Recent Advances in Electrode Materials for Alkali-Metal Ion Batteries

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable development of high-performance, environmentally friendly and cost-effective electrochemical energy storage systems has been recognized as an important avenue towards the minimization of the dependence on fossil fuels, the successful usage of energy harvested from intermittent renewable sources, and the addressing of the concerns associated with increasing environmental pollution (viz., by facilitating the widespread usage of electric vehicles). Among the advanced electrochemical energy storage systems that may be suitable for the above applications, the Li-ion battery has been at the forefront, and is now considered to be a fairly matured technology. Nevertheless, in order to meet the ever-increasing demand and to ensure adequate safety, further progress with the Li-ion battery system is needed. Moving forward, in terms of sustainability, the upcoming Na-ion/K-ion/Mg-ion battery system has certain advantages over its Li-ion counterpart due to the widespread availability of Na/K/Mg-precursors, the possibility of using an Al current collector at the anode side, and the facilitation of ‘non-dependence’ on Co sources. Furthermore, solid-state Li-based or Na-based battery systems are being looked into in the context of the significant improvement of safety aspects.

In a nutshell, the major factors influencing the behavior/performance of advanced alkali metal-ion battery systems (Li-ion, Na-ion, K-ion, solid-state, etc.), are, undoubtedly, the interplay between materials and electrochemical aspects. In more specific terms, the behavior/performance is dictated by the material type/characteristics of the electrodes, and of the solid electrolytes in the case of solid-state systems. The material aspects include (but are not limited to) composition, structural features (at various levels), phase, phase/structural stability in the air, electronic properties, ionic conductivity, material–electrochemical interactions, phase/structural stability under relevant electrochemical conditions, phase/structural transformations during operation, stress developments, dimension, interfaces, etc. The electrochemical aspects primarily include all the phenomena that occur at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, which, in turn, are influenced by the electrochemical conditions (viz., potential, polarization, charge transfer kinetics, mass transport kinetics, electrochemical impedance, etc.), as well as the characteristics of the electrode and electrolyte materials. These aspects form the focus of this Special Issue, with potential topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Alkali metal-ion battery systems, e.g., Li-ion, Na-ion, Ki-ion, and Mg-ion batteries;
• Solid-state battery systems;
• Electrode materials;
• Alkali and alkali earth metal-based anodes;
• Structural changes in electrode materials during electrochemical cycling;
• Material–electrochemical interactions;
• Air/water stability of electrode materials;
• Cell fabrication and optimization;
• Recycling materials/components from used electrodes of Li-ion cells.

Prof. Dr. Amartya Mukhopadhyay
Guest Editor

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. Batteries 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 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.

• alkali metal-ion battery systems, e.g., Li-ion, Na-ion, Ki-ion, and Mg-ion batteries
• solid-state battery systems
• electrode materials
• alkali and alkali earth metal-based anodes
• structural changes in electrode materials during electrochemical cycling
• material–electrochemical interactions
• air/water stability of electrode materials
• cell fabrication and optimization
• recycling materials/components from used electrodes of Li-ion cells