Announcements

Recently, Clarivate^TM revealed its 2022 list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM—individuals at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations.

The scientists who were selected for this year’s list of Highly Cited Researchers have published highly cited papers in the 11-year period from January 2011 to December 2021, with citation frequency in the top 1% of academic subjects and the same year of publication in the Web of Science^TM database. Based on Web of Science Citation data, 6938 researchers from across the globe who have demonstrated a disproportionate level of significant and broad influence in their chosen field or fields over the last decade have been awarded Highly Cited Researcher 2022 designations. The list is truly global, spanning 69 countries or regions and spread across a diverse range of research sciences and social sciences.

According to the statistics, 28 members of the Editorial Board of Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) have been selected for the list of Highly Cited Researchers of Clarivate in 2022. They are being recognized for their high-quality scientific research achievements and outstanding contributions to professional fields. The Materials journal office would like to sincerely congratulate all elected Editorial Board Members and hopes that they continue to have an academically productive relationship with the journal.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Federico Bella has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Section "Energy Materials" in Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944).

Prof. Dr. Federico Bella (Torino, 1987) is a full professor of chemistry at Politecnico di Torino. In the Electrochemistry Group, he leads the research activities on post-Li batteries, electrochemical nitrogen reduction and hybrid photovoltaics.

Due to his important achievements in energy chemistry, Prof. Dr. Federico Bella received both the “ENI Award” and the “Roberto Piontelli Award” from the President of the Italian Republic. In 2021, he was the recipient of the USERN Prize, awarded among 10000 candidates by a jury of previous Nobel awardees.

Prof. Dr. Federico Bella is an author of more than 100 international publications (h-index 65) and leads the ERC project SuN2rise, a €1.5 M EU grant to redesign the process of NH₃ production. He has coordinated the Early-Career Division of the Italian Chemical Society and is a member of the Editorial Board of cutting-edge journals in the field of chemistry, e.g., ChemSusChem and ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Federico Bella, who shared his vision for the Section, in addition to his views on the research area:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?
In recent years I have worked a lot for Materials in order to propose new Special Issues on emerging thematic areas and contribute to the manuscripts review process. Now, I am happy to have this opportunity to devote myself to the development of one of the most strategic Sections of this journal, i.e., “Energy Materials”.
 
2. What is your vision for the Section?
We are experiencing an energy transition that must necessarily be accompanied by an ecological transition. All of these challenges are achievable if new materials are developed and are capable of providing performance, sustainability and low costs at the same time: to this end, this Section of the Materials journal will be invaluable in collecting the best possible contributions in this field.
 
3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
Batteries, supercapacitors, electrocatalytic reactors and photovoltaic cells will be the main players in the electrification of society and industry during the next decade. And it is on these pillars that the “Energy Materials” Section will focus its efforts in order to offer high-quality research articles.
 
4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
Researchers must be able to work in the best possible conditions in order to reach important goals. To this purpose, the first requirement is to have access to the literature on one's own research topic, hence the high importance of the Open Access system emerges.
 
5. What aspects do you focus on when reviewing a manuscript?
I check these three items when I first read a newly submitted manuscript. First, the main challenge of the work must be clearly highlighted. Second, a phenomenological explanation for the measured performances has to be clearly indicated. Third, English style: authors often do not take care of this aspect, but this influences the way a research work is appreciated by a referee.
 
6. Do you have any suggestions for young researchers in this field?
There is strong competition between research groups in the field of energy materials, and this stems from the great challenges in place and the potential to be financed more easily than in other sectors. However, innovation always comes first: I suggest young people focus on a challenge where they can emerge with a new material or a new phenomenon, rather than chasing performance records on existing materials developed by others.

We wish Prof. Dr. Federico Bella every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.

