Environmentally Friendly Energy Conversion Materials and Thin Films

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, thin films and coatings have emerged as crucial components across various industries, showcasing a notable trend towards multifunctionality and sustainability. With advancements in nanotechnology and material science, coating technologies in general and especially for thin films are becoming increasingly tailored to meet specific demands, offering enhanced functionalities while minimizing resource consumption. Because of the growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly energy conversion applications such as fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and thermoelectric generators, the research and development of cost-effective and efficient materials is critical for the long-term development of energy and power systems. Thin film materials used in energy conversion offer opportunities to improve the performance and efficiency of these devices.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to highlight research on multidisciplinary material synthesis, processing, development and application of coating technologies, and characterization of functional thin films consisting of metal oxides, organic/inorganic hybrids, organic/inorganic semiconductors, and their applications in diverse devices, including the following:

• Coating technologies;
• Highly efficient energy conversion systems;
• Photovoltaics;
• Thermoelectrics;
• Piezoelectric thin films;
• Solar cells;
• Optoelectronic devices;
• Fuel cells;
• Batteries;
• Supercapacitors;
• Thin film photocatalysis.

Prof. Dr. Christos Argirusis
Dr. Pavlos K. Pandis
Dr. Georgia Sourkouni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• photovoltaics
• fuel cells
• thermoelectrics
• piezoelectric thin films
• solar cells
• optoelectronic devices
• thin-film preparation methods
• batteries
• supercapacitors
• coating technologies