Advanced Thin Film Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage
A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 140
Special Issue Editors
Interests: low-dimentional thermoelectrics; perovskite solar cells; density functional theory; material data mining; machine learning
2. International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: film epitaxy; topological thermoelectrics; electronic band manipulation; electron/phonon transport
2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Interests: interface engineering for solid-state batteries; all-solid-state batteries; solid-state electrolytes; low-pressure operation of solid-state batteries; 3D printing solid-state batteries
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The inexorable march of technology continually demands materials that can push the boundaries of energy harvesting, conversion, and storage, which is vital for sustainable development. Within this arena, thin-film materials have emerged as a cornerstone for the next generation of energy devices, with significant applications in thermoelectrics (TEs), photovoltaics (PVs), and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Thin-film TEs are recently emerging as a solution for self-powered portable electronics, wearable technologies, and micro-devices. Concurrently, inorganic or hybrid thin-film PVs, especially perovskite solar cells, show comparable power conversion efficiency with traditional silicon cells, which promises for the future PV market. In the realm of energy storage, the application of thin film coating at the interface of the electrolyte/electrode for all-solid-state LIBs significantly enhance the energy density and safety. In general, the remarkable versatility of thin film materials enables the integration of complex functionalities in a compact form while offering avenues for cost-effective and scalable manufacturing. However, there remains an overarching challenge for these advanced thin-film materials, i.e. to improve their functional stability, efficiency, and integration for enhanced performance.
This Special Issue invites research that bridges the gap between current limitations and future possibilities for thin-film materials in energy applications. It will spotlight recent breakthroughs in the material discovery, fabrication processes, material stability, and integration techniques that facilitate higher efficiency and safer energy solutions. We encourage submissions that delve into, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Synthesis of new TE thin-film materials, innovative fabrication methodologies, improvements in TE properties, and the conceptualization of novel thin-film TE devices.
- Discovery and theoretical modeling of novel low-dimensional TE materials, in-depth analyses of unique low-dimensional TE transport processes, simulations addressing the surface/interface challenges, and exploring new architectures for low-dimensional TE materials.
- Addressing thin-film PVs’ phase stability, improving absorber quality, enhancing interface properties with charge transport layers, and the upscaling of manufacturing processes from lab bench to commercial scale.
- Strategies for increasing energy density and rate performance through thin-film solid-state electrolytes, with a focus on stability, uniformity, and practical engineering aspects, especially concerning the interfaces between electrolytes and electrode.
We welcome contributions that offer new insights into the modeling, synthesis, characterization, and application of above thin-film materials that are propelling us towards an energy-efficient future.
Dr. Zhi Li
Guest Editor
Dr. Sen Xie
Dr. Jiaxu Zhang
Guest Editor Assistants
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.
Keywords
- energy harvesting, conversion, and storage
- thin-film materials
- low-dimensional materials
- thermoelectrics
- photovoltaics
- lithium-ion batteries
- solid-state electrolytes
