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Batteries
Special Issues
Multiscale Co-Design of Electrode Architectures and Electrolytes
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Multiscale Co-Design of Electrode Architectures and Electrolytes

A special issue of Batteries (ISSN 2313-0105). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrolyte and Interfacial Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 2377

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jia Dong Shen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Interests: lithium metal batteries; solid-state electrolytes; first-principles calculations; machine-learning
Dr. Zhaoyu Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Storage Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Interests: lithium-ion batteries; sodium-ion batteries; high-voltage electrolyte; interphase engineering
Dr. Fangkun Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry & Environment, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming 650504, China
Interests: Li-ion batteries; Layered oxide cathodes; Structure modulation; Mechanical failure

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 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. 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

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1771 KB  
Article
Facile Synthesis of High Purity Li2S by Titanothermic Reduction
by Xinyi Wang, Sha Li, Lingwen Zhang, Jun Li, Dan Guo, Qizhao Hu, Gang Tang and Hongxu Li
Batteries 2026, 12(4), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12040128 - 7 Apr 2026
Viewed by 431
Abstract
Lithium sulfide (Li2S) is indispensable for lithium–sulfur batteries and sulfide solid-state batteries. However, its high preparation cost and strict process conditions represent core bottlenecks restricting large-scale commercial application. To address this issue, a novel process featuring a low-cost, high-safety, and controllable [...] Read more.
Lithium sulfide (Li2S) is indispensable for lithium–sulfur batteries and sulfide solid-state batteries. However, its high preparation cost and strict process conditions represent core bottlenecks restricting large-scale commercial application. To address this issue, a novel process featuring a low-cost, high-safety, and controllable reaction is proposed in this work. Compared with the commercial H2S-based route for Li2S production, the developed process presents distinct advantages, including accessible raw materials, high safety, low overall cost, and low environmental load. Using Li2SO4·H2O as the raw material and Ti as the reducing agent, high-purity T-Li2S (>99.9%) is successfully synthesized via solid-state sintering and purification, yielding a higher purity level than that of commercial C-Li2S (>99.7%). Furthermore, sulfide all-solid-state electrolytes T-Li5.3PS4.3ClBr0.7 and C-Li5.3PS4.3ClBr0.7 are prepared using the as-obtained T-Li2S and commercial C-Li2S as precursors, respectively. The room-temperature Li-ion conductivities are determined to be 14.5 mS/cm and 11.0 mS/cm, revealing faster ion migration and efficient ion transport in T-Li5.3PS4.3ClBr0.7 without high-temperature assistance, which fully validates the feasibility of the proposed strategy. Overall, this work provides a new technical route for the preparation of high-purity Li2S, showing promising application prospects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Co-Design of Electrode Architectures and Electrolytes)
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13 pages, 10857 KB  
Article
Interfacial Engineering of Fe2VO4 Nanoparticles on MXene Nanosheets for Ultra-Stable and Efficient Sodium Storage
by Yanteng Duan, Shaonan Qiu, Leichao Meng, Shuzhen Cui, Qianghong Wu, Yongfu Cui, Yali Wang, Li Zhao and Yingjie Zhao
Batteries 2026, 12(4), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12040117 - 27 Mar 2026
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Owing to its high theoretical sodium-storage capacity of approximately 1000 mAh g−1 and cost-efficient characteristics, Fe2VO4 has emerged as a highly attractive anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). In this work, MXene-incorporated Fe2VO4 composites were successfully [...] Read more.
Owing to its high theoretical sodium-storage capacity of approximately 1000 mAh g−1 and cost-efficient characteristics, Fe2VO4 has emerged as a highly attractive anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). In this work, MXene-incorporated Fe2VO4 composites were successfully synthesized. Comprehensive electrochemical characterization demonstrates that MXene incorporation significantly enhances the electronic conductivity and sodium-ion diffusion kinetics of Fe2VO4, while effectively mitigating volume expansion during cycling. The synthetic substantially improves its cycling stability and rate capability. When the MXene loading ratio is optimized at 5 wt%, the composite exhibits outstanding cyclic durability, with a remarkable reversible specific capacity of 323.3 mAh g−1 maintained after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g−1. Furthermore, the composite demonstrates outstanding rate performance, with a specific capacity of 164.5 mAh g−1 achieved at a current density of 2 A g−1. The synergistic integration of Fe2VO4 and MXene not only constructs a three-dimensional electrically conductive framework for efficient charge transport but also reinforces strong structural stability against cycling-induced degradation. This work proposes a versatile engineering strategy that can be adapted for other conversion-type electrode materials in the context of advanced energy storage technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Co-Design of Electrode Architectures and Electrolytes)
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19 pages, 15785 KB  
Article
Cu Doping-Enabled Control of Grain Boundary Fusion and Particle Size in Single-Crystal LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 Cathode Materials
by Lang Xu, Zhipeng Wang, Ya Li, Jie Ding, Xiang Li, Ziqian Wang, Mingjiao Wu, Qiujian Zhang, Mingwu Xiang, Wei Bai, Fangkun Li and Yongshun Liang
Batteries 2025, 11(11), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries11110418 - 13 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 996
Abstract
Copper (Cu) doping is recognized as an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical properties of LiNi1−x−yCoxMnyO2 (NCM) cathode materials. However, the influence of Cu2+ doping on particle size and grain boundary fusion remains insufficiently explored. [...] Read more.
Copper (Cu) doping is recognized as an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical properties of LiNi1−x−yCoxMnyO2 (NCM) cathode materials. However, the influence of Cu2+ doping on particle size and grain boundary fusion remains insufficiently explored. A simple microwave-assisted solution combustion synthesis method was used to introduce Cu2+ into LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523), aiming to regulate particle size and grain boundary fusion. The results demonstrate that increasing the Cu2+ doping content promotes particle growth, while an appropriate doping level reduces the degree of grain boundary fusion and cation mixing. Benefiting from these structural improvements, the optimized LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.29Cu0.01O2 (Cu–1) cathode exhibits significantly enhanced electrochemical performance, delivering a discharge capacity of 128.6 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C, which is 32 mAh g−1 higher than value of the undoped sample (96.6 mAh g−1). These findings underscore that tailored Cu2+ doping can effectively optimize the microstructure of NCM523, leading to superior cycling stability, and provide new insights into the design of high-performance NCM cathodes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Co-Design of Electrode Architectures and Electrolytes)
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