Spotlight: Dr Yan Li

Dr Yan Li is a COE-CSI research fellow under the supervision of Prof Liming Dai in the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW. Her research interests focus on the design and synthesis of functional carbon-based nanostructures and their applications in electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems.

Your research problem and ultimate goal
My research focuses on developing carbon-based electrocatalysts for key energy conversion reactions, such as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), and carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂RR). The ultimate goal is to support clean and efficient energy technologies by designing low-cost, carbon-based catalysts, including metal-free and single-atom systems for green ammonia and renewable chemical fuel production.

Key challenges?
Achieving both high activity and long-term durability in carbon-based catalysts, especially under demanding electrochemical conditions. Another challenge is identifying and understanding the active sites at the atomic level, as they are often dynamic and evolve under operating conditions.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The curiosity to understand how things work at the nanoscale, and the drive to turn that knowledge into something useful for sustainable technologies. Plus, morning coffee always helps!

Favourite thing to do on the weekend?
I like to spend time in the kitchen cooking new recipes, going for a walk, or just enjoying a good film. I love discovering hidden cafés and bookstores in the city.