RESEARCH INTERESTS

With the rapid development of quantum information and quantum computing technologies today, exploring the atomic structure of low-dimensional quantum materials and constructing exotic topological structures at the subatomic scale are important technical means for controlling their physical properties and expanding deviceapplications. In recent years, our research has mainly focused on spherical aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques and the growth of low-dimensional materials. We have conducted systematic studies in the direction of structural analysis, artificial construction, and property control of low-dimensional quantum materials at the subatomic scale.

EDUCATION

2014.08-2018.09, Ph.D., National University of Singapore, (Supervisors: Stephen John PENNYCOOK&Kian Ping LOH)

2015.09-2016.07, Visiting PhD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL), USA, (Supervisor: Wu Zhou)

2010.08-2014.06, B.Eng (1st Class Honours), NanyangTechnologicalUniversity

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2022.02-present, Assistant Professor, the School of Materials Science & Engineering, Peking University

2020.10-2022.01, Presidential Postdoc Fellow, Nanyang Technological University

2018.09-2020.10, Research fellow, National University of Singapore

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Peng Song^#, Chengcai Wang, Anders C. Riis-Jensen, Wei Fu, Ya Deng, Dongyang Wan, Lixing Kang, Shoucong Ning, Jiadong Dan, T. Venkatesan, Zheng Liu, Wu Zhou, Kristian S. Thygesen, Xin Luo*, Stephen J. Pennycook* and Kian Ping Loh*, Engineering Covalently Bonded 2D Layered Materials by Self-Intercalation. Nature. 2020, 581, 171-177.

2. Xiao Hai^#, Shibo Xi^#, Sharon Mitchell^#, Karim Harrath^#, Haomin Xu, Dario Faust Akl, Debin Kong, Jing Li, Zejun Li, Tao Sun, Huimin Yang, Yige Cui, Chenliang Su, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Jun Li*, Javier Pérez-Ramírez*, Jiong Lu*, Scalable two-step annealing method for preparing ultra-high-density single-atom catalyst libraries. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2022, 17, 174–181.

3. Xiaocang Han^#, Mengmeng Niu^#, Yan Luo^#, Runlai Li, Jiadong Dan, Yanhui Hong, Xu Wu, Alex V. Trukhanov, Wei Ji, Yeliang Wang, Jiahuan Zhou, Jingsi Qiao*, Jin Zhang*, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Atomically Engineering Metal Vacancies in Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides. Nature Synthesis. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-024-00501-z.

4. Fangfang Cui, Kun He, Shengqiang Wu, Hongmei Zhang, Yue Lu, Zhenzhu Li, Jingyi Hu, Shuangyuan Pan, Lijie Zhu, Yahuan Huan, Bo Li, Xidong Duan, Qingqing Ji*, Xiaoxu Zhao*, and Yanfeng Zhang*,Stoichiometry-Tunable Synthesis and Magnetic Property Exploration of Two-Dimensional Chromium Selenides. ACS Nano.2024, 18, 8, 6276–6285.

5. Ziyi Han^#, Xiaocang Han^#, Shengqiang Wu, Qing Zhang, Wenchao Hu, Yuan Meng, Yin Liang, Jingyi Hu, Lin Li, Qing Zhang, Yanfeng Zhang, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Dechao Geng*, and Wenping Hu,Phase and Composition Engineering of Self-Intercalated 2D Metallic Tantalum Sulfide for Second-Harmonic Generation. ACS Nano. 2024, 18, 8, 6256–6265.

6. Shengqiang Wu*, Minzhi Dai*, Hang Li, Runlai Li, Ziyi Han, Wenchao Hu, Zijing Zhao, Yanglong Hou, Huiyang Gou, Ruqiang Zou, Yongjin Chen*, Xin Luo*, and Xiaoxu Zhao*, Atomically Unraveling Highly Crystalline Self-Intercalated Tantalum Sulfide with Correlated Stacking Registry-Dependent Magnetism. Nano Lett. 2024, 24, 378−385.

7. Zijing Zhao^#, Zhi Fang^#, Xiaocang Han^#, Shiqi Yang, Cong Zhou, Yi Zeng, Biao Zhang, Wei Li, Zhan Wang, Ying Zhang, Jian Zhou, Jiadong Zhou, Yu Ye, Xinmei Hou, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Song Gao & Yanglong Hou*, A general thermodynamics-triggered competitive growth model to guide the synthesis of two-dimensional nonlayered materials. Nat. Commun. 2023, 14, 958.

8. Xiaocang Han^#, Jing-Yang You^#, Shengqiang Wu, Runlai Li, Yuan Ping Feng, Kian Ping Loh*, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Atomically Unveiling an Atlas of Polytypes in Transition-MetalTrihalides. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 3624-3635.

9. Renji Bian^#, Guiming Cao, Er Pan, Qing Liu*, Zefen Li, Lei Liang, Qingyun Wu, Lay Kee Ang, Wenwu Li*, Xiaoxu Zhao*, and Fucai Liu*, High-Performance Sliding Ferroelectric Transistor Based on Schottky Barrier Tuning. Nano Lett. 2023, 23, 4595−460.