1. "High-Temperature Properties and Applications of Si-Based Polymer-Derived Ceramics: A Review"
by Zhongkan Ren, Shakir Bin Mujib and Gurpreet Singh
Materials 2021, 14(3), 614; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma1403061
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/3/614

2. "Propolis and Organosilanes as Innovative Hybrid Modifiers in Wood-Based Polymer Composites"
by Majka Odalanowska, Magdalena Woźniak, Izabela Ratajczak, Daria Zielińska, Grzegorz Cofta and Sławomir Borysiak
Materials 2021, 14(2), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14020464
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/2/464

3. "Antibacterial Films Based on Polylactide with the Addition of Quercetin and Poly(Ethylene Glycol)"
by Ewa Olewnik-Kruszkowska, Magdalena Gierszewska, Agnieszka Richert, Sylwia Grabska-Zielińska, Anna Rudawska and Mohamed Bouaziz
Materials 2021, 14(7), 1643; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071643
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/7/1643

4. "Structure and Mechanical Properties of High-Density Polyethylene Composites Reinforced with Glassy Carbon"
by Piotr Olesik, Marcin Godzierz, Mateusz Kozioł, Jakub Jała, Urszula Szeluga and Jerzy Myalski
Materials 2021, 14(14), 4024; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14144024
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/14/4024

5. "Photocurable Epoxy Acrylate Coatings Preparation by Dual Cationic and Radical Photocrosslinking"
by Paulina Bednarczyk, Karolina Mozelewska, Małgorzata Nowak and Zbigniew Czech
Materials 2021, 14(15), 4150; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154150
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/15/4150

6. "Bactericidal and Fungistatic Properties of LDPE Modified with a Biocide Containing Metal Nanoparticles"
by Katarzyna Janczak, Daria Kosmalska, Daniel Kaczor, Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor, Lauren Wedderburn and Rafał Malinowski
Materials 2021, 14(15), 4228; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154228
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/15/4228

7. "New Organosilicon Composite Based on Borosiloxane and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Inhibits Bacterial Growth, but Does Not Have a Toxic Effect on the Development of Animal Eukaryotic Cells"
by Denis N. Chausov, Dmitriy E. Burmistrov, Alexander D. Kurilov, Nikolai F. Bunkin, Maxim E. Astashev, Alexander V. Simakin, Maria V. Vedunova and Sergey V. Gudkov
Materials 2021, 14(21), 6281; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14216281
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/21/6281

8. "Quantification Approaches for Fatigue Crack Resistance of Thermoplastic Tape Layered Composites with Multiple Delaminations"
by Anastasiia Khudiakova, Andreas J. Brunner, Markus Wolfahrt and Gerald Pinter
Materials 2021, 14(6), 1476; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14061476
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/6/1476

9. "Near-Infrared Light-Responsive Shell-Crosslinked Micelles of Poly(d,l-lactide)-b-poly((furfuryl methacrylate)-co-(N-acryloylmorpholine)) Prepared by Diels–Alder Reaction for the Triggered Release of Doxorubicin"
by Sonyabapu Yadav, Kalyan Ramesh, Parveen Kumar, Sung-Han Jo, Seong II Yoo, Yeong-Soon Gal, Sang-Hyug Park and Kwon Taek Lim
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7913; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247913
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/24/7913

10. "High-Impact Polystyrene Reinforced with Reduced Graphene Oxide as a Filament for Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printing"
by Marta Sieradzka, Janusz Fabia, Dorota Biniaś, Tadeusz Graczyk and Ryszard Fryczkowski
Materials 2021, 14(22), 7008; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14227008
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/22/7008

We are pleased to announce that 18 new scholars have recently been appointed Editorial Board Members (EBMs) of the journal Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944).

Further details about the Editorial Board can be found at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/editors.

We wish them every success in both their research and in the development of the journal.

Additionally, Materials is recruiting prestigious scholars from around the world to join our Editorial Board. To apply for this position, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact the Materials Editorial Office (materials@mdpi.com) with the following two files attached:

• A full academic CV;
• A short cover letter that details your interest in and enthusiasm for the position.

Materials Editorial Office

We are now recruiting the Editor-in-Chief for the Section “Soft Matter” of Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944), which was launched last year. If you are an active researcher in one of the soft matter fields and are passionate about publishing cutting-edge research, please do not hesitate to contact us at materials@mdpi.com.

