About

YuHuang Wang is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, where he has been a faculty member since 2008 and a full professor since 2017. His research focuses on materials innovation, chemical manipulation, carbon nanotechnology, and beyond, with an emphasis on creating new materials with unique properties from low-dimensional carbon structures. His group develops new chemistries and tools to tailor nanostructures at the electronic and optical levels, enabling the discovery of new phenomena and properties at nanostructured interfaces that extend from nano to macro scales. His key contributions include the development of molecularly tunable fluorescent quantum defects, which are chemically tailored defects that serve as a toolkit for materials engineering, brightening dark excitons, creating near-infrared quantum emitters, and probing chemical events. He has also pioneered the synthesis of a tube-in-a-tube (Tube^2) semiconductor, a double-walled carbon nanotube structure that addresses chemical attack vulnerabilities and allows control over electronic properties through environmental effects. Additionally, his research explores nanoelectrode networks for energy storage and harvesting, focusing on electrical transport through nanotube interfaces and the synthesis of nanostructures for use in batteries and solar cells. His work aims to answer fundamental questions in nanomaterials chemistry and develop novel devices and methodologies for energy, nanofabrication, quantum science, electronics, and biomedicine.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Nanotechnology
• Physics
• Materials science
• Optics
• Physical chemistry
• Chemistry

Selected publications

• Quantum defects in carbon nanotubes as single-photon sources

  Communications Materials · 2026-02-07 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Single-photon emitters are essential components of emerging quantum technologies, including secure communication and quantum computing. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have emerged as a promising platform for quantum light sources due to their quasi-one-dimensional excitonic host structure and compatibility with telecom photonic systems. Recent advances in deterministic defect engineering—most notably the development of organic color centers (OCCs)—have enabled stable, chemically controllable, and spectrally tunable single-photon emission. OCC-based emitters have demonstrated single-photon purity exceeding 99% and, more recently, room-temperature photon indistinguishability, placing them among the few solid-state systems with quantum-grade performance under ambient conditions. This review surveys progress in the field from three complementary perspectives: chemical synthesis and quantum defect engineering, computational studies of structure-property relationships and excitonic behavior, and experimental investigations of quantum optical properties. We also discuss alternative approaches, including air-suspended SWCNTs and hybrid van der Waals heterostructures, highlighting opportunities and open challenges for scalable integration into quantum photonic platforms.

  PublisherDOI

• Writing DNA Bases into sp3 Quantum Defects

  Research Square · 2026-03-05

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Capturing Exciton-Proton Collisions in Confined Water

  Research Square · 2026-03-03

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Fluorescent Ultrashort Nanotubes

