Announcements

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

Peer Review Week began 19 September 2022 under the theme of “Research Integrity: Creating and Supporting Trust in Research”. Through various blog articles, podcast, and webinar, we discussed this crucial subject throughout the week, celebrating the essential role peer review plays in maintaining research quality.

To begin, we held a Webinar on the topic. Professor Peter W. Choate and Dr. Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi joined Dr. Ioana Craciun, one of MDPI’s scientific officers, for an in-depth discussion.

We invite you to view the event recording:

During the week, the MDPI Blog in a series articles highlighted how good Peer Review safeguards research integrity. The following topics were covered:

• Peer Review Week 2022
• Research Integrity
• What We’ve Learned About Peer Review Reports
• 4 Steps to the Perfect Peer Review Report
• How to Write the Perfect Peer Review Report: An Interview
• Inviting Great Peer Reviewers

In a new edition of Insight Faster, an MDPI podcast, we were delighted to talk to the co-chairs of the Peer Review Week committee, Jayashree Rajagopalan (Senior Manager of Global Community Engagement for CACTUS) and Danielle Padula (Head of Marketing and Community Development at Scholastica) to get their take on this year’s event and its related topics.

You can find the Podcast here.

We hope you enjoy the contents!

The Editor’s Choice Articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles that have recently been published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to authors, or important in this field. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

We are pleased to present the Q3 2022 Editor’s Choice Articles. We hope that these papers can help and provide a reference for your academic research.

“An Overview of Some Nonpiezoelectric Properties of BaTiO₃ Ceramics Doped by Eu Ions”
by Magdalena Krupska-Klimczak et al.
Materials 2022, 15(15), 5363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15155363
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/15/5363

“Evaluation of Solidified Wastewater Treatment Sludge as a Potential SCM in Pervious Concrete Pavements”
by Ognjen Govedarica et al.
Materials 2022, 15(14), 4919; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144919
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/14/4919

“Synthesis and Processing Parameter Optimization of Nano-Belite via One-Step Combustion Method”
by Hongfang Sun et al.
Materials 2022, 15(14), 4913; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144913
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/14/4913

“The Effect of Bi₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃ Impurity Phases in BiFeO₃ Perovskite Materials on Some Electrical Properties in the Low-Frequency Field”
by Cristian Casut et al.
Materials 2022, 15(14), 4764; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144764
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/14/4764

“Concrete/Glass Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) Synergies in Ternary Eco-Cement-Paste Mineralogy”
by Raquel Vigil de la Villa Mencía et al.
Materials 2022, 15(13), 4661; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134661
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/13/4661

“Pressure-Induced Superconductivity of the Quasi-One-Dimensional Organic Conductor (TMTTF)₂TaF₆”
by Miho Itoi et al.
Materials 2022, 15(13), 4638; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134638
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/13/4638

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the research groups that submitted to Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944). We would appreciate it if you would circulate this document among your colleagues and network. Furthermore, the following opportunities for collaboration may be of interest:

• Submitting a manuscript:

Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) is an open access journal that publishes spotlights, reviews, original research contributions, and short communications. Papers may be submitted via the following link: https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload/8865a3461895587443b8af1c017a16b7?form%5Bjournal_id%5D=14.

• Launching a Special Issue:

You have the opportunity to propose hot topics and edit a Special Issue together with experts in the field: https://www.mdpi.com/journalproposal/sendproposalspecialissue/materials.

• Joining the Editorial Board:

If you are an active researcher in the field of materials science and engineering and are interested in joining the Editorial Board, please do not hesitate to get in touch (materials@mdpi.com).

Materials Editorial Office

1. “Functional Importance of Surface Texture Parameters”
by Pawlus, P.; Reizer, R. and Wieczorowski M.
Materials 2021, 14(18), 5326; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185326
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/18/5326

2. “Methodology for the Quality Control Process of Additive Manufacturing Products Made of Polymer Materials”
by Budzik, G.; Woźniak, J.; Paszkiewicz, A.; Przeszłowski, Ł.; Dziubek, T. and Dębski, M.
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2202; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092202
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/9/2202

3. “Tailoring Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Additively-Manufactured Ti6Al4V Using Post Processing”
by Ganor, Y. I.; Tiferet, E.; Vogel, S. C.; Brown, D. W.; Chonin, M.; Pesach, A.; Hajaj, A.; Garkun, A.; Samuha, S.; Shneck, R. Z. and Yeheskel, O.
Materials 2021, 14(3), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030658
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/3/658

4. “Peening Techniques for Surface Modification: Processes, Properties, and Applications”
by John, M.; Kalvala, P. R.; Misra, M. and Menezes, P. L.
Materials 2021, 14(14), 3841; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14143841
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/14/3841

5. “In Situ Monitoring of Additive Manufacturing Using Digital Image Correlation: A Review”
by Cunha, F. G.; Santos, T. G. and Xavier, J.
Materials 2021, 14(6), 1511; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14061511
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/6/1511

6. “Recent Attempts in the Design of Efficient PVC Plasticizers with Reduced Migration”
by Czogała, J.; Pankalla, E. and Turczyn, R.
Materials 2021, 14(4), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040844
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/4/844

7. “Wear Resistance Improvement of Cemented Tungsten Carbide Deep-Hole Drills after Ion Implantation”
by Morozow, D.; Barlak, M.; Werner, Z.; Pisarek, M.; Konarski, P.; Zagórski, J.; Rucki, M.; Chałko, L.; Łagodziński, M.; Narojczyk, J.; Krzysiak, Z. and Caban, J.
Materials 2021, 14(2), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14020239
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/2/239

8. “Multiscale Analysis of Surface Texture Quality of Models Manufactured by Laser Powder-Bed Fusion Technology and Machining from 316L Steel”
by Gogolewski, D.; Bartkowiak, T.; Kozior, T. and Zmarzły, P.
Materials 2021, 14(11), 2794; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14112794
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/11/2794

9. “Tribological Properties of 2D Materials and Composites—A Review of Recent Advances”
by Manu, B. R.; Gupta, A. and Jayatissa, A. H.
Materials 2021, 14(7), 1630; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071630
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/7/1630

10. “Reduction of Influence of the High-Frequency Noise on the Results of Surface Topography Measurements”
by Podulka, P.
Materials 2021, 14(2), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14020333
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/2/333