Section Information:

Research in soft matter covers, among other polymers, liquid crystals, colloids, granular matter, hybrids and active matter, as well as wetting and friction phenomena, soft surfaces and interphases, gels, liquid–liquid phase transitions, and biomimetic systems. To enhance our understanding of soft matter in the context of material science, the Section includes but is not limited to contributions to:

• Theoretical, computational, and experimental studies of polymers, gels, colloids, wetting and friction phenomena, soft surfaces, and active and biomimetic systems;
• The understanding of phase transitions and phase behavior in soft matter;
• The understanding of non-equilibrium and meta-stable states in soft matter, including applications to device functions and processing;
• Application of methods of artificial intelligence and machine learning in soft matter and soft materials, processing, and devices.

You can find more information about the Section on our homepage: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/sections/soft_matter.

The Section Editor-in-Chief has the following responsibilities:

• Promoting Materials and the Section “Soft Matter” and increasing their visibility at related academic conferences;
• Scientific decisions about the journal’s scope;
• Inviting distinguished scientists to join the Editorial Board;
• Suggesting topics for Special Issues and assisting the Guest Editors in the setup of Special Issues;
• Providing support and guidance to Editorial Board Members and editorial staff where required;
• Overviewing the editorial process for individual manuscripts (mainly by taking the final decision on whether a paper can be published after peer review and revisions).
• Understanding, leading, and upholding MDPI’s peer review guidelines and ethics guidelines.

We believe that by combining our rigorous editorial policies with your expertise, we can build a high-quality journal. We thank you in advance for your interest and look forward to collaborating with you.

Materials Editorial Office

Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) has sponsored the Best Oral Presentation Award for the Congress of the Computational and Theoretical Chemistry Division of the Italian Chemical Society (VII CONGRESSO DELLA DIVISIONE DI CHIMICA TEORICA E COMPUTAZIONALE—DCTC2022). The applications were processed by the Conference Committee. We are pleased to announce the winner— Mr. Cheng Giuseppe Chen.

He is the winner of the Best Oral Presentation Award at the congress of the Computational and Theoretical Chemistry division of the Italian Chemical Society (VII CONGRESSO DELLA DIVISIONE DI CHIMICA TEORICA E COMPUTAZIONALE—DCTC2022), Modena, 21–23 September 2022. The title of the presentation was “PyMM: An open-source Python program for QM/MM Simulations based on the Perturbed Matrix Method”.

The award was delivered by the President of the Commission composed of the following people:

• Prof. Isabella Daidone (University of L'Aquila);
• Prof. Mauro Stener (University of Trento);
• Dr. Francesco Muniz-Miranda (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia).

We would like to congratulate Mr. Cheng Giuseppe Chen again for his accomplishment! If you are also interested in Materials’ awards, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/awards to apply or nominate someone else for an award.

MDPI will be attending the 14th National Surface Engineering Conference, held in Wuhan, China, from 11 to 13 November 2022. This conference aims to achieve an in-depth exchange of the latest research results in surface engineering and related disciplines and to discuss the frontier trends and future development trends of surface engineering research and engineering application. During this conference, MDPI will welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Lubricants;
• Applied Sciences;
• Surfaces;
• Polymers;
• Materials;
• QuBS;
• Coatings;
• Clean Technologies. 

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have. 

For more information about the conference, please see the following link: http://bmgc2022.aconf.cn/index.html.

Conference: Journées de Chimie Organique (JCO 2022)
Date: 2–4 November 2022
Place: Palaiseau, France
Booth Number: 2

Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) and Molecules (ISSN: 1420-3049) will be attending the Journées de Chimie Organique (JCO 2022) as exhibitors from 2 to 4 November in Palaiseau, France.

The JCO is organized every 3 years by the Organic Chemistry Division committee. It aims to be a great opportunity for the sharing of science, gathering organic chemists from all over the world.

This year, the meeting will include 13 plenary lectures and 5 invited lectures given by French and foreign researchers from both academic and industrial backgrounds, and will also highlight awardees of the DCO prizes.

