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Dr. John Wang

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Email: Ruocun.Wang@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, North Carolina State University, 2020
    Major: Materials Science and Engineering

Professional Memberships

  • The Electrochemical Society. (December 5, 2017 - Present).
  • The Materials Research Society. (February 20, 2016 - Present).

Development Activities

  • Continuing Education Program, ACUE Effective Teaching Practices, UNT. Denton,TX,United States of America. (August 25, 2024 - April 13, 2025).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • MTSE 3030 - Thermodynamics and Phase Diagrams, 1 course.
  • MTSE 5800 - Special Studies in Materials Science, 2 courses.
  • MTSE 6940 - Individual Research, 1 course.

Non-Credit Instruction

  • Guest Lecture, 7 participants. (November 18, 2024 - November 18, 2024).
  • Guest Lecture, 12 participants. (October 30, 2024 - November 2, 2024).

Directed Student Learning

  • Dissertation Committee Member, "Uniaxial Helical Structure of Cholesteric Liquid crystal into High Chirality Spatial Structure," Materials Science and Engineering. (November 25, 2025 - December 2, 2025).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, "Study of Moiré-Guided Directional Motion and Structural Superlubricity in 2D Layered Systems," Materials Science and Engineering. (November 12, 2025 - November 18, 2025).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, "THE EFFECT OF B2O3 ADDITION AND TEMPERATURE OPTIMIZATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LAMINATED ALUMINA AND YTTRIA STABILIZED ZIRCONIA," Materials Science and Engineering. (October 21, 2024 - October 31, 2024).

Awards and Honors

  • Junior Faculty Summer Research Grant, University of North Texas. (May 2025).
  • AMRS Travel Support, African Materials Research Society. (2024).
  • ECS Colin Garfield Fink Summer Fellowship, the Electrochemical Society. (2023).
  • Cotswold Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Cotswold Foundation. (2022).
  • Participant, Telluride School on Interfacial Chemistry and Charge Transfer. (2021).
  • 2nd place at the Graduate Student Research Symposium in Engineering, NC State Grad School. (2019).
  • ECS Battery Division Student Slam 3 Best Paper Award, 235th ECS Meeting. (2019).
  • ECS Data Science Hack Week Travel Support, the Army Research Office. (2019).
  • Overall Grand Prize, Triangle Student Research Competition. (2019).
  • Student Poster 1st Prize, Carolina Science Symposium. (2019).
  • The Bob and Suester Sowell Travel Fellowship, NC State Grad School. (2019).
  • 2nd Place at “Sustainability in My Community” Competition, MRS Spring 2016 Meeting. (2017).
  • American Society of Microscopy Travel Award, American Society of Microscopy. (2017).
  • Participant, Next Generation Electrochemistry Research Institute (NGenE). (2017).
  • CoE Professional Development Travel Award, NC State College of Engineering. (2016).
  • John L. Bray Memorial Award, Purdue School of Materials Engineering. (2015).
  • Industrial Roundtable Scholarship, Purdue Engineering Student Council. (2014).
  • Matthew Slone Academic Excellence Scholarship, Purdue School of Materials Engineering. (2014).
  • ASM Muncie Chapter Scholarship, American Society for Metals Muncie Chapter. (2013).
  • MSE General Scholarship, Purdue School of Materials Engineering. (2013).
  • Study Abroad Scholarship, Purdue Study Abroad Office. (2013).
  • Alcoa Foundation Scholarship, Purdue School of Materials Engineering. (2012).
  • One Brick Higher Award, Purdue University. (2012).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Journal Article

