Chenhui Zhu

Chenhui Zhu received his B.Sc. from the University of Science and Technology of China and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Colorado Boulder. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. He is currently a Staff Scientist at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

My research focuses on developing advanced synchrotron X-ray methods and autonomous experimentation approaches to accelerate scientific understanding and materials discovery. This includes:

• Pioneering high-throughput and autonomous experimentation by integrating synchrotron characterization with robotics, automation, machine learning, and AI
• Developing novel in situ, operando, and multimodal X-ray tools to probe energy and functional materials during processing and under real-world operating conditions
• Advancing resonant soft and tender X-ray scattering to reveal chemical, molecular-orientation, and chiral structures in soft (e.g., liquid crystals, polymers) and hybrid materials (e.g., perovskites, MOF/COFs, nanoparticle self assembly)

Please see my google scholar profile

Automation and Autonomous Experimentation

• High-Throughput Robotic GIWAXS at ALS SAXS/WAXS Beamline, Eric Schaible, Ivan Galikeev, Matthew Roizin-Prior, Garret Birkel, Yunfei Wang, Wiebke Koepp, Raja Vyshnavi Sriramoju, Harold Barnard, Chinweike Osubor, Camille Molsick-Gibson, Piotr Gach, Sujoy Roy, Xiaodan Gu, Dylan McReynolds, Alexander Hexemer, Lucas Kistulentz, Damon English, Dilworth Y. Parkinson*, Chenhui Zhu*, ACS Photon Science, 2025.

In Situ Multimodal Sample Environments

• In-situ Spin Coater for Multimodal Grazing Incidence X-ray Scattering Studies, A. H. Coffey, et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum., (2023).

Resonant X-ray Scattering/Bond-Molecular Orientation Ordering

• “Probing and Controlling Liquid Crystal Helical Nanofilament”, C. Zhu, et al, Nano Letters 15, 3420 (2015).
• “Resonant Carbon K-Edge Soft X-Ray Scattering from Helical Molecular Reorientation (Twist Bend Nematic Phase)”, C. Zhu, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 116, 147803 (2016).
• “Structure of 3-D Nanoscale-pitch Helical Phases: Blue Phases and Twist Bend Nematic”, M. Salamonczyk, et al., Soft Matter,  13, 6694 (2017) (Cover).
• “Molecular Packing in Double Gyroid Cubic Phases Revealed via Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering“, Y. Cao, et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 027801 (2020).

Coherent X-ray Scattering and Imaging

• “Study of Electrode Surface Dynamics Using Coherent Surface X-Ray Scattering“, H. You, et al., Electrochimica Acta, 82, 570 (2012).
• “Ptychographic X-ray Imaging of Surfaces on Crystal Truncation Rod”, C. Zhu, et al., Applied Physics Letters, 106, 101604 (2015).

Liquid Crystals, Molecular Rotors, Nanoparticle Self-assembly, Metal Organic Framework (MOF/COF),

• “Topological Ferroelectric Bistability in a Polarization-Modulated Orthogonal Smectic Liquid Crystal”, C. Zhu, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 9681 (2012);; “Spontaneous Ferroelectric Order in a Bent-Core Smectic Liquid Crystal of Fluid Orthorhombic Layers”, R. A. Reddy, C. Zhu, et al., Science 332, 72 (2011).
• “Structure of a Monolayer of Molecular Rotors on Aqueous Subphase from Grazing-incidence X-ray Diffraction“, J. Kaleta, et al., PNAS, (2018). DOI: pnas.1712789115
• “Structural Diversity in Binary Superlattices Self-assembled from Polymer-grafted Nanocrystals”, X. Ye, et al, Nature Communications 6, 11052 (2015).
• “Ordered and Oriented MOFs on Plasmonic Silver Nanocrystals”, Y. Zhao, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 2199 (2015);; “Weaving of Organic Threads into a Crystalline Covalent Organic Framework”, Y. Liu, et al.,  Science 351, 365 (2016).