Cerium-based Materials for Energy Conversion

Dear Colleagues,

Ceria (CeO₂) plays a key role in many catalytic processes. Due to its excellent oxygen storage capacity (OSC), ceria and ceria-based mixed oxides are widely used for industrially-relevant applications, like three-way catalysis, catalytic oxidation in exhaust converters, hydrocarbon reforming, SOFC fuel cells, SOEC electrolysis, photocatalysis, water–gas shift reactions, or thermochemical water splitting. Doping and formation of nanocomposites and solid solutions allow to enhance the excellent redox properties of ceria, and to significantly improve its high temperature- and chemical stability. Consistently, ceria-based materials are ideal materials, even for demanding high temperature catalytic reactions.

While there is no doubt that ceria, as with any catalyst, is able to reduce the energetic requirements of the catalytic process where it is applied, particularly relevant are the direct application of ceria-based materials in the energy sector.  This is the case of ceria-based materials used as electrolytes in SOFS, as co-catalyst in anodes of SOFC or in DAFC, as active components in the formulation of reforming catalysts for hydrogen production or in thermochemical applications. Applications of ceria-based materials in photo- or photoelectrochemical processes for solar fuel production are also exponentially growing.

The goal of this Special Issue aims is to bring together the actual status of research on the use of ceria-based materials for energy-related applications in an openly-accessible way, in order to allow better communication of this topic to a wider audience. Therefore, we invite you to contribute with a paper in the above-mentioned areas and allow your research to inform and influence the next generation of scientist to keep the field as vibrant as it is today.

Prof. Dr. Ulrich F. Vogt
Prof. Dr. Paolo Fornasiero
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. Inorganics 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 2200 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.