  • Zhang, T., Mazzio, K.A., Wang, R., Lounasvuori, M., Al-Temimy, A., Amargianou, F., Mawass, M., Kronast, F., T\"obbens, Daniel M, Lips, K., others. (2025). Conductivity hysteresis in MXene driven by structural dynamics of nanoconfined water. Nature Communications. 16 (1) 7447. Nature Publishing Group UK London.
  • Devi, P., Downes, M., Pahra, S., Ippolito, S., Wang, R., Gogotsi, Y. (2025). Electrocatalytic Performance of M5X4 MXenes for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. Small. 21 (36) e03947.
  • Anayee, M., Wang, R., Downes, M., Ippolito, S., Gogotsi, Y. (2025). Layer-by-layer mechanism of the MAX phase to MXene transformation. Other. 8 (6) Elsevier.
  • de Kogel, A., Wang, R., Tsai, W., Tobis, M., Leiter, R., Luo, R., Zhao, E.W., Fleischmann, S., Wang, X. (2025). Material characterization methods for investigating charge storage processes in 2D and layered materials-based batteries and supercapacitors. Nanoscale. 17 (22) 13531--13560. Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • Dieng, S., Matthews, K., Valurouthu, G., Sunny, S., Zhang, Y., Ndiaye, N.M., Wang, R., Ngom, B.D., Simon, P., Gogotsi, Y. (2025). MXene current collectors for recyclable batteries with improved capacity. Other. 6 (10) Elsevier.
  • Perju, A., Zhang, D., Wang, R., Taberna, P., Gogotsi, Y., Simon, P. (2025). Operando Tracking of Resistance, Thickness, and Mass of Ti3C2Tx MXene in Water-in-Salt Electrolyte. Advanced Energy Materials. 15 (20) 2405028.
  • Zhang, T., Shevchuk, K., Wang, R., Kim, H., Hourani, J., Gogotsi, Y. (2024). Delamination of chlorine-terminated MXene produced using molten salt etching. Chemistry of Materials. 36 (4) 1998--2006. American Chemical Society.
  • Anayee, M., Shekhirev, M., Wang, R., Gogotsi, Y. (2024). Effect of oxygen substitution and oxycarbide formation on oxidation of Ti3AlC2 MAX phase. Journal of the American Ceramic Society. 107 (9) 6334--6341.
  • Hussain, I., Rehman, F., Saraf, M., Zhang, T., Wang, R., Das, T., Luo, Z., Gogotsi, Y., Zhang, K. (2024). Electrochemical Properties of Mo4VC4T x MXene in Aqueous Electrolytes. Other. 16 (29) 38053--38060. American Chemical Society.
  • Yang, Y., Anayee, M., Pattammattel, A., Shekhirev, M., Wang, R., Huang, X., Chu, Y.S., Gogotsi, Y., May, S.J. (2024). Enhanced magnetic susceptibility in Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene with Co and Ni incorporation. Nanoscale. 16 (11) 5760--5767. Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • Saraf, M., Chacon, B., Ippolito, S., Lord, R.W., Anayee, M., Wang, R., Inman, A., Shuck, C.E., Gogotsi, Y. (2024). Enhancing charge storage of Mo2Ti2C3 MXene by partial oxidation. Advanced Functional Materials. 34 (1) 2306815.
  • Bi, L., Perry, W., Wang, R., Lord, R., Hryhorchuk, T., Inman, A., Gogotsi, O., Balitskiy, V., Zahorodna, V., Baginskiy, I., others. (2024). MXene functionalized kevlar yarn via automated, continuous dip coating. Advanced Functional Materials. 34 (14) 2312434.
  • Valurouthu, G., Shekhirev, M., Anayee, M., Wang, R., Matthews, K., Parker, T., Lord, R.W., Zhang, D., Inman, A., Downes, M., others. (2024). Screening conductive MXenes for lithium polysulfide adsorption. Advanced Functional Materials. 34 (45) 2404430.
  • Bi, L., Garg, R., Noriega, N., Wang, R., Kim, H., Vorotilo, K., Burrell, J.C., Shuck, C.E., Vitale, F., Patel, B.A., others. (2024). Soft, multifunctional MXene-coated fiber microelectrodes for biointerfacing. ACS Nano. 18 (34) 23217--23231. American Chemical Society.
  • Downes, M., Shuck, C.E., Wang, R., Micha\lowski, Pawe\l Piotr, Shochat, J., Zhang, D., Shekhirev, M., Yang, Y., Zaluzec, N.J., Arenal, R., others. (2024). Synthesis of three isoelemental MXenes and their structure--property relationships. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146 (45) 31159--31168. American Chemical Society.
  • Zhao, L., Bi, L., Hu, J., Gao, G., Zhang, D., Li, Y., Flynn, A., Zhang, T., Wang, R., Cheng, X.M., Liu, L., Gogotsi, Y., Li, B. (2024). Universal salt-assisted assembly of MXene from suspension on polymer substrates. Nature Communications. 15 10027. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53840-y
