Xie Yi

Xie Yi
Born	(1967-07-23) July 23, 1967 Fuyang, Anhui, China
Occupation(s)	Chemist, professor, doctoral advisor
Years active	1998–present
Known for	Research in solid-state chemistry, nanotechnology, energy materials; member of Chinese Academy of Sciences; fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Xie Yi FRSC (; born 23 July 1967) is a distinguished Chinese chemist, recognized as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She holds a professorship and serves as a doctoral advisor at the University of Science and Technology of China.

In 2015, Xie was honored with the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science.

Early life and education

Xie was born on July 23, 1967, in Fuyang, Anhui. She completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry at Xiamen University in 1988. Following this, she worked as an assistant engineer at a chemical factory in Hefei before embarking on doctoral studies under the mentorship of Qian Yitai at the University of Science and Technology of China, where she earned her PhD in 1996. She then conducted postdoctoral research at Stony Brook University from 1997 to 1998.

Research and career

Since November 1998, Xie has been a faculty member at the University of Science and Technology of China, taking on the role of doctoral supervisor beginning in 1999. In 2013, she was elected fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and subsequently gained membership in the Chinese Academy of Sciences within the same year.

Her laboratory specializes in cutting-edge studies spanning solid-state chemistry, nanotechnology, energy-related materials, and theoretical physics. The research primarily centers on designing inorganic functional solids through precise tuning of electron and phonon structures. Major areas of investigation include:

1. Analysis of low-dimensional solids to connect unique electronic configurations with their inherent properties
2. Development of novel strategies for independent enhancement of thermoelectric performance
3. Fabrication of inorganic functional materials exhibiting light, magnetic, electric, and thermal responsiveness with controllable intelligent characteristics
4. Innovation in flexible nanodevices aimed at efficient energy storage and conversion
5. Design and engineering of nanostructured photocatalysts dedicated to CO₂ capture and transformation

Awards

• 2014: TWAS Prize
• 2015: L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science
• 2016: Featured in Asian Scientist as one of the Asian Scientist 100

Selected papers

Among Xie's highly cited works are:

• Xie, J., et al. (2013). Defect-Rich MoS2 Ultrathin Nanosheets with Additional Active Edge Sites for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution. Advanced Materials, 25(40), 5807–5813.

This publication details a gram-scale synthesis approach for defect-enriched MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets possessing extra active edge sites that significantly boost electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency. The catalyst exhibits low onset overpotential, reduced Tafel slope, elevated cathodic current density, and outstanding stability. Structural integrity and performance were confirmed through advanced spectroscopic and imaging analyses.

• Yuan, C., Wu, H. B., Xie, Y., & Lou, X. W. (David). (2014). Mixed Transition-Metal Oxides: Design, Synthesis, and Energy-Related Applications. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 53(6), 1488–1504.

This review explores the design principles and synthetic methods for mixed transition-metal oxides (MTMOs) with tailored compositions and nanostructures aimed at energy storage and conversion technologies. MTMOs emerge as cost-effective electrode candidates suitable for lithium-ion batteries, electrochemical capacitors, metal-air batteries, and fuel cells.

• Zhang, X., et al. (2013). Enhanced Photoresponsive Ultrathin Graphitic-Phase C₃N₄ Nanosheets for Bioimaging. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(1), 18–21.

The article introduces an eco-friendly liquid exfoliation technique to produce ultrathin graphitic-phase C₃N₄ nanosheets with improved photoabsorption properties and photoluminescence quantum yield reaching up to 19.6%. These water-dispersible nanosheets demonstrate excellent stability and biocompatibility, making them promising candidates for bioimaging applications. Their structural and electronic characteristics were examined using advanced microscopy alongside density functional theory calculations.

See also

• Women in chemistry