http://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/special_issues/energy-technology-21st-materials/ Dear Colleagues, The generation, storage, and transport of energy are among the greatest challenges, if not the most formidable challenge at all, for years to come. Although there have been exciting new developments in these fields, many open questions remain. Many of these are closely connected to materials science, physics, and chemistry. As a result, International Journal of Molecular Sciences will publish a special issue on energy technology for the 21st century. The special issue will showcase the latest and most promising developments for the next centuries. Contributions (reviews and original papers) from all branches of energy technology are welcome and will be considered for publication. Andreas Taubert Guest Editor Related Special Issue Energy Technology for the 21st Century - Materials and Devices in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences Covered Subtopics and Leading Papers Metal Organic Frameworks Georgiev, I.G.; MacGillivray, L.R. Metal-mediated reactivity in the organic solid state: From self-assembled complexes to metal-organic frameworks. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2007, 36, 1239-1248. Yaghi, O.M. Metal-organic Frameworks: A tale of two entanglements. Nature Mat. 2007, 6, 92-93. Mueller, U.; Schubert, M.; Teich, F.; Puetter, H.; Schierle-Arndt, K.; Pastre, J. Metal-organic frameworks-prospective industrial applications. J. Mat. Chem. 2006, 16, 626-636 Photovoltaics Barnham, K.W. J.; Mazzer, M.; Clive, B. Resolving the energy crisis: nuclear or photovoltaics? Nature Mat. 2006, 5, 161-164. Peter, Laurence M. Dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phy. 2007, 9, 2630-2642. Guenes, Serap; Neugebauer, Helmut; Sariciftci, Niyazi Serdar. Conjugated Polymer-Based Organic Solar Cells. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 1324-1338. Grimes, C.A. Synthesis and application of highly ordered arrays of TiO2 nanotubes. J. Mat. Chem. 2007, 17, 1451-1457. Peter, L.M. Characterization and Modeling of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. J. Phys. Chem. C 2007, 111, 6601-6612. Walzer, K.; Maennig, B.; Pfeiffer, M.; Leo, K. Highly Efficient Organic Devices Based on Electrically Doped Transport Layers. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 1233-1271. Fuel Cells Bock, T.; Moehwald, H.; Muelhaupt, R. Arylphosphonic acid-functionalized polyelectrolytes as fuel cell membrane material. Macromol. Chem. Phys. 2007, 208, 1324-1340. Feldheim, D.L. The New Face of Catalysis. Science 2007, 316, 699-700. Gottesfeld, S. Polymer electrolyte and direct methanol fuel cells. Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry 2007, 5, 544-661. Satyapal, S.; Petrovic, J.; Thomas, G. Gassing up with hydrogen. Scientific American 2007, 296, 80-87. Steininger, H.; Schuster, M.; Kreuer, K. D.; Kaltbeitzel, A.; Bingoel, B.; Meyer, W. H.; Schauff, S.; Brunklaus, G.; Maier, J.; Spiess, H.W. Intermediate temperature proton conductors for PEM fuel cells based on phosphonic acid as protogenic group: A progress report. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2007, I, 1764-1773. Hydrogen Storage Felderhoff, M.;.Weidenthaler, C.; von Helmolt, R.; Eberle, U. Hydrogen storage: the remaining scientific and technological challenges. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2007, 9, 2643-2653. Biofuels Himmel, M.E.; Ding, S.Y.; Johnson, D.K.; Adney, W.S.; Nimlos, M.R.; Brady, J.W.; Foust, T.D. Biomass Recalcitrance: Engineering Plants and Enzymes for Biofuels Production. Science 2007, 315, 804-807. Stephanopoulos, G. Challenges in Engineering Microbes for Biofuels Production. Science 2007, 315, 801-804. Hahn-Haegerdal, B.; Galbe, M.; Gorwa-Grauslund, M. F.; Liden, G.; Zacchi,G. Bio-ethanol - the fuel of tomorrow from the residues of today. Trends Biotechn. 2006, 24, 549-556. Petrus, L.; Noordermeer, M.A. Biomass to biofuels, a chemical perspective. Green Chemistry 2006, 8, 861-867. Clark, J.H.; Budarin, V.; Deswarte, F.E.I.; Hardy, J. J.E.; Kerton, F.M.; Hunt, A.J.; Luque, R.; Macquarrie, D.J.; Milkowski, K.; Rodriguez, A.; Samuel, O.; Tavener, S.J.; White, R.J.; Wilson, A.J. Green chemistry and the biorefinery: a partnership for a sustainable future. Green Chemistry 2006, 8, 853-860. Sticklen, M. Plant genetic engineering to improve biomass characteristics for biofuels. Curr. Opin. Biotechn. 2006, 17, 315-319. Submission All papers should be submitted to materials@mdpi.com. To be published continuously until the deadline and papers will be listed together at the special issue website. Submitted papers should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed quarterly journal published by MDPI. Review manuscripts: Before writing their manuscripts, potential authors of review articles should forward the title and a short abstract to materials@mdpi.com. We will then provide feedback on the suitability of the topic. Article Processing Charges (APC) Article Processing Charges (APC) will be waived for well prepared manuscripts of invited papers. For the first two volumes of this new journal the APC are of 300 CHF (or 550 CHF per paper for those papers that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections). http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/4/2296/ Knowledge about the