  • Downes, M., Shuck, C.E., Wang, R., Michałowski, P.P., Shochat, J., Zhang, D., Shekhirev, M., Yang, Y., Zaluzec, N.J., Arenal, R., May, S.J., Gogotsi, Y. (2024). Synthesis of Three Isoelemental MXenes and Their Structure−Property Relationships. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146 (45) 855-888. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.4c11111
  • Hussain, I., Rehman, F., Saraf, M., Zhang, T., Wang, R., Das, T., Luo, Z., Gogotsi, Y., Zhang, K. (2024). Electrochemical Properties of Mo4VC4Tx MXene in Aqueous Electrolytes. Other. 16 (29) 38053-38060. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c06519
  • Chagnot, M., Abello, S., Wang, R., Dawlaty, J., Rodríguez-López, J., Zhang, C., Augustyn, V. (2024). Influence of Finite Diffusion on Cation Insertion-Coupled Electron Transfer Kinetics in Thin Film Electrodes. Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 171 (1) 010527. The Electrochemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ad1d98
  • Vorotilo, S., Shuck, C.E., Anayee, M., Shekhirev, M., Matthews, K., Lord, R.W., Wang, R., Roslyk, I., Balitskiy, V., Zahorodna, V., Gogotsi, O., Gogotsi, Y. (2023). Affordable combustion synthesis of V2AlC precursor for V2CTx MXene. Other. 8 (3-4) 93-105. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41127-023-00059-1
  • Wang, R.J. (2023). 2023 Colin Garfield Fink Postdoctoral Summer Fellowship--Summary Report: The Effect of Electrochemical Hydrogen Production and Storage in Ti3C2T x MXene on Cell Pressure. Other. 32 (4) 34. IOP Publishing.
  • Vorotilo, S., Shuck, C.E., Anayee, M., Shekhirev, M., Matthews, K., Lord, R.W., Wang, R., Roslyk, I., Balitskiy, V., Zahorodna, V., others. (2023). Affordable combustion synthesis of V2AlC precursor for V2CT x MXene. Other. 8 (3) 93--105. Springer International Publishing Cham.
  • Downes, M., Shuck, C.E., Lord, R.W., Anayee, M., Shekhirev, M., Wang, R., Hryhorchuk, T., Dahlqvist, M., Rosen, J., Gogotsi, Y. (2023). M5X4: a family of MXenes. ACS Nano. 17 (17) 17158--17168. American Chemical Society.
  • Inman, A., Hryhorchuk, T., Bi, L., Wang, R., Greenspan, B., Tabb, T., Gallo, E.M., VahidMohammadi, A., Dion, G., Danielescu, A., others. (2023). Wearable energy storage with MXene textile supercapacitors for real world use. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 11 (7) 3514--3523. Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • McDowell, M.T., Xiong, H., Nazemi, M., Peng, J., Lutkenhaus, J.L., Wang, R., Djire, A., Sankaran, A., Leem, J., Gogotsi, Y. (2023). Nanomaterials in the future of energy research. Other. 4 (11) 101605. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101605
  • Facure, M.H., Matthews, K., Wang, R., Lord, R.W., Correa, D.S., Gogotsi, Y. (2023). Pillaring effect of nanodiamonds and expanded voltage window of Ti3C2Tx supercapacitors in AlCl3 electrolyte. Other. 61 102919. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2023.102919
  • Han, M., Zhang, D., Shuck, C.E., McBride, B., Zhang, T., Wang, R., Shevchuk, K., Gogotsi, Y. (2023). Electrochemically modulated interaction of MXenes with microwaves. Nature Nanotechnology. 18 (4) 373-379. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01308-9
  • Zhang, D., Wang, R., Wang, X., Gogotsi, Y. (2023). In situ monitoring redox processes in energy storage using UV–Vis spectroscopy. Nature Energy. 8 (6) 567-576. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-023-01240-9
  • Mitchell, J.B., Wang, R., Ko, J.S., Long, J.W., Augustyn, V. (2022). Critical role of structural water for enhanced Li+ insertion kinetics in crystalline tungsten oxides. Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 169 (3) 030534. IOP Publishing.
  • Anayee, M., Shuck, C.E., Shekhirev, M., Goad, A., Wang, R., Gogotsi, Y. (2022). Kinetics of Ti3AlC2 etching for Ti3C2T x MXene synthesis. Chemistry of Materials. 34 (21) 9589--9600. American Chemical Society.
  • Anayee, M., Shuck, C.E., Shekhirev, M., Goad, A., Wang, R., Gogotsi, Y. (2022). Kinetics of Ti3AlC2 Etching for Ti3C2Tx MXene Synthesis. Chemistry of Materials. 34 (21) 9589-9600. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02194