Numerous oral communications are open to young researchers in various areas, such as the following:

• Catalysis;
• New methods in organic synthesis;
• Total synthesis of natural products;
• Sustainable chemistry;
• Medicinal chemistry;
• Bioorganic chemistry;
• Chemobiology;
• Supramolecular chemistry;
• Applications in materials and energy.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Materials;
• Molecules;
• Compos. Sci.;
• IJMS;
• Molbank;
• Symmetry.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you plan on attending this conference. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you might have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.jco2022.com/en/.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the Special Issue Mentor Program. This program intends to provide an opportunity for early-career scientists to enhance their editing, networking, and organizational skills and to work closely with our journal to gain more editorial experience. Early career scientists who have novel ideas for new Materials Special Issues will act as Guest Editors under the mentorship of an experienced scientist; this mentor could be a member of the Editorial Board of Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944), from other well-established research institutes or laboratories, etc.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Providing a CV, including a list of publications;
• Proposing a Special Issue title and a short introduction;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue;
• Reviewing and making decisions for submissions under the mentorship of our Editorial Board Members.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Co-editing the Special Issue with younger scholars and performing quality control of the publications in the Special Issue;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Regularly organizing video calls with young scholars and the office to discuss problems and offer suggestions for improvement for the Special Issue.

Certificates and awards:

When the Special Issue is closed, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors. The younger scholars will be prioritized as candidates for Materials Young Investigator Awards in future editions.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Materials Editorial Office (materials@mdpi.com), and we will discuss the process (mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, Materials will continually welcome all Special Issue proposals based on hot research topics as usual.

Materials Editorial Office

1. “Application of Ionic Liquids for Batteries and Supercapacitors”
by Ray, A. and Saruhan, B.
Materials 2021, 14(11), 2942; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14112942
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/11/2942

2. “Research Progress of Proton Exchange Membrane Failure and Mitigation Strategies”
by Xing, Y.; Li, H. and Avgouropoulos, G.
Materials 2021, 14(10), 2591; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102591
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/10/2591

3. “Ionic Liquid Electrolytes for Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices”
by Kim, E.; Han, J.; Ryu, S.; Choi, Y. and Yoo, J.
Materials 2021, 14(14), 4000; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14144000
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/14/4000

4. “Undoped Sr₂MMoO₆ Double Perovskite Molybdates (M = Ni, Mg, Fe) as Promising Anode Materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells”
by Skutina, L.; Filonova, E.; Medvedev, D. and Maignan, A.
Materials 2021, 14(7), 1715; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071715
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/7/1715

5. “Utilization of Red Mud as a Source for Metal Ions—A Review”
by Samal, S.
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2211; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092211
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/9/2211

6. “Investigation of Lithium Ion Diffusion of Graphite Anode by the Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique”
by Park, J. H.; Yoon, H.; Cho, Y. and Yoo, C.-Y.
Materials 2021, 14(16), 4683; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164683
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/16/4683

7. “Enhanced Structural Stability and Electrochemical Performance of LiNi_0.6Co_0.2Mn_0.2O₂ Cathode Materials by Ga Doping”
by Liu, Z.; Li, J.; Zhu, M.; Wang, L.; Kang, Y.; Dang, Z.; Yan, J. and He, X.
Materials 2021, 14(8), 1816; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14081816
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/8/1816

8. “Nanocomposites Prepared from Carbon Nanotubes and the Transition Metal Dichalcogenides WS₂ and MoS₂ via Surfactant-Assisted Dispersions as Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reactions”
by Ferreira, P.; Abreu, B.; Freire, C.; Fernandes, D. M. and Marques, E. F.
Materials 2021, 14(4), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040896
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/4/896

9. “Recent Progress in Cathode Materials for Sodium-Metal Halide Batteries”
by Zhan, X.; Li, M. M.; Weller, J. M.; Sprenkle, V. L. and Li, G.
Materials 2021, 14(12), 3260; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14123260
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/12/3260

10. “Flexible Supercapacitors Based on Graphene/Boron Nitride Nanosheets Electrodes and PVA/PEI Gel Electrolytes”
by Wang, C.; Hu, K.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, M.-R.; Wang, Z. and Li, Z.
Materials 2021, 14(8), 1955; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14081955
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/8/1955