Advanced Materials and Degradation Mechanisms in Beyond-Lithium-Ion Batteries

Dear Colleagues,

While Li-ion batteries have dominated the market for decades, they face challenges such as resource scarcity, environmental impact, safety concerns, and the need for better performance in emerging applications such as electric vehicles and grid storage. To overcome these challenges, researchers are exploring post-Li-ion batteries, such as Na-ion batteries, lithium metal batteries, metal–air batteries, solid-state batteries, etc., to achieve higher energy density, lower cost, improved safety profiles and greater sustainability.

The advancement of cutting-edge materials and a thorough understanding of degradation mechanisms are pivotal for driving these systems toward practical applications. To uncover the fundamental relationships governing battery degradation, systematic in situ and operando measurements are needed to capture real-time changes in structure, chemistry, and interfaces during operation. These insights are essential for bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial implementation.

Therefore, this Special Issue highlights recent progress in advanced materials, along with the development of effective in situ and operando characterisation techniques for mechanism investigations.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Material development for post-lithium-ion batteries;
• Electrode architecture and morphological optimisation;
• Synthesis techniques and the theoretical modelling of materials;
• The in situ and operando characterisation of battery materials;
• Non-invasive optical and acoustic methods in battery research;
• Advanced sensor technologies for battery monitoring and diagnostics;
• Scalability and manufacturing innovations for advanced batteries.

Dr. Yi Gong
Dr. Huanxin Li
Dr. Wenjia Du
Guest Editors

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• post-lithium-ion batteries
• advanced materials
• operando characterisation
• sensors
• non-invasive monitoring