10. Jiadong Dan^#, Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Shoucong Ning, Jiong Lu, Kian Ping Loh, Qian He, N. Duane Loh* and Stephen J. Pennycook*, Learning motifs and their hierarchies in atomic resolution microscopy. Sci. Adv. 2022, 8, eabk1005.

11. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Jingsi Qiao^#, Xin Zhou^#, Hao Chen, Jun You Tan, Hongyi Yu, Si Min Chan, Jing Li, Henshui Zhang, Jiadong Zhou, Jiadong Dan, Zhen Liu, Wu Zhou, Zheng Liu, Bo Peng*, Longjiang Deng, Stephen John Pennycook, Su Ying Quek, and Kian Ping Loh*, Strong moire excitons in high-angle twisted transition metal dichalcogenide homobilayers with robust commensuration. Nano Lett. 2022, 22, 203-210.

12. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Jingsi Qiao, Si Min Chan, Jing Li, Jiadong Dan, Shoucong Ning, Wu Zhou, Su Ying Quek*, Stephen John Pennycook*, and Kian Ping Loh*, Unveiling atomic-scale moire features and atomic reconstructions in high-angle commensurately twisted transition metal dichalcogenide homobilayers. Nano Lett. 2021, 21, 3262-3270.

13. Yaqian Wang^#, Longjiang Deng, Qilin Wei, Yi Wan, Zhen Liu, Xiao Lu, Yue Li, Lei Bi, Li Zhang, Haipeng Lu, Haiyan Chen, Peiheng Zhou, Linbo Zhang, Yingchun Cheng*, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Yu Ye, Wei Huang, Stephen John Pennycook, Kian Ping Loh, and Bo Peng*, Spin-Valley Locking Effect in Defect States of Monolayer MoS₂. Nano Lett. 2020, 20, 2129-2136.

14. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Yujin Ji^#, Jianyi Chen, Wei Fu, Jiadong Dan, Yuanyue Liu, Stephen J. Pennycook, Wu Zhou*, Kian Ping Loh*, Healing of Planar Defects in Two-Dimensional Materials via Grain Boundary Sliding. Adv. Mater. 2019, 31,1900237.

15. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Weiwei Sun^#, Dechao Geng, Wei Fu, Jiadong Dan, Yu Xie, Paul R. C. Kent, Wu Zhou, Stephen J. Pennycook*, and Kian Ping Loh*, Edge Segregated Polymorphism in Two-Dimensional Molybdenum Carbide. Adv. Mater. 2019, 31, 1808343.

16. Bijun Tang^#, Jiadong Zhou, Pingping Sun, Xiaowei Wang, Lichun Bai, Jiadong Dan, Jiefu Yang, Kun Zhou, Xiaoxu Zhao*, Stephen J. Pennycook*, and Zheng Liu*,Phase-Controlled Synthesis of Monolayer Ternary Telluride with a Random Local Displacement of Tellurium Atoms. Adv. Mater. 2019, 31, 1900862.

17. Huan Yan^#, Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Na Guo^#, Zhiyang Lyu, Yonghua Du, Shibo Xi, Rui Guo, Cheng Chen, Zhongxin Chen, Wei Liu, Chuanhao Yao, Jing Li, Stephen J. Pennycook, Wei Chen, Chenliang Su*, Chun Zhang*, and Jiong Lu*, Atomic engineering of high-density isolated Co atoms on graphene with proximal-atom controlled reaction selectivity. Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 3197.

18. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Jiadong Dan, Jianyi Chen, Zijing Ding, Wu Zhou*, Kian Ping Loh*, and Stephen J. Pennycook*, Atom-by-atom fabrication of monolayer molybdenum membranes. Adv. Mater. 2018, 30, 1707281.

19. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Shoucong Ning, Wei Fu, Stephen J. Pennycook, and Kian Ping Loh*, Differentiating polymorphs in molybdenum disulfide via electron microscopy. Adv. Mater. 2018, 30, 1802397.

20. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Zijing Ding^#, Jianyi Chen, Jiadong Dan, Sock Mui Poh, Wei Fu, Stephen J. Pennycook, Wu Zhou*, and Kian Ping Loh*, Strain modulation by van der waals coupling in bilayer transition metal dichalcogenide. ACS Nano. 2018, 12, 1940−1948.

21. Xiaoxu Zhao^#, Deyi Fu^#, Zijing Ding, Yu-Yang Zhang, Dongyang Wan, Sherman J. R. Tan, Zhongxin Chen, Kai Leng, Jiadong Dan, Wei Fu, Dechao Geng, Peng Song, Yonghua Du, T. Venkatesan, Sokrates T. Pantelides, Stephen J. Pennycook, Wu Zhou*, and Kian Ping Loh*, Mo-terminated edge reconstructions in nanoporous molybdenum disulfide film. Nano Lett. 2018, 18, 482−490.