About

Xiangwu Zhang is the Samuel S. Walker Distinguished Professor in Textile Innovation and the Associate Dean for Research in the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University. He holds additional titles of Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor and Inaugural University Faculty Scholar at NC State. His research focuses on nanostructured and multifunctional polymer, composite, fiber, and textile materials with practical applications in energy storage and conversion, chemical and biological protection, composites, and nanofinishing. Zhang's work encompasses both fundamental materials studies, such as synthesis and physical characterization, and system design and fabrication. He has published extensively, including over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles and two books, and has delivered more than 200 invited keynote or plenary presentations at international and national conferences. His research has been funded with over eight million dollars from various sources, including the US government, foundations, and industry. Zhang has received numerous awards for his contributions to the field, including the Distinguished Service Award from The Fiber Society and the Distinguished Achievement Award in Fiber Science. He is actively involved in professional organizations, serving on editorial boards and advisory committees, and holds memberships in several scientific societies.

Research topics

• Nanotechnology
• Materials science
• Computer Science
• Thermodynamics
• Metallurgy
• Composite material
• Physical chemistry
• Chemistry
• Chemical engineering

Selected publications

• Porous carbon nanosheets integrated with graphene-wrapped CoO and CoNx as efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for rechargeable zinc-air batteries

  Journal of Colloid and Interface Science · 2025-01-21 · 16 citations

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• In-situ integration of heterogeneous bilayer composite electrolytes for scalable high-performance lithium-metal batteries

  Journal of Colloid and Interface Science · 2025-11-02 · 1 citations

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  The development of solid-state electrolytes that are simultaneously compatible with both high-voltage cathodes and lithium metal anodes remains a major technical challenge for the practical implementation of solid-state lithium metal batteries. Herein, a heterogeneous bilayer composite electrolyte (HBCE) is developed via an in-situ integration strategy directly on the electrodes. The composite electrolyte integrated with cathode consists of polyvinylidene fluoride- co -hexafluoropropylene, an ionic liquid and Li 6.28 La 3 Al 0.24 Zr 2 O 12 (LLAZO) nanofibers, while the composite electrolyte integrated with anode is composed of polyethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and LLAZO nanofibers. This rationally-engineered HBCE structure enables excellent high-voltage stability and effective suppression of lithium dendrite growth. As a result, Li|HBCE|LiFePO 4 (LFP) cells exhibit stable cycling for over 1000 cycles with a maximum capacity of 144.6 mAh g −1 at 1C, while Li|HBCE|LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 (NCM811) cells show a stable cycling performance for more than 200 cycles with a maximum capacity of 151.8 mAh g −1 at 1C. Moreover, lithium symmetric cells employing the HBCE demonstrate stable charge-discharge cycling exceeding 1500 h at 0.1 mA cm −2 . This work presents an alternate solid-state electrolyte design and in-situ integration strategy that offer promising potential for the scalable production of high-performance solid-state lithium metal batteries. • Heterogeneous Bilayer Composite Electrolyte (HBCE) is developed via an in-situ integration strategy. • HBCE enables excellent high-voltage stability and effective suppression of lithium dendrite growth. • Lithium symmetric cells with HBCE exhibit stable charge-discharge cycling exceeding 1500 h at 0.1 mA cm −2 . • Li||LFP and Li||NCM811 cells with HBCE show excellent cycling stability at 1C.

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• Tailoring alkyl chain in cationic surfactant additives to modulate interfacial conformations and reactions for stable zinc anodes

  Journal of Energy Chemistry · 2025-07-26 · 6 citations

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• Upcycling cotton waste into carbon quantum dots to develop cutting-edge multifunctional textiles with enhanced durability and comfort

  Cellulose · 2025-06-11 · 2 citations

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• List of contributors

  Elsevier eBooks · 2025-09-27

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• Carboxymethyl chitosan modified double-skeleton hydrogel electrolyte enables high performance for flexible zinc-air batteries

  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · 2025-02-04 · 12 citations

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• Polypyrrole-based carbon-coated SnO2/PCNF electrodes

  Diamond and Related Materials · 2025-03-17

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• Chemical properties of nanofibres derived from electrospinning

  Elsevier eBooks · 2025-09-27

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• Cation‐Anion Coordination for Covalent Anchoring of Manganese Oxides to Stabilize Mn Ion Valence and Suppress Jahn‐Teller Distortion and Dissolution

