About

Professor Yang Shao-Horn is the JR East Professor and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Her research focuses on materials for electrochemical and photoelectrochemical energy storage and conversion. She exploits physical and materials chemistries to understand and control the kinetics and dynamics involved in storing electrons, which is critical for enabling clean energy solutions and mitigating climate change. Her work involves developing universal design principles of materials to enhance their functions across various applications, including sustainable chemicals and fuels, as well as rechargeable lithium-ion and lithium-air batteries. Professor Shao-Horn received her BS in metallurgical and materials engineering from Beijing University of Technology in 1992 and her PhD in the same discipline from Michigan Technological University in 1998. Before joining MIT in 2002, she was a staff scientist at the Eveready Battery Company in Ohio, where she researched materials for different types of batteries. She also received a National Science Foundation International Research Fellowship to work with Claude Delmas at the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry in Bordeaux, France. Outside her academic duties, she serves as a senior editor for Accounts of Materials Research of the American Chemical Society and participates on advisory and editorial boards for several leading journals. Her notable awards include the 2022 Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich, the 2020 Humboldt Research Award, and the 2018 Faraday Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Selected publications

• Enhanced PFAS Defluorination through Control of Radical-Dependent Degradation Pathways

  ACS Energy Letters · 2026-04-15

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent pollutants that are resistant to conventional water treatment. This study investigates the electrochemical degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in perchlorate and sulfate electrolytes with boron-doped diamond. Quantification of PFOA degradation and fluoride (F–) and short-chain perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA) formation showed similar defluorination efficiency in both electrolytes at 4.0 VRHE but significantly higher PFCA yields with the sulfate electrolyte. Through electrochemistry-mass spectrometry, 19F and 1H NMR spectroscopy, potential-dependent investigation, and radical-scavenger experiments, we showed that both electrolytes exhibit similar decarboxylation rates of the carboxylic group to evolve CO2. However, HO• primarily drove C–F cleavage, releasing F– and leaving the remaining fluorocarbon backbone hydrogenated, while SO4•– promoted C–C cleavage to form fully fluorinated shorter-chain PFCAs. These results highlight the distinct roles of free radicals in PFOA degradation, offering mechanistic insights to design electrolytes to promote complete PFAS defluorination and suppress the formation of short-chain PFAS.

  PublisherDOI

• Author response for "Unraveling Electrochemical Glycine Conversion Pathways for Ammonia Recovery from Organic Waste"

  2026-04-21

  peer-reviewSenior author
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• Revealing the lithium solid electrolyte interphase in liquid electrolytes via in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

  Cell Press Blue · 2026-01-19 · 2 citations

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• Phonon Contributions to Oxygen Defect Formation Entropy in Perovskite and Ruddlesden-Popper Oxides

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Interfacial Kinetics, Not Solvation Thermodynamics, Govern the Reversibility of Sodium Metal Batteries

  ACS Energy Letters · 2026-02-10

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Achieving reversible sodium metal plating and stripping is essential for enabling practical Na metal batteries but remains limited by unstable electrolyte–metal interphases. Here, we quantitatively examine how solvation thermodynamics, interfacial kinetics, ion transport, and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) composition govern Na metal reversibility in sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (NaFSI) electrolytes with 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME), fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), and N,N-dimethylsulfamoyl fluoride (DMFSA). Unlike Li systems, Na metal Coulombic efficiency (CE) shows no correlation with either the Na+/Na redox potential or the interfacial reaction entropy. Instead, increased CE in electrolytes like 1 M sodium hexafluorophosphate in DME corresponds to faster interfacial kinetics relative to ion diffusivity (j0SEI/FcD). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy highlights the importance of balancing the inorganic and organic SEI phases to optimize interfacial kinetics and CE. These results establish interfacial kinetics, rather than solvation thermodynamics, as a governing descriptor of Na metal reversibility, providing an electrolyte design framework for improving Na metal batteries.

