Multiscale Co-Design of Electrode Architectures and Electrolytes
A special issue of Batteries (ISSN 2313-0105).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 100
Special Issue Editors
Interests: lithium metal batteries; solid-state electrolytes; first-principles calculations; machine-learning
Interests: lithium-ion batteries; sodium-ion batteries; high-voltage electrolyte; interphase engineering
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rapid electrification across transportation, aviation, and grid storage demands step changes in energy density, rate capability, and durability, and meeting these targets requires moving beyond siloed materials discovery to explicitly co‑designed particle-scale to device-scale electrode architectures with molecularly engineered electrolytes (solvents, salts, additives, gels, polymers, and solids). Such integration can unlock high areal loading at low tortuosity, engineer stable SEI/CEI (solid–/cathode–electrolyte interphases), and remain compatible with scalable manufacturing (dry-coating, high‑solids slurries, calendering, and templating/printing).
We welcome experimental, computational, and data‑driven studies that tightly connect structure and processing to device‑level performance under manufacturing‑relevant conditions. Reports should include quantitative, comparable metrics such as areal capacity/loading, electrode thickness and density, porosity/tap density/tortuosity, N/P ratio, electrolyte‑to‑capacity (E/C) ratio, stack pressure (where relevant), test temperature and voltage window, and full‑cell formats (pouch/stack demonstrations encouraged). Capacitor studies are welcome with appropriate device metrics (e.g., ESR and power density).
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Particle‑level architectures (core–shell/yolk–shell/hollow; hierarchical porosity; defect/doping; and heterostructures).
- Interphase and coating engineering (conformal coatings; SEI/CEI chemistry, mechanics, and transport; and protective layers for metal anodes and high‑voltage cathodes).
- Texture/orientation and graded designs (crystallographic texture, axial/radial gradients in composition/porosity, and graded binders/additives).
- Low‑tortuosity thick electrodes (aligned channels, templated pathways, and directional drying/ice‑templating).
- Advanced current collectors and 3D scaffolds (porous/patterned foils, conductive frameworks, and lightweight lattices).
- Manufacturing‑compatible routes (dry‑coating, high‑solids rheology and mixing, calendering, templating/printing, roll‑to‑roll integration, and process–structure–property links).
- Co‑optimization via electrolyte design (liquid/gel/polymer/solid chemistries, ionomer binders, tailored transference numbers, and transport matched to architecture).
- Characterization and metrology (operando/4D imaging, quantitative tortuosity/porosity/density, interphase chemistry and mechanics, and failure diagnostics).
- Computation and data‑driven co‑design (DFT/AIMD, descriptor discovery, multiscale multiphysics, physics‑informed ML, inverse design and active learning, and closed‑loop automation).
Dr. Jia Dong Shen
Dr. Zhaoyu Sun
Dr. Fangkun Li
Guest Editors
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.
Keywords
- architected electrodes
- molecularly designed electrolytes
- multiscale co-design
- low-tortuosity thick electrodes
- interphase engineering (SEI/CEI)
- machine learning & and inverse design
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
