Her research focuses on discovering earth-abundant, high-performance nanomaterials and developing novel, eco-friendly thin-film processing methods. The goal is to translate these discoveries into practical applications in energy generation/storage, optoelectronics, environmental engineering, greenhouse gas conversion, healthcare, and biomedicine.

At Duke Kunshan University, she teaches courses including Introduction to Materials Science, Fundamentals of Materials Science, and Advanced Functional Materials Science, emphasizing applications to address global challenges in sustainability, energy, environment, and health.

She has authored four books, including: Chemical Vapour Deposition: Advances, Technology and Applications (CRC Press, 2019); Biomaterials in Clinical Practice (Springer, 2017); Commercialization of Nanotechnologies: A Case Study Approach (Springer, 2017); and Innovative and Cost-Effective Materials Processing Methods (Imperial College Press, 2002). She has published over 330 papers in leading journals, including Advanced Materials, Progress in Materials Science, and ACS Nano, and holds more than 20 patents. Recognized with the Association of American Publishers' Award for Excellence. She has been consistently ranked among the world's top 1% most-cited scientists in Stanford University's annual lists and is included in the 2025 Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking for Enabling & Strategic Technologies. She leads the Suzhou Key Laboratory of Advanced Sustainable Materials and Technologies.