  • Mitchell, J.B., Wang, R., Ko, J.S., Long, J.W., Augustyn, V. (2022). Critical Role of Structural Water for Enhanced Li + Insertion Kinetics in Crystalline Tungsten Oxides. Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 169 (3) 030534. The Electrochemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac58c8
  • Wang, R., Sun, Y., Brady, A., Fleischmann, S., Eldred, T.B., Gao, W., Wang, H., Jiang, D., Augustyn, V. (2021). Fast proton insertion in layered H2W2O7 via selective etching of an aurivillius phase. Advanced Energy Materials. 11 (1) 2003335. Wiley Online Library.
  • Saeed, S., Boyd, S., Tsai, W., Wang, R., Balke, N., Augustyn, V. (2021). Understanding electrochemical cation insertion into prussian blue from electrode deformation and mass changes. Chemical Communications. 57 (55) 6744-6747. Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cc01681d
  • Tsai, W., Wang, R., Boyd, S., Augustyn, V., Balke, N. (2021). Probing local electrochemistry via mechanical cyclic voltammetry curves. Other. 81 105592. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105592
  • Wang, R., Sun, Y., Brady, A., Fleischmann, S., Eldred, T.B., Gao, W., Wang, H., Jiang, D., Augustyn, V. (2021). Fast Proton Insertion in Layered H2W2O7 via Selective Etching of an Aurivillius Phase. Advanced Energy Materials. 11 (1) Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202003335
  • Fleischmann, S., Sun, Y., Osti, N.C., Wang, R., Mamontov, E., Jiang, D., Augustyn, V. (2020). Interlayer separation in hydrogen titanates enables electrochemical proton intercalation. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 8 (1) 412-421. Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ta11098d
  • Wang, R., Boyd, S., Bonnesen, P.V., Augustyn, V. (2020). Effect of water in a non-aqueous electrolyte on electrochemical Mg2+ insertion into WO3. Journal of Power Sources. 477 229015. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.229015
  • Augustyn, V., Wang, R., Balke, N., Pharr, M., Arnold, C.B. (2020). Deformation during Electrosorption and Insertion-Type Charge Storage: Origins, Characterization, and Design of Materials for High Power. ACS Energy Letters. 5 (11) 3548-3559. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.0c01823
  • Fleischmann, S., Mitchell, J.B., Wang, R., Zhan, C., Jiang, D., Presser, V., Augustyn, V. (2020). Pseudocapacitance: From Fundamental Understanding to High Power Energy Storage Materials. Chemical Reviews. 120 (14) 6738-6782. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00170
  • Wang, R., Mitchell, J.B., Gao, Q., Tsai, W., Boyd, S., Pharr, M., Balke, N., Augustyn, V. (2018). Operando atomic force microscopy reveals mechanics of structural water driven battery-to-pseudocapacitor transition. ACS Nano. 12 (6) 6032--6039. ACS Publications.
  • Wang, R., Mitchell, J.B., Gao, Q., Tsai, W., Boyd, S., Pharr, M., Balke, N., Augustyn, V. (2018). Operando Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Mechanics of Structural Water Driven Battery-to-Pseudocapacitor Transition. ACS Nano. 12 (6) 6032-6039. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b02273
  • Wang, R., Chung, C., Liu, Y., Jones, J.L., Augustyn, V. (2017). Electrochemical intercalation of Mg2+ into anhydrous and hydrated crystalline tungsten oxides. Langmuir. 33 (37) 9314--9323. ACS Publications.
  • Daubert, J.S., Wang, R., Ovental, J.S., Barton, H.F., Rajagopalan, R., Augustyn, V., Parsons, G.N. (2017). Intrinsic limitations of atomic layer deposition for pseudocapacitive metal oxides in porous electrochemical capacitor electrodes. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 5 (25) 13086-13097. Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ta02719b
  • Wang, R., Chung, C., Liu, Y., Jones, J.L., Augustyn, V. (2017). Electrochemical Intercalation of Mg2+ into Anhydrous and Hydrated Crystalline Tungsten Oxides. Langmuir. 33 (37) 9314-9323. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00705
  • Gao, K., Kearney, L.T., Wang, R., Howarter, J.A. (2015). Enhanced Wettability and Transport Control of Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes with Grafted Polyelectrolytes. Other. 7 (44) 24839-24847. American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b08046