  Accounts of Chemical Research · 2026-02-23

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  ConspectusUltrashort single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), defined here as ∼1 to 50 nm segments, match the characteristic dimensions of biological pores, nanofluidic channels, and emerging quantum architectures, where quantum confinement, topological edge states─electronic states localized at the tube termini─and atomic defects converge to generate new functionalities for sensing, imaging, and optoelectronics. Yet this length regime has been largely inaccessible optically: ultrashort SWCNTs rarely emit light because mobile excitons rapidly diffuse to quenching sites at the tube ends. Fluorescent ultrashort nanotubes (FUNs) overcome this “dark gap” by introducing sp3 quantum defects, also known as organic color centers (OCCs), that localize excitons and render them radiative, enabling bright photoluminescence in the short-wave infrared, including the NIR-II bioimaging window.The FUN platform arises from three complementary advances: (1) quantum defect chemistry, which introduces molecularly tunable exciton traps; (2) super-resolution fluorescence imaging, which resolves discrete, end-localized emission sites in <40 nm nanotubes, demonstrating defect-governed radiative recombination; and (3) defect-induced chemical etching (DICE), which cuts nanotubes at preinstalled quantum defects to yield ultrashort, bright-emitting nanotube segments with intact graphitic frameworks and chemically defined termini. DICE further extends this chemical programmability by producing ultrashort nanotubes whose rim chemistry functions as molecular gates that reversibly regulate ionic transport through subnanometer pores. Beyond enabling bright ultrashort emitters and molecular gates, FUNs reveal a fundamental separation between host and defect excitons. The host SWCNT bright exciton transition (E11) blue-shifts with decreasing length, following a ΔE11 ∝ L–1/2 scaling, whereas the defect state (Esp3, historically denoted E11– or E11*) remains nearly invariant with length, consistent with a deep, localized exciton trap. This length–energy decoupling provides two independent design parameters (i.e., nanotube length and localized defect chemistry) for engineering exciton energetics at ultrashort length scales.This Account traces the development of FUNs from their origins in quantum-defect chemistry to their emerging applications. We highlight how precise control over defect structure, nanotube length, and rim functionality converts previously dark ultrashort segments into a chemically precise architecture for codesigning quantum confinement, photophysics, and molecular function within a single carbon scaffold. We further discuss the opportunities and challenges ahead, pointing toward applications ranging from biomimetic channel mimics and responsive nanofluidic elements to infrared imaging probes and deterministic quantum emitters operating at the molecular limit.

  PublisherDOI

• Overcoming van der Waals Bundling: Molecular Wedges Enable Sonication-Free Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

  ACS Nano · 2026-03-09

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) naturally bundle due to strong van der Waals interactions, posing a significant challenge to their dispersion and applications. Conventional methods require ultrasonication or extended shear mixing, which are energy-intensive, can damage the nanotubes, and/or incur high process costs and low throughput. Here, we show that small molecular wedges, which are formed by reacting wedge precursors (e.g., 1-octanol, ammonia, n-hexylamine) with minimal amounts of superacids (e.g., chlorosulfonic acid, CSA), can intercalate the nanotube bundles, markedly reducing van der Waals interactions. Modeling based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory reveals a relationship between the pry-open length and the molecular wedge size, adhesion energy, and the nanotube’s bending stiffness. Wedged SWCNTs exhibit a 130-fold increase in dispersion efficiency with DOC and a 14-fold increase with single-stranded DNA, all while preserving the nanotube length. Even in organic solvents, where gentle stirring typically yields almost no dispersion, the wedging approach achieves a dispersion yield of (6,5)-SWCNTs up to ∼2.7% (O.D. ∼13). Furthermore, this method enables one-pot sp3 quantum defect functionalization with improved uniformity and modulates defect photoluminescence by replacing defect-pairing groups with wedges. This versatile wedging approach provides a scalable route for processing SWCNTs and is expected to be broadly adaptable to other van der Waals materials.

  PublisherDOI

• Abnormal Chiral Coupling for Efficient and Stable Reduced-Dimensional Perovskite Emitters

  ACS Nano · 2026-03-13 · 1 citations

  article

  Highly efficient and stable reduced-dimensional halide perovskite (RDP) emitters are of vital importance for perovskite optoexcitonic devices. However, simultaneous improvement of their luminescence efficiency, stability, and phase purity based on principles without using external passivators has been a tremendous challenge. Here, an abnormal chiral coupling effect is introduced in the chiral benzene halide RDPs. Our strategy facilitates the construction of the network of both short-range nanoscale lattices and long-range superstructures, which leads to improved phase purity, reduced defects, weakened exciton-phonon scattering, and efficient excited-state transfer pathways. Consequently, an increment of photoluminescence quantum yield by over 35% compared to that of achiral counterpart was realized. This strong chiral coupling effect also enables the realization of stable and low threshold continuous wave lasing over 0.5 h at room temperature. Our study introduces an improved design principle for RDPs to control the defects, phase purity, crystal nano/microstructure, molecular interaction, and excited-state process for highly efficient and stable perovskite optoexcitonic devices.

