2026 Li Cao: Materials Science Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Materials Science	43	12191	11788	2804	2604	87	15132

Li Cao publication distribution in Materials Science in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Materials Science in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Li Cao sits on this spectrum.

50 publications 1,163+

This scientist: 87 publications — 1st percentile

1% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 1,163 publications or more.

Li Cao D-index placement in Materials Science in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Materials Science scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Li Cao sits on this spectrum.

40 D-Index 165+

This scientist: 43 D-Index — 5th percentile

5% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 165 D-Index or more.

Overview

Li Cao is affiliated with the University of Dayton in the United States and has contributed extensively to research primarily in the fields of Engineering and Materials Science. Their publications demonstrate a focus on interdisciplinary materials chemistry and mechanical engineering topics, with notable interests in biomedical engineering, polymers and plastics, and civil and structural engineering.

The research topics covered by Li Cao include:

Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
Carbon and Quantum Dots Applications
Nanoplatforms for Cancer Theranostics
Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Imaging
Bauxite Residue and Utilization
Concrete and Cement Materials Research

Frequent publication venues for Cao's work include:

Materials Letters
Advanced Engineering Materials
Nanomaterials
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Collaborative work is an important aspect of Cao's research environment. The most frequent co-authors contributing alongside Cao are:

Jing Li
Ya-Ping Sun
Donald Klosterman
Weixiong Liang
Christopher E. Bunker

Some of the recent published papers by Li Cao include:

Biorefining of sugarcane bagasse to fermentable sugars and surface oxygen group-rich hierarchical porous carbon for supercapacitors, 2020, Renewable Energy
Axial compressive behaviour of high-strength steel spiral-confined square concrete-filled steel tubular columns, 2022, Journal of Constructional Steel Research
Progress of NIR-II fluorescence imaging technology applied to disease diagnosis and treatment, 2024, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Preparation study and simulation of high transmittance W-Sn-Zr Co-doped VO2 thin films prepared by sol-gel method for energy-saving smart windows, 2024, Ceramics International
A metal-metal powder formulation approach for laser additive manufacturing of difficult-to-print high-strength aluminum alloys, 2021, Materials Letters

Best Publications

Carbon dots for multiphoton bioimaging

Li Cao;Xin Wang;Mohammed J Meziani;Fushen Lu

2412
Citations
Carbon dots for optical imaging in vivo.

Sheng-Tao Yang;Li Cao;Pengju G. Luo;Fushen Lu

1651
Citations
Carbon Dots as Nontoxic and High-Performance Fluorescence Imaging Agents

Sheng-Tao Yang;Xin Wang;Haifang Wang;Fushen Lu

1089
Citations
Carbon “quantum” dots for optical bioimaging

Pengju G. Luo;Sushant Sahu;Sheng Tao Yang;Sumit K. Sonkar

859
Citations
Photoluminescence properties of graphene versus other carbon nanomaterials.

Li Cao;Mohammed J. Meziani;Sushant Sahu;Ya-Ping Sun

801
Citations
Bandgap-like strong fluorescence in functionalized carbon nanoparticles.

Xin Wang;Li Cao;Sheng-Tao Yang;Fushen Lu

764
Citations
Photoinduced electron transfers with carbon dots

Xin Wang;Li Cao;Fushen Lu;Mohammed J. Meziani

760
Citations
Carbon Nanoparticles as Visible-Light Photocatalysts for Efficient CO2 Conversion and Beyond

Li Cao;Sushant Sahu;Parambath Anilkumar;Christopher E. Bunker

652
Citations
Advances in Bioapplications of Carbon Nanotubes

Fushen Lu;Lingrong Gu;Mohammed J. Meziani;Xin Wang

469
Citations
Polymer/Boron Nitride Nanocomposite Materials for Superior Thermal Transport Performance†

Wei-Li Song;Ping Wang;Li Cao;Ankoma Anderson

453
Citations
Doped Carbon Nanoparticles as a New Platform for Highly Photoluminescent Dots

Ya-Ping Sun;Xin Wang;Fushen Lu;Li Cao

396
Citations
A new route to zinc-blende CdSe nanocrystals: mechanism and synthesis.

Zhengtao Deng;Li Cao;Fangqiong Tang;Bingsuo Zou

386
Citations
Toward quantitatively fluorescent carbon-based "quantum" dots.

Parambath Anilkumar;Xin Wang;Li Cao;Sushant Sahu

320
Citations
Fullerenes for Applications in Biology and Medicine

P. Anilkumar;F. Lu;L. Cao;P. G. Luo

254
Citations
Polymer functionalization and solubilization of carbon nanosheets

L. Monica Veca;Fushen Lu;Mohammed J. Meziani;Li Cao

234
Citations
Photochromism and Size Effect of WO3 and WO3−TiO2 Aqueous Sol

Yuping He;Zhenyu Wu;Limin Fu;Chaorong Li

202
Citations
Carbon dots of different composition and surface functionalization: cytotoxicity issues relevant to fluorescence cell imaging

Yanli Wang;Parambath Anilkumar;Li Cao;Jia-Hui Liu

200
Citations
Competitive performance of carbon "quantum" dots in optical bioimaging.

Li Cao;Sheng-Tao Yang;Xin Wang;Pengju G. Luo

193
Citations
Metallic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Conductive Nanocomposites

Wei Wang;K. A. Shiral Fernando;Yi Lin;Mohammed J. Meziani

171
Citations
Carbon "Quantum" Dots for Fluorescence Labeling of Cells.

Jia-Hui Liu;Jia-Hui Liu;Li Cao;Gregory Ethan LeCroy;Ping Wang

168
Citations
Unique aggregation of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) spores by sugar-coated single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Haifang Wang;Lingrong Gu;Yi Lin;Fushen Lu

160
Citations