PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (July 16, 2026) – Prairie View A&M University’s Dr. Yunxiang Gao has received nearly $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to support research that could advance future clean energy technologies.

Yunxiang Gao, Ph.D.

An associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, Gao is leading research focused on carbon nanobuds—tiny materials made from carbon that could support the development of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies, including fuel cells and processes that reduce carbon dioxide.

Fuel cells generate electricity through chemical reactions, while carbon dioxide reduction is a process that scientists are studying to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although carbon nanobuds have shown promise for these applications, producing them with precision has remained a challenge.

Gao’s research aims to address that challenge by developing a new solution-based method for producing carbon nanobuds with greater precision. The goal is to create higher-quality materials with fewer unwanted byproducts, giving researchers a better opportunity to evaluate how they perform in clean energy applications.

Working with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Gao’s team is testing the materials in fuel cell reactions and carbon dioxide reduction while using advanced imaging and analytical tools to examine their structure and performance.

The research could help scientists better understand how carbon nanobuds can improve future clean energy technologies. It also strengthens Prairie View A&M University’s research enterprise through collaboration with a national laboratory and provides students with hands-on experience in advanced materials science and energy research.

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