Liangbo Liang

Liangbo Liang

Research Staff Member

Dr. Liangbo Liang is a research staff member in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Prior to that, He was a Wigner Fellow at ORNL from 2015 to 2018. He received his Ph.D. degree in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 2014. Liang’s thesis research is the development and employment of theoretical/computational methods to understand low-dimensional systems, which was recognized by the Huntington Award at RPI. As a Wigner Fellow at ORNL, he worked on integration of accurate theoretical/computational approaches with various experimental techniques for the understanding of nanomaterials and quantum materials, including modeling of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), Raman scattering, photoluminescence spectroscopy.

His current research generally lies in condensed matter theory and computational physics, focusing on developing and applying large-scale theoretical/computational methods on supercomputers to understand and engineer diverse materials from first principles. Methods including DFT and many-body GW approach are used to study electronic, magnetic, optical, vibrational, and Raman scattering properties of quantum materials and nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, metal halides, black phosphorus, etc.

Research Areas (Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics; Computational Physics; First-principles Density Functional Theory; Many-body GW Approximation; Quantum Materials; Nanomaterials)

1. Theoretical research on diverse properties of quantum materials and nanomaterials, including their electronic, magnetic, optical, vibrational, thermal, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, photovoltaic properties, etc.

2. Developing and applying computational packages for quantum mechanical modeling of various experimental techniques including scanning tunneling microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, etc.

3. Close collaborations with experimentalists across the world to corroborate and guide experimental measurements on diverse systems ranging from molecules to nanomaterials to strongly correlated systems.

Selected Publications (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CQzvtKsAAAAJ&hl=en)

(120+ publications in total with 13,000+ citations, h-index=47 from Google Scholar/43 from Web of Science, including papers in high-impact journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Physical Review Letters, Nano Letters, ACS Nano, JACS, Advanced Materials, PNAS, Nanoscale, Angewandte Chemie, 2D Materials, etc.)

  1. S. Yang, L. Liang*, Y. Lee, Y. Gu, J. Fatheema, S. Kutagulla, D. Kim, M. Kim, S. Kim, D. Akinwande, “Volatile and Nonvolatile Resistive Switching Coexistence in Conductive Point Hexagonal Boron Nitride Monolayer”, ACS Nano, 18, 4, 3313–3322 (2024). [*Co-lead author

  2. Y. Pai, C. Marvinney, G. Pokharel, J. Xing, H. Li, X. Li, M. Chilcote, M. Brahlek, L. Lindsay, H. Miao, A. Sefat, D. Parker, S. Wilson, J. Gardner, L. Liang*, B. Lawrie, “Angular-Momentum Transfer Mediated by a Vibronic-Bound-State”, Advanced Science, 2304698 (2023). [*Corresponding author]

  3. X. Kong, W. Luo, L. Li, M. Yoon, T. Berlijn, L. Liang*, “Floquet band engineering and topological phase transition in 1T’ transition metal Dichalcogenides”, 2D Materials, 9, 025005 (2022). [*Corresponding author]

  4. P. Joshi, R. Li, J. Spellberg, L. Liang*, S. King*, “Nanoimaging of the Edge-Dependent Optical Polarization Anisotropy of Black Phosphorus”, Nano Letters, 22, 8, 3180 (2022). [*Co-corresponding author]

  5. X. Wang, J. Cao, H. Li, Z. Lu, A. Cohen, A. Haldar, H. Kitadai, Q. Tan, K. Burch, D. Smirnov, W. Xu, S. Sharifzadeh, L. Liang, X. Ling, “Electronic Raman scattering in the 2D antiferromagnet NiPS3”, Science Advances, 8 (2), eabl7707 (2022). 