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• Nanoengineering of non-aqueous liquid electrolyte solutions for future lithium metal batteries

  Nature Nanotechnology · 2026-02-18 · 2 citations

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• Alcoholysis of nylon 6 waste to ε-caprolactam promoted by phosphoric acid

  Chem · 2026-03-01

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• Regulating the Entropy of Oxygen Ion Transport Using Phonon Features in the Oxygen Local Environment

  Chemistry of Materials · 2026-05-01

  articleSenior author
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• Unraveling electrochemical glycine conversion pathways for ammonia recovery from organic waste

  EES Catalysis · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Cross-institutional investigation of electrochemical glycine and amino acid oxidation to unveil conversion pathways and mechanistic implications relevant to ammonia recovery from organic waste.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Accelerating Electrolyte Discovery for Sodium-Metal Batteries with High-Throughput and Active Learning Approaches

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2025-11-24

  articleSenior author

  Sodium-metal batteries are a promising alternative to lithium-based systems for both transportation and large-scale energy storage. They offer a cost-effective, high-energy solution due to the abundance, lower cost, and reduced toxicity of their raw materials (e.g., sodium, and cobalt-free) [1]. However, the practical viability of conventional electrolytes with sodium-metal anodes and high-voltage cathodes remains limited. Their poor electrode-electrolyte interfacial stability and low ionic conductivities lead to electrolyte decomposition, dendrite growth, and low cycling stability, ultimately reducing capacity retention and power density [2], [3]. Despite significant research efforts over the past decade, the slow discovery speed of conventional trial-and-error approaches makes it challenging to identify promising new electrolytes that meet the demands of the rapidly expanding battery market, limiting innovation and scalability. In this work, we establish an active learning workflow to accelerate the discovery of new electrolytes, applicable to both liquid and polymer electrolytes [4], [5]. We develop a high-throughput experimental platform to systematically formulate and screen new non-aqueous sodium electrolytes. We explore a chemical space larger than 1.5 x 10 9 possible compositions —comprising 11 organic solvents, 5 sodium salts, extended solvent and salt ratios, and 15 total salt concentrations. We assess the ionic conductivity and solubility of all combinations in tandem, generating the first high-quality, unified reference library of sodium-based electrolytes. The discovery speed increased by a factor of 100. For instance, in less than 1.5 months, 168 unique electrolyte formulations were obtained. By simultaneously targeting specific measurements of coulombic efficiency in high-conductivity samples, we identify several promising formulations, exceeding 11 mS cm -1 , along with high coulombic efficiency and high-voltage stability. The generated database was then used to train a machine learning model, enabling predictive selection of the next iteration of electrolyte formulations while progressively narrowing the explored chemical space. We demonstrate that by integrating our high-throughput platform with data-driven methodologies and targeted experiments, electrolyte discovery can be expedited, guiding new strategies for the design of future electrolytes for sodium-metal batteries. References [1] C. Vaalma, D. Buchholz, M. Weil, and S. Passerini, “A cost and resource analysis of sodium-ion batteries,” Nat. Rev. Mater., vol. 3, no. 4, p. 18013, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.1038/natrevmats.2018.13. [2] Y. Zhao, K. R. Adair, and X. Sun, “Recent developments and insights into the understanding of Na metal anodes for Na-metal batteries,” Energy Environ. Sci., vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 2673–2695, 2018, doi: 10.1039/C8EE01373J. [3] Y. Wang et al., “Developments and Perspectives on Emerging High-Energy-Density Sodium-Metal Batteries,” Chem, vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 2547–2570, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.chempr.2019.05.026. [4] M. A. Stolberg et al., “A Data-Driven Platform for Automated Characterization of Polymer Electrolytes,” Dec. 23, 2024. doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-gpmm7. [5] J. Peng et al., “Human- and machine-centred designs of molecules and materials for sustainability and decarbonization,” Nat. Rev. Mater., vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 991–1009, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.1038/s41578-022-00466-5. Acknowledgments This work was supported by the Breakthrough Energy Explorer Grant. The authors also acknowledge the financial support from the MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence.

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Awards & honors

• 2022 Hans Fischer Senior Fellow, Technical University of Mun…
• 2020 Humboldt Research Award
• 2020 Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
• 2018 Faraday Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry
• 2018 Member, National Academy of Engineering