  Energy & environment materials · 2025-06-22 · 5 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The increasing demand for high‐capacity energy storage, spurred by the growth of renewable energy, has accelerated the pursuit of cost‐effective and sustainable aqueous zinc‐ion batteries as a viable alternative to traditional lithium‐ion batteries. In this study, a cation‐anion coordination cathode material (Zn‐MnO 2 F X ) is proposed, which regulates the central valence state of Mn ions by covalently anchoring manganese oxides with Zn ions and F ions to inhibit Jahn‐Teller distortion and manganese dissolution. Density Functional Theory calculations elucidate the intercalation of Zn 2+ extends the MnO 2 layer spacing, reduces ion diffusion barriers, and accelerates ion diffusion, while F − ions repair defects and enhance the electronic conductivity of MnO 2 , which stabilizes the cathodes and prolongs the life span of batteries. The co‐insertion of Zn 2+ /H + in MnO 2 and the auxiliary effect of Zn 4 SO 4 ·(OH) 6 ·xH 2 O on dissolution/deposition were elucidated by analyzing the changes in structure, morphology, and impedance during the cycling process. The Zn‐MnO 2 F x cathode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 365.5 mA h g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 , with remarkable capacity retention of 96.7% after 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 . The initial specific capacity of the flexible yarn battery reaches 112.5 mA h g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 . This work adeptly addresses the kinetic‐stability balance in cathode materials, offering a pioneering strategy for sustainable and efficient large‐scale energy storage.

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• Sulfur‐Enriched Pitch‐Based Carbon Nanofibers With Lotus Root‐Like Axial Pores for Boosting Sodium Storage Performance

  Battery energy · 2025-02-26 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Pitch is a promising precursor for preparing carbon materials for anode of sodium‐ion batteries. Heteroatom doping is an effective way to increase the sodium storage capacity while constructing reasonable pores and nanosizing the carbon skeleton help to achieve a high‐rate performance of anodes. In this work, sulfur‐doped carbon nanofibers with lotus root‐like axial pores were prepared using coal liquefaction pitch as the main precursor by electrospinning, pre‐oxidation, sulfurization, and carbonization. A considerable content of 7.41 wt.% of sulfur was doped into the carbon skeleton after low‐temperature gas‐phase sulfurization and subsequent carbonization. The as‐prepared sulfur‐doped porous carbon nanofiber films, used as self‐supporting electrodes of sodium‐ion batteries, display high specific capacity (528.5 mAh g −1 at 25 mA g −1 ), high‐rate performance (209.3 mAh g −1 at 500 mA g −1 ) and exceptional cycling stability (96.97% of retention at 500 mA g −1 over 1000 cycles). With desirable flexibility and excellent sodium storage performance, the achieved sulfur‐doped porous carbon nanofibers hold great promise for potential applications as self‐supporting anodes of sodium‐ion batteries.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Fast and Scalable Fabrication of Nanofibers of Polymers, Carbons, Ceramics, and Composites by Centrifugal Spinning

  NSF · $423k · 2012–2016

• SGER: Novel Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Fuel Cell Membranes

  NSF · $67k · 2008–2009

Frequent coauthors

• Mahmut Dirican

  North Carolina State University

  168 shared

• Chaoyi Yan

  Peking University Shenzhen Hospital

  83 shared

• Jiadeng Zhu

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  64 shared

• Meltem Yanılmaz

  Istanbul Technical University

  61 shared

• Hui Cheng

  North Carolina State University

  57 shared

• Yao Lu

  Tokyo Institute of Technology

  52 shared

• Chang Ma

  China Jiliang University

  51 shared

• Liwen Ji

  General Motors (United States)

  51 shared

Labs

• Research Lab at Wilson College of TextilesPI

Education

• Ph.D., Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science

  North Carolina State University

  1996

• M.S., Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science

  North Carolina State University

  1993

• B.S., Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science

  North Carolina State University

  1991

Awards & honors

• Distinguished Service Award (The Fiber Society, 2024)
• The Best of Advanced Materials Technologies 2021 (Wiley-VCH,…
• Distinguished Achievement Award in Fiber Science (The Fiber…
• BASF Open Innovation Award on Energy Storage (BASF, 2015)
• Outstanding Service Award (Sigma XI Society – Scientific Res…