June 4, 2025, Professor Wei-Lai Yu was invited to Westlake University to present an academic lecture titled "Rational Design in Electrochemical Engineering: From Interfaces to Interphases."

In the first segment, Prof. Yu introduced his research at the California Institute of Technology, where his team achieved durable solar-to-hydrogen conversion through semiconductor photoelectrochemistry, with a focus on III-V semiconductors. To address the long-standing instability of photoelectrodes, his work elucidated the critical role of complex interfacial phenomena—particularly catalytic kinetics and surface states—in stabilizing artificial photosynthesis systems against physical and operational degradation.

The second part highlighted his recent work at Stanford University, where his group developed a cleaning-free X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) protocol to capture intricate molecular reactivity during electrolyte degradation, leading to the formation of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). At the heart of this process lies the electric double layer (EDL), a foundational concept in electrochemistry that governs the reversibility of lithium deposition and stripping. Through molecular engineering, Prof. Yu demonstrated how surface polarity and competitive adsorption modulate EDL structure—and how key battery metrics can be leveraged to reverse-engineer its microscopic properties.

Together, these studies establish a logic-driven framework for designing electrode-electrolyte interactions, offering novel strategies to accelerate next-generation electrochemical technologies. Prof. Yu emphasized that while the two projects differ in application, they converge on a unified principle: precision interfacial control via molecular engineering can systematically address efficiency and longevity challenges in energy conversion and storage.

The lecture sparked lively discussions with faculty and students, ranging from semiconductor material selection to the limitations of in situ characterization techniques.