ground-state crystal structure is a prerequisite for the rational understanding of solid-state properties of new materials. To act as an efficient energy carrier, hydrogen should be absorbed and desorbed in materials easily and in high quantities. Owing to the complexity in structural arrangements and difficulties involved in establishing hydrogen positions by x-ray diffraction methods, the structural information of hydrides are very limited compared to other classes of materials (like oxides, intermetallics, etc.). This can be overcome by conducting computational simulations combined with selected experimental study which can save environment, money, and man power. The predicting capability of first-principles density functional theory (DFT) is already well recognized and in many cases structural and thermodynamic properties of single/multi component system are predicted. This review will focus on possible new classes of materials those have high hydrogen content, demonstrate the ability of DFT to predict crystal structure, and search for potential meta-stable phases. Stabilization of such meta-stable phases is also discussed. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/4/2296/ Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 CET Materials 2009-12-14 2 4 Review 2296 2318 1996-1944 Predicting New Materials for Hydrogen Storage Application 2009-12-14 doi: 10.3390/ma2042296 Ponniah Vajeeston Ponniah Ravindran Helmer Fjellvåg http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/4/1697/ This review summarizes the current state of polymer composites used as dielectric materials for energy storage. The particular focus is on materials: polymers serving as the matrix, inorganic fillers used to increase the effective dielectric constant, and various recent investigations of functionalization of metal oxide fillers to improve compatibility with polymers. We review the recent literature focused on the dielectric characterization of composites, specifically the measurement of dielectric permittivity and breakdown field strength. Special attention is given to the analysis of the energy density of polymer composite materials and how the functionalization of the inorganic filler affects the energy density of polymer composite dielectric materials. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/4/1697/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 CET Materials 2009-10-29 2 4 Review 1697 1733 1996-1944 Polymer Composite and Nanocomposite Dielectric Materials for Pulse Power Energy Storage 2009-10-29 doi: 10.3390/ma2041697 Peter Barber Shiva Balasubramanian Yogesh Anguchamy Shushan Gong Arief Wibowo Hongsheng Gao Harry J. Ploehn Hans-Conrad Zur Loye http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/3/857/ An electrochemically-active high-temperature form of LiCoO2 (HT-LiCoO2)is prepared by thermally decomposing its constituent metal-nitrates at 700 ºC. The synthetic conditions have been optimized to achieve improved performance with the HT-LiCoO2cathode in Li-ion batteries. For this purpose, the synthesized materials have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling. Cathodes comprising HT-LiCoO2 exhibit a specific capacity of 140 mAhg-1 with good capacity-retention over several charge-discharge cycles in the voltage range between 3.5 V and 4.2 V, and can sustain improved rate capability in contrast to a cathode constituting LiCoO2 prepared by conventional ceramic method. The nitrate-melt-decomposition method is also found effective for synthesizing Mg-/Al- doped HT-LiCoO2; these also are investigated as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/3/857/ Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 CEST Materials 2009-07-27 2 3 Article 857 868 1996-1944 Nitrate-Melt Synthesized HT-LiCoO2 as a Superior Cathode-Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries 2009-07-27 doi: 10.3390/ma2030857 Mariyappan Sathiya Annigere S. Prakash Kannadka Ramesha Ashok K. Shukla http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/3/734/ A study on the effects of controlling and operating parameters for a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell on the dynamic phenomena during the loading-up process is presented. The effect of the four parameters of load-up amplitudes and rates, operating pressures and current levels on gas supply or even starvation in the flow field is analyzed based accordingly on the transient characteristics of current output and voltage. Experiments are carried out in a single fuel cell with an active area of 285 cm2. The results show that increasing the loading-up amplitude can inevitably increase the possibility of gas starvation in channels when a constant flow rate has been set for the cathode; With a higher operating pressure, the dynamic performance will be improved and gas starvations can be relieved. The transient gas supply in the flow channel during two loading-up mode has also been discussed. The experimental results will be helpful for optimizing the control and operation strategies for PEM fuel cells in vehicles. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/2/3/734/ Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 CEST Materials 2009-07-07 2 3 Article 734 748 1996-1944 Dynamic Response during PEM Fuel Cell Loading-up 2009-07-07 doi: 10.3390/ma2030734 Pucheng Pei Xing Yuan Jun Gou Pengcheng Li