Faculty Profiles

Colleges and Departments

Dr. Xingwen Yu

  • Associate Professor of Practice - Chemistry and Biochemistry

Biography and education

PhD: Materials Science and Engineering
MS: Chemistry
BS: Chemical Engineering

Dr. Xingwen Yu is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas State University. He brings over 20 years of experience in electrochemical energy storage and conversion, with a career spanning academia, industry, and entrepreneurship. He is currently ranked among the top 2,000 scientists in Materials Science in the United States.
Dr. Yu’s expertise includes both fundamental research and practical engineering, ranging from the development of electrochemical energy materials to large-scale battery manufacturing processes. His interdisciplinary background enables him to connect scientific principles with real-world applications in energy technology.
At Texas State University, Dr. Yu is dedicated to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. Beyond that, he is actively developing an internship (cooperative education) program to better prepare students for careers in science and engineering. He is particularly committed to integrating academic learning with industry-relevant skills.
Dr. Yu has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, including more than 100 as first author, as well as three book chapters and many patents. Drawing on his extensive experience in research, industry leadership, startup ventures, and teaching, he offers students a unique perspective that bridges higher education, scientific innovation, engineering practice, and commercialization.

Teaching Interests

Research Interests

  • Cabot Coporation (Principal), Yu, Xingwen (Co-Principal). Scalable, Innovative Manufacturing Process for Novel Carbon Supports for Metal Catalysts for MDV/HDV PEM Fuel Cells, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Federal, $7500000. (Funded: 2023 - 2026). Grant.
  • Yu, Xingwen (Principal). Surface Modification of Cathode Active Materials Using Metal Oxide Nanoparticles, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Federal, $900000. (Funded: 2023 - 2025). Grant.
  • Zhou, Xiao-dong (Principal), Yu, Xingwen (Co-Principal). Development of Solid-State Electrolyte for Safe and Ultra-High-Capacity Batteries for NASA's Future Missions, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal, $1500000. (Funded: 2022 - 2025). Grant.
  • Goodenough, John (Principal), Manthiram, Arumugam (Principal), Yu, Xingwen (Co-Principal). Materials Electrochemistry for Next-Generation Energy Storage, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Federal, $2100000. (Funded: 2019 - 2022). Grant.
  • Yu, Xingwen (Principal), Manthiram, Arumugam (Principal). Nonaqueous Redox Flow Batteries with a Mediator-ion Solid Electrolyte, ExxonMobil Corporation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $200000. (Funded: 2019 - 2021). Grant.
View all grants
  • Yu, X., He, Z., Chen, Z., Yildirim, S., Smith, K., Wu, J., … others. (2026). Solid-State Lithium Batteries with Liquid Additives: A Critical Review of Progress and Challenges. Electrochemical Energy Reviews (JIF: 36), 9(1), 3. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1007/s41918-025-00273-w
  • Yu, X., Wu, H., Koo, J. H., & Manthiram, A. (2020). Tailoring the pore size of a polypropylene separator with a polymer having intrinsic nanoporosity for suppressing the polysulfide shuttle in lithium--sulfur batteries. Advanced Energy Materials (JIF: 27), 10(1), 1902872.
  • Yu, X., & Manthiram, A. (2018). Electrode--electrolyte interfaces in lithium-based batteries. Energy & Environmental Science (JIF: 33), 11(3), 527--543. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1039/C7EE02555F
  • Manthiram, A., Yu, X., & Wang, S. (2017). Lithium battery chemistries enabled by solid-state electrolytes. Nature Reviews Materials (JIF: 86), 2(4), 16103. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.103
  • Yu, X., & Manthiram, A. (2017). A Mediator-ion Solid Electrolyte Strategy for the Development of Next-generation Electrochemical Energy Storage Technologies. Joule (JIF: 35), 1, 453–462. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2017.10.011
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Best 2000 Scientists in Materials Science, Research.com. 2026
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Patent Awards, Ambri Inc. (USA). 2016 - 2019
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Fellowship, National Research Council (NRC), Canada. 2003 - 2005
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Max-Planck-Society (Germany) Fellowship, Max-Planck-Society, Germany. 2002 - 2003
  1. Organizer

    Chemistry Internship Program at TXST

  2. Reviewer / Referee

    U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

  3. Reviewer / Referee

    50+ different journals across publishers, including Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, ACS, RSC, ECS, AIP, Cell Press, AAAS, and Springer Nature