    • Master's Thesis

  • Wang, R. (2020). Improvement of Electrochemical Ion Insertion Kinetics in Tungsten Oxides With Structural Water and Trace Water in a Non-Aqueous Electrolyte. North Carolina State University.

Presentations Given

    Invited Talk

  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), 2025 Texas Section ECS Symposium, Selectively Etched Metastable Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Electrochemical Society, College Station, Texas, United States of America. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), 2025 TMS Meeting, A Mechanistic Study of MXene Current Collectors for Lithium-Metal-Based Batteries, TMS, Las Vegas, United States of America. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), 247th ECS Meeting, Carbon as Proton Storage Sites in Ti3C2Tx during Electrochemical Protonation, Electrochemical Society, Montreal, Canada, United States of America. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), ACS Fall 2025 Meeting, Carbon as Proton Storage Sites in Ti3C2Tx during Electrochemical Protonation, American Chemical Society, Washington DC, United States of America. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), Departmental Seminar, Selectively Etched Metastable Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, South Korea, Korea, South. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), Departmental Seminar, Selectively Etched Metastable Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Department of Energy and Materials Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea, Korea, South. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), Departmental Seminar, Selectively Etched Metastable Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Department of Energy Molecule Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, South Korea, Korea, South. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), Departmental Seminar, 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene for Energy Storage — Use in Passive and Active Components, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Chonnam National University, Virtual, Korea, South. (2025).

    • Oral Presentation

  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), 2024 International Conference of the African MRS, Pseudocapacitive Energy Storage in Ti3C2Tx MXene over a Wide Temperature Range, National Science Foundation, Kigali, Rwanda, Rwanda. (2024 - 2024).

    • Poster

  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), GRC on Nanomaterials for Applications in Energy Technology, The Proton Adsorption Sites in Ti3C2Tx during Electrochemical Protonation/Hydrogenation, Gordon Research Conference, Ventura, CA, United States of America. (2025).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), UNT University Research Day, Selective Etched Metastable Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Wang, R. (Author & Presenter), 2024 ECS Texas Section Symposium at UT Austin, Selective Etched Metastable Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Electrochemical Society, Austin, TX, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).

Contracts, Grants, Sponsored Research

    Grant - Research

  • Wang, R. (Principal), "Computational Screening of Selectively Etchable Layered Oxides for Intercalation Battery Electrodes," sponsored by Oak Ridge National Lab, Regional, Funded. (2025 - 2026).
  • Wang, R. (Principal), "SIMS Quantification of Oxygen Distribution in Titanium Aluminum Oxycarbide," sponsored by Oak Ridge National Lab, Regional, Funded. (2025 - 2026).

Service

University Service

  • Faculty Advisor, Electrochemical Society Student Chapter. (2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. (2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Workload Ad Hoc Committee. (2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Outreach and Recruitment Committee. (September 1, 2024 - Present).
  • Host of Guest Artist, Host seminar speaker. (November 21, 2024 - January 2026).

Professional Service

  • Session Chair, 247th ECS Meeting. Montreal, Quebec. (2025 - Present).
  • Session Chair, Gordon Research Seminar. Ventura, CA. (2025 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Grant Proposal, Israel Science Foundation. Denton, TX. (2025 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Grant Proposal, National Science Foundation. Denton, TX. (2025 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Grant Proposal, Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS). Denton, TX. (October 20, 2024 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) User Executive Committee (UEC). Denton, TX. (January 20, 2024 - Present).