  PublisherDOI

• Clar’s Rule Reveals the Topological Origin of Edge States in π-Conjugated Systems

  The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters · 2025-12-18 · 2 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Edge states in π-conjugated systems govern scattering, magnetism, and fluorescence quenching, yet their origin has remained elusive. We show that Clar’s sextet-maximization principle, the resonance rule of aromatic hydrocarbons, captures the molecular and topological origins of edge states. Applied under boundary constraints, Clar’s rule predicts radicals at graphene edges and junctions in agreement with Z2 topological invariants. Extending this framework to finite nanotubes, we derive a chirality-dependent counting rule and introduce explicit “Clar-cell” constructions that eliminate edge states. Excited-state calculations reveal that conventional unit-cell models host dark excitons from edge states, whereas Clar-cell nanotubes remain intrinsically bright even at nanometer lengths. These results resolve the paradox of ultrashort nanotube fluorescence and establish Clar’s rule as a molecular framework linking chemistry and topological physics of edge states.

  PublisherDOI

• Author response for "Chemical Defects as Li &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; Ion Traps: A Theoretical Study"

  2025-10-29

  peer-reviewSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Defects That Shine: The Rise of Organic Color Centers in Carbon Nanotubes

  The Electrochemical Society Interface · 2025-12-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Defects are usually considered flaws in materials—but what if a tiny disruption could unlock the door to the quantum future? That’s the promise of organic color centers (OCCs), also known as quantum defects, in carbon nanotubes. Introduced as chemical defects, OCCs transform these nanostructures into powerful quantum platforms that trap excitons and convert them into quantum light—one photon at a time. These nanoscale emitters work at room temperature, shine in the near-infrared (including telecommunications) bands, and can be tailored with organic chemistry. Sitting at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and engineering, OCCs open doors to quantum communication, sensing, and bioimaging—and light the way toward a bright quantum future.

  PublisherDOI

• <i>(Invited)</i> Imaging Exciton Flow in Quantum Defect-Engineered Carbon Nanotubes

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2025-07-11

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Excitons—electron-hole pairs bound by Coulomb interactions—are fundamental to photonic processes. The dynamics of electron-hole recombination in many conjugated polymers and semiconductor nanocrystals—including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)—directly impact applications in energy harvesting, light-emitting diodes, optical imaging, biochemical detection, and quantum information science. In this study, we utilize quantitative photoluminescence imaging to visualize exciton flow in SWCNTs implanted with organic color-center quantum defects. Quantum chemical modeling reveals strong exciton-defect coupling, corroborating our experimental findings and highlighting the potential of engineered quantum defects in tailoring nanotube exciton properties for advanced photonic applications.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• MRI: Acquisition of a Shared Atomic Force Microscope System

  NSF · $257k · 2016–2019

• Nanochemistry of sp3 Quantum Defects

  NSF · $480k · 2019–2022

• Chemical Gating of a Tube-in-a-Tube Semiconductor

  NIH · $1.2M · 2015–2020

• RAISE-TAQS: Integrated Circuits of Single-Photon Sources from Organic Color-Centers

  NSF · $1.0M · 2018–2023

• Chemical Control of Quantum Defects in Low-Dimensional Carbon Materials

  NSF · $486k · 2015–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Mijin Kim

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  59 shared

• Yonggui Robin

  Nanyang Technological University

  48 shared

• R. E. Smalley

  47 shared

• Xiaojian Wu

  44 shared

• Robert H. Hauge

  Rice University

  42 shared

• Carter Kittrell

  40 shared

• Myung Jong Kim

  38 shared

• Hua Fan

  35 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Chemistry

  Rice University

Awards & honors

• Life Sciences Invention of the Year Award, University of Mar…
• Fellow, The American Physical Society (elected, 2021)
• The Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize, 2019
• Honoree, Maryland Research Excellence Celebration, Office of…
• NBC4 News AAPI Working for the Community Award, 2019