hydrogen evolution, D. Voiry, H. Yamaguchi, J. Li, R. Silva, D. C. B. Alves, T. Fujita, M. Chen, T. Asefa, V. B. Shenoy, G. Eda, and M. Chhowalla, Nature Materials 12, 850–855 (2013).
• Bonding charge density and ultimate strength of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, J. Li, N. V. Medhekar, and V. B. Shenoy, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 117, 15842–15848 (2013).
• Structure and electronic properties of grain boundaries in earth-abundant photovoltaic absorber Cu₂ZnSnSe₄, J. Li, D. B. Mitzi, and V. B. Shenoy, ACS Nano 5, 8613–8619 (2011).