Challenges and Future Trends of Lithium-Ion Battery

Dear Colleagues,

Energy is an indispensable key component of life. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have received a great deal of attention as they enable the development of versatile electronic devices, microgrids, and electric vehicles. This Sustainability Special Issue aims to highlight the collection of novel works on LIBs which significantly improve safety, sustainability, and long-term cycling stability with high energy density and low cost. It will bring an in-depth fundamental understanding of the cell design principle for the practical applications of LIBs and beyond. The facile and cost-effective material manufacturing and synthesis process, nanofabrication, and the surface functionalization of anode/cathode materials will be included. Additionally, the solid electrolyte formation mechanism, the degradation of battery components such as anode/cathode electrodes, electrolytes, separators during charge/discharge, and the corresponding advanced structural and electrochemical characterization tools, and modeling/simulation techniques to understand will be included. The focus will also be on generating sufficient and novel research results on the current issues and future trends in next-generation lithium metal batteries and solid-state batteries. As a result, this issue is expected to provide detailed information and an in-depth understanding of the working principle, challenges, and solutions in LIBs, manufacturing/modification of battery components to develop high-energy-density LIBs, and beyond. 

This issue welcomes review articles, perspective articles, and original research articles that can generate significant interest among the research community to understand the cell design principle and various mechanisms during battery operation for the practical application of LIBs and beyond.

In addition to one or more aspects of the following topics, some other interesting topics related to the scope and purpose of this Special Issue will be considered:

• Advanced nano/micromaterials or structures of electrodes(cathode/anode) in lithium-ion batteries;
• Advanced in situ/operando and postmortem characterization techniques for sustainable LIBs;
• Fundamental understanding and role of the solid electrolyte interphase or cathode electrolyte interphase in LIBs;
• Challenges and perspective on next-generation lithium metal batteries;
• Solid-state lithium metal batteries;
• Practical pathways toward the sustainability of LIBs.

Dr. Rajesh Pathak
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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.