RESEARCH INTERESTS

2D Materials | CVD Growth | hBN | Graphene | Wafer-Scale Fabrication

Dr. Junzhu Li

Biography

Dr. Junzhu Li is a Research Fellow at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, and her B.Sc. in Physics from Xiamen University, China.

Dr. Li’s research interests focus on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of wafer-scale two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as hBN and graphene, as well as their nanodevice applications. She has published numerous first-author papers in leading journals, including Nature Materials, Nature Communications, and Advanced Materials.

Dr. Li was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Honoree in 2025, and received the Special Mention Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis (Elsevier, 2023). She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Carbon and is an invited reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature Communications. Her work has been featured in Science, Nature Communications, Phys.Org, and other international media outlets.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

Research Fellow
07/2024 – Present

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Postdoctoral Researcher
12/2022 – 05/2024

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering
01/2019 – 12/2022

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia

B.Sc. in Physics
09/2013 – 07/2017

Xiamen University, China

Research Topic

  • 2D Materials Synthesis

    Our research focuses on the growth of 2D materials using CVD methods. We focus on the fabrication of large-area, high-quality 2D materials such as graphene, hBN, and TMDs, which exhibit exceptional electronic, optical, and mechanical properties, making them promising for diverse applications.

  • CVD Growth Mechanism

    Understanding the fundamental growth mechanisms in CVD is key to producing high-quality 2D materials. We integrate numerical simulations with experimental studies to unravel these mechanisms, aiming to optimize the CVD process for achieving excellent crystal quality and scalable synthesis.

  • Substrate Engineering

    Substrates are critical in the growth of 2D materials. Our work explores substrate engineering on both metal and insulating substrates, refining and developing substrate treatment methods to enable the controlled growth of high-quality 2D materials across different platforms.

  • Growth on Insulators

    Growing high-quality 2D materials on insulating substrates remains a challenge. We are developing reliable approaches for the synthesis of graphene and hBN on insulators such as sapphire, SiO2/Si, and quartz, with the goal of enabling advanced electronic applications.

academic profile

Find out more about my research projects and publications