Research Interests

I am interested in the synthesis, development, and characterization of multifunctional nanostructured materials: polymeric, non-polymeric, and hybrid carbon nanotube-based composites including free-standing nanostructured carbon aerogels, membranes, and drawable carbon nanotube forests. I have worked on the electrochemistry of nanomaterials for energy storage and catalytic applications and have been interested in the development of biocompatible and self-healing materials. My current research focuses on the chemical vapor deposition of optically transparent polymeric thin films, their reaction kinetics, chemical doping, and thermal stability for high-end applications.

Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, 2012

M.Sc., Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Institute for Scientific and Technological Research of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 2006

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Guadalajara, Mexico, 2004

1. C. Choi, H.J. Sim, G.M. Spinks, X. Lepró, R. H. Baughman, and S. J. Kim, “Elastomeric and Dynamic MnO2/CNT Core–Shell Structure Coiled Yarn Supercapacitor,” Advanced Energy Materials 1502119 (2016).
2. Z. Liu, S. Fang, F. Moura, J. Ding, N. Jiang, J. Di, M. Zhang, X. Lepró, D. Galvão, C. Haines, N. Yuan, S. Yin, D. Lee, R. Wang, H. Wang, W. Lv, C. Dong, R. Zhang, M. Chen, Q. Yin, Y. Chong, R. Zhang, X. Wang, M. Lima, R. Ovalle-Robles, D. Qian, H. Lu, and R. Baughman, “Hierarchically buckled sheath-core fibers for superelastic electronics, sensors, and muscles,” Science 349, 400–404 (2015).
3. J.A. Lee, Y.T. Kim, G.M. Spinks, D. Suh, X. Lepró, M.D. Lima, R.H. Baughman, and S.J. Kim, “All-Solid-State Carbon Nanotube Torsional and Tensile Artificial Muscles,” Nano Letters 14, 2664–2669 (2014).
4. C. Haines, M. Lima, N. Li, G. Spinks, J. Foroughi, J. Madden, S. Kim, S. Fang, M. de Andrade; F. Göktepe, Ö. Göktepe, S. Mirvakili, S. Naficy, X. Lepró, J. Oh, M. Kozlov, S. Kim, X. Xu, B. Swedlove, G. Wallace, and R. Baughman, “Artificial Muscles from Fishing Line and Sewing Thread,” Science 343, 868–872 (2014).
5. C. Choi, J.A. Lee, A.Y. Choi, Y.T. Kim, X. Lepró, M.D. Lima, R.H. Baughman, and S.J. Kim, “Supercapacitor Made of Carbon Nanotube Yarn with Internal Pores,” Advanced Materials 26, 2059–2065 (2013).
6. X. Lepró, R. Ovalle-Robles, M.D. Lima, A.L. Elías, M. Terrones, and R.H. Baughman, “Catalytic Twist-Spun Yarns of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes,” Advanced Functional Materials 22, 1069–1075 (2012).
7. M. Lima, S. Fang, X. Lepró, C. Lewis, R. Ovalle-Robles, J. Carretero-Gonzalez, E. Castillo-Martinez, M. Kozlov, J. Oh, N. Rawat, C. Haines, M.H. Haque, V. Aare, S. Stoughton, A.A. Zakhidov, and R. Baughman, “Biscrolling Nanotube Sheets and Functional Guests into Yarns,” Science 331, 51–55 (2011).
8. X. Lepró, M. Lima, and R. Baughman, “Spinnable carbon nanotube forests grown on thin, flexible metallic substrates,” Carbon 48, 3621–3627 (2010).
9. X. Lepró, E. Terrés, Y. Vega-Cantú, F.J. Rodríguez-Macías, H. Muramatsu, Y.A. Kim, T. Hayahsi, M. Endo, M. Torres, and M. Terrones, “Efficient Anchorage of Pt clusters on N-doped carbon nanotubes and their Catalytic Activity,” Chemical Physical Letters 463, 124–129 (2008).
10. X. Lepró, Y. Vega-Cantú, F.J. Rodríguez-Macías, Y. Bando, D. Goldberg, and M. Terrones, “Production and Characterization of Coaxial Nanotube Junctions and Networks of CNx/CNT,” Nano Letters 7, 2220–2226 (2007).

• Fellow of the National System of Researchers, SNI 1 CONACYT-Mexico, 2014
• Graduate Fellowship for Ph.D. studies, UT Dallas-CONACYT, 2007-2012
• Graduate Fellowship for Master studies, CONACYT-Mexico, 2004-2006
• Award for Excellent Academic Student Performance in Chemical Engineering, University of Guadalajara, 2004
• “Incentive to Research” Undergraduate Fellowship, University of Guadalajara, 2002-2004