Polymer-Based Batteries

Dear Colleagues,

Recent developments in secondary battery technology are directed towards the replacement of liquid electrolyte with a polymer membrane capable of concurrently serving as the separator and an electrolyte, in order to achieve the captivating concept of safe, high energy and durable batteries having a full-plastic structure. Polymer electrolytes represent the ultimate in terms of desirable properties of batteries because they can offer an all-solid-state construction, a wide variety of shape and size, lightweight, low cost of fabrication and a higher energy density as the cell constituents are likely to be held tightly. No corrosive or explosive liquids can leak out, and internal short-circuits are less likely, hence enhanced safety is guaranteed. The comprehensive combination of all these attractive features make polymer batteries the power sources of choice for the next generation of lightweight and wearable smart energy devices; nonetheless, being also suitable for large-scale energy storage from renewables and/or electric transportation where energy density or specific power is of prime importance.

In recent years, polymer-based batteries have become a hot topic and this Special Issue attempts to provide a critical overview of the state-of-the-art technologies of polymer (gel, quasi-solid, solid, composite) electrolyte membranes for energy storage devices (including lithium metal to lithium-ion batteries and post-lithium systems, such as lithium-sulphur, lithium-oxygen, sodium, aluminium and magnesium batteries), their technological challenges, innovative designs and future perspectives. A collection of comprehensive reviews from leading experts and investigation updates from established and upcoming research groups in the scientific community is thus presented.

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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.

• Polymer electrolytes
• Nano-/Bio-composite electrolytes
• Gel-polymer electrolytes
• Biosourced polymers/additives
• Lithium-based batteries
• Post-lithium batteries
• Organic batteries
• Interfacial studies
• Ionic conduction and transport phenomena
• Electrochemical (in-situ) studies

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