Guest Editors

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Qiao-bao Zhang

Xiamen University

E-mail:  zhangqiaobao@xmu.edu.cn

Research interests: Fundamental issues relevant to energy storage system including Li/Na/K ion batteries, especially on the key electrode materials, interfacial properties and in-situ techniques.

Prof. Dr. Yong-chang Liu

University of Science and Technology Beijing

E-mail:  liuyc@ustb.edu.cn

Research interests:Designing high-performance electrode materials for rechargeable batteries and understanding the in-depth energy storage mechanisms.

Prof. Dr. Xiao-bo Ji

Central South University

E-mail:  xji@csu.edu.cn

Research interests: Specializing in the research & development of battery and supercapacitor materials and their systems.

Scope

The ever-increasing environmental problems and energy challenges have called urgent demand for utilizing green, efficient and sustainable energy, thus promoting the development of new technologies associated with energy storage and conversion systems. Among the various energy storage devices, Li/Na/K/Zn/Mg ion and metal-air batteries and supercapacitors as advanced power sources have evoked a plethora of research owing to their attractive features, including high energy density, long cycle life, and good rate capability. In the energy conversion systems, solar cells and fuel cells can be considered as mainstream renewable energy resources once their manufacturing cost has decreased to an affordable level. However, the development of advanced power sources relies heavily on advances in materials chemistry innovation. Exploring new electrode materials with high performance is therefore highly desirable to satisfy the widespread energy storage/conversion applications.

The rapid development of materials science and nanotechnology has led to significant advances in understanding the controlled synthesis, mechanisms and structure-performance relationships of electrode materials, which inspire this Research Topic. We cordially invite investigators to contribute original research articles that will stimulate further research activities in this area and improve our understanding of the key scientific and technological problems in energy-storage/conversion systems. We are particularly interested in articles describing advanced materials for energy-storage devices (Li/Na/K/Zn/Mg ion batteries, metal-air batteries, supercapacitors) and for energy-conversion (solar cells, fuel cells). Potential topics include, but not limited to:

• Advanced electrode materials with smart nanostructures for Li/Na/K/Zn/Mg-ion batteries and supercapacitors;

• Surface-defect-rich nanostructured electrode materials for enhanced oxygen reduction and evolution in metal-air batteries and fuel cells;

• High-conductivity and stable electrolytes (liquid or solid state) for rechargeable batteries;

• Mechanistic study in advanced energy materials chemistry;

• Theoretical and experimental understanding of the relationships between structure and performance, and the structure evolution during the electrochemical reactions of the related materials.