MDPI is pleased to announce the publication of the inaugural issues of eight new Open Access journals. We wish to thank all the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members involved who will be shaping the future course of these brand-new journals.

The new titles presented below were set up as a result of our market research, which showed there is a need for Gold Open Access journals in each of these areas of research. At MDPI, the same trusted, fast, and rigorous peer-review process is employed across journals and disciplines.

MDPI is committed to promoting diverse open science exchanges and provides support to academic organizations and institutions willing to join the open access publishing model.

If you are interested in jointly creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application here, and please do not hesitate to contact us ([email protected]) for further details.

1. “Membrane Technologies in Wastewater Treatment: A Review”
by Elorm Obotey Ezugbe et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(5), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10050089
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/5/89

2. “New Perspectives on Fuel Cell Technology: A Brief Review”
by Norazlianie Sazali et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(5), 99; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10050099
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/5/99

3. “Electrodialysis Applications in Wastewater Treatment for Environmental Protection and Resources Recovery: A Systematic Review on Progress and Perspectives”
by Luigi Gurreri et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(7), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10070146
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/7/146

4. “A Review on the Mechanism, Impacts and Control Methods of Membrane Fouling in MBR System”
by Xianjun Du et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10020024
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/2/24

5. “Polymyxins and Bacterial Membranes: A Review of Antibacterial Activity and Mechanisms of Resistance”
by Carole Ayoub Moubareck
Membranes 2020, 10(8), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10080181
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/8/181

6. “Solid-Contact Ion-Selective Electrodes: Response Mechanisms, Transducer Materials and Wearable Sensors”
by Yan Lyu et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(6), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10060128
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/6/128

7. “Macropinocytosis in Different Cell Types: Similarities and Differences”
by Xiao Peng Lin et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(8), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10080177
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/8/177

8. “Electrodialytic Processes: Market Overview, Membrane Phenomena, Recent Developments and Sustainable Strategies”
by Laurent Bazinet et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(9), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10090221
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/221

9. “Review of Synthetic and Hybrid Scaffolds in Cartilage Tissue Engineering”
by Monika Wasyłeczko et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(11), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10110348
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/11/348

10. “Removal of Dyes Using Graphene Oxide (GO) Mixed Matrix Membranes”
by Rana J. Kadhim et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(12), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10120366
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/12/366

11. “Progress on the Fabrication and Application of Electrospun Nanofiber Composites”
by Mariela Toriello et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(9), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10090204
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/204

12. “The Role of New Inorganic Materials in Composite Membranes for Water Disinfection”
by Roberto Castro-Muñoz
Membranes 2020, 10(5), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10050101
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/5/101

13. “Development of Hydrophilic PVDF Membrane Using Vapour Induced Phase Separation Method for Produced Water Treatment”
by Normi Izati Mat Nawi et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(6), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10060121
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/6/121

14. “Ceramic Microfiltration Membranes in Wastewater Treatment: Filtration Behavior, Fouling and Prevention”
by Mohammed Wali Hakami et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(9), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10090248
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/248

15. “Electrical, Dielectric Property and Electrochemical Performances of Plasticized Silver Ion-Conducting Chitosan-Based Polymer Nanocomposites”
by Jihad M. Hadi et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(7), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10070151
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/7/151

16. “Cu Homeostasis in Bacteria: The Ins and Outs”
by Andreea Andrei et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(9), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10090242
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/242

17. “Hydrogen Production via Steam Reforming: A Critical Analysis of MR and RMM Technologies”
by Giovanni Franchi et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10010010
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/1/10

18. “Sustainable Fabrication of Organic Solvent Nanofiltration Membranes”
by Hai Yen Nguyen Thi et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11010019
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/1/19

19. “Insights into Advancements and Electrons Transfer Mechanisms of Electrogens in Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells”
by Mohammad Faisal Umar et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(9), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10090205
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/205

20. “Forward Osmosis as Concentration Process: Review of Opportunities and Challenges”
by Gaetan Blandin et al.
Membranes 2020, 10(10), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10100284
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/10/284

1. “Electrospun Medicated Nanofibers for Wound Healing: Review”
by Xinkuan Liu et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(10), 770; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11100770
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/10/770 

2. “Orodispersible Membranes from a Modified Coaxial Electrospinning for Fast Dissolution of Diclofenac Sodium”