  6. X. Kong, T. Berlijn, L. Liang*, “Thickness and spin dependence of Raman modes in magnetic layered Fe3GeTe2”, Advanced Electronic Materials, 2001159 (2021). [*Corresponding author]

  7. X. Kong, H. Yoon, M. J. Han, L. Liang*, “Switching interlayer magnetic order in bilayer CrI3 by stacking reversal”, Nanoscale, 13, 16172 (2021). [*Corresponding author]

  8. R. Ge*, X. Wu*, L. Liang*, S. Hus, Y. Gu, E. Okogbue, H. Chou, J. Shi, Y. Zhang, S. Banerjee, Y. Jung, J. Lee, D. Akinwande, “A Library of Atomically Thin 2D Materials Featuring the Conductive‐Point Resistive Switching Phenomenon”, Advanced Materials, 33, 2007792 (2021). [*Co-lead author]

  9. S. Hus, R. Ge, P. Chen, L. Liang, G. Donnelly, W. Ko, F. Huang, M. Chiang, A. Li, D. Akinwande, “Observation of single-defect memristor in an MoS2 atomic sheet”, Nature Nanotechnology, 16, 58–62 (2021).

  10. W. Luo, A. Oyedele, Y. Gu, T. Li, X. Wang, A. Haglund, D. Mandrus, A. Puretzky, K. Xiao, L. Liang*, X. Ling*, “Anisotropic Phonon Response of Few‐Layer PdSe2 under Uniaxial Strain”, Advanced Functional Materials, 2003215 (2020). [*Co-corresponding author

  11. G. Nguyen, A. Oyedele, A. Haglund, W. Ko, L. Liang*, A. Puretzky, D. Mandrus, K. Xiao, A. Li*, “Atomically Precise PdSe2 Pentagonal Nanoribbons”, ACS Nano, 14, 1951 (2020). [*Co-corresponding author

  12. J. Zhang, X. Li, K. Xiao, B. Sumpter, A. Ghosh, L. Liang*, “The role of mid-gap phonon modes in thermal transport of transition metal dichalcogenides”, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 32, 025306 (2019). [*Corresponding author]

  13. L. Liang, E. C. Girão, V. Meunier, “Modeling the Kondo effect of a magnetic atom adsorbed on graphene”, 2D Materials, 6, 035038 (2019).

  14. N. Mao, X. Wang, Y. Lin, B. Sumpter, Q. Ji, T. Palacios, S. Huang, V. Meunier, M. Dresselhaus, W. Tisdale, L. Liang*, X. Ling*, J. Kong*, “Direct Observation of Symmetry-Dependent Electron-Phonon Coupling in Black Phosphorus”, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 141, 18994 (2019). [*Co-corresponding author]

  15. W. Zhu*, L. Liang*, R. Roberts, J. Lin, D. Akinwande, “Anisotropic Electron–Phonon Interactions in Angle-Resolved Raman Study of Strained Black Phosphorus”, ACS Nano, 12, 12512 (2018). [*Co-lead author]

  16. A. Puretzky, A. Oyedele, K. Xiao, A. V. Haglund, B. Sumpter, D. Mandrus, D. B. Geohegan, L. Liang*, “Anomalous interlayer vibrations in strongly coupled layered PdSe2”, 2D Materials, 5, 035016 (2018). [*Corresponding author]

  17. G. D. Nguyen, L. Liang*, Q. Zou, M. Fu, A. Oyedele, B. Sumpter, Z. Liu, Z. Gai, K. Xiao, A. Li*, “3D imaging and manipulation of subsurface selenium vacancies in PdSe2”, Physical Review Letters, 121, 086101 (2018). [*Co-corresponding author]

  18. L. Liang*, A. Puretzky, B. Sumpter, V. Meunier, “Interlayer bond polarizability model for stacking-dependent low-frequency Raman scattering in layered materials”, Nanoscale, 9, 15340 (2017). [*Corresponding author

  19. L. Liang, J. Zhang, B. Sumpter, Q. Tan, P. Tan, V. Meunier, “Low-Frequency Shear and Layer-Breathing Modes in Raman Scattering of Two-Dimensional Materials", ACS Nano, 11, 11777 (2017).

  20. C. Ma, L. Liang*, Z. Xiao, A. Puretzky, W. Lu, V. Meunier, J. Bernholc, A. Li*, “Seamless staircase electrical contact to semiconducting graphene nanoribbon”, Nano Letters, 17, 6241 (2017). [*Co-corresponding author]

  21. L. Liang, V. Meunier, “Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbon Heterojunctions for Excitonic Solar Cells”, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 119, 775 (2015).

  22. L. Liang, J. Wang, W. Lin, B. G. Sumpter, V. Meunier, M. Pan“Electronic Bandgap and Edge Reconstruction in Phosphorene Materials”,Nano Letters, 14, 6400 (2014).

  23. L. Liang, V. Meunier, “First-principles Raman spectra of MoS2, WS2 and their heterostructures”, Nanoscale, 6, 5394 (2014).

  24. L. Liang, E. Cruz-Silva, E. C. Girão, V. Meunier, “Enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit in assembled graphene nanoribbons”, Physical Review B, 86, 115438 (2012).

2018–Present           Research Staff, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL

2015–2018                 Eugene Wigner Fellow/Research Staff Associate, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL

2014–2015                 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physics, RPI (Supervisor: Dr. Vincent Meunier) 

2010–2014                Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Physics, RPI (Advisor: Dr. Vincent Meunier)

2023            CNMS Division Award: Most Notable CNMS User Project                        

2020            UT-Battelle/ORNL Award: Outstanding Scholarly Output Team Award     

2017            CNMS Division Award: Distinguished Scientific Paper                               

2017            CNMS Division Award: Outstanding Scientific or Technical Contribution  

2016            CNMS Division Award: Most Notable CNMS User Project                         

2015            Eugene Wigner Fellowship of Oak Ridge National Laboratory                  

2015            Outstanding Reviewer - Journal Carbon                                                    

2014            Hillard Huntington Award for Outstanding Graduate Student                 

2007            First Prize of the National Scholarship                                                      

2006            Samsung Scholarship                                                                                

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), U.S.A.         Physics            Ph.D., 2014
Wuhan University, China                                              Physics            B.S.,   2008
 

2023–Present     Member and the Treasurer of the Executive Committee of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section

2024                      Chair of the travel committee in the 2024 APS Mid-Atlantic Section Meeting 

2024                      Co-organizer of 2024 Annual Meeting of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section  

2024                      Invited Talk at 2024 CNMS User Meeting Quantum Workshop  

2023–Present     Early Career Editorial Board Member with Journal "Carbon Trends" of Elsevier 

2023                      Chair of the travel committee in the 2023 APS Mid-Atlantic Section Meeting 

2023                      Co-organizer of 2023 Annual Meeting of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section 

2023                      Organized 2023 CNMS User Meeting Workshop “Novel Materials for Neuromorphic Computing”

2022                      Invited Talk at the 8th NANO Boston Conference 

2021                      Invited Talk at the 7th NANO Boston Conference

2021                      Invited Talk at the 3rd International Conference on Advances in Functional Materials

2021                      Invited Talk at the seminar series "Theory Talks" at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

2019                      Invited Talk at the GrapheneforUS 2019 International Conference 

2019                      Invited Talk at 2019 CNMS User Meeting

2018                      Invited Talk at the Fifth Wuhan University International Forum (China) 

2017                      Invited Talk at Graphene Week 2017 (Greece)

2017                      Invited Talk at 2017 CNMS-SNS User Meeting Workshop 

2015                      Program Coordinator for International Phosphorene Symposium

Referee to journals: Nature, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, ACS Nano, Physical Review Letters, Nanoscale, Carbon, Scientific Reports, Small, Nanotechnology, 2D Materials, Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, etc. 

Reviewer for proposals: DOE, ORNL LDRD, ORNL/UTK JDRD, NSF CAREER

 2023–Present           Member and the Treasurer of the Executive Committee of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section 

 2023–Present           Early Career Editorial Board Member with Journal "Carbon Trends" of Elsevier

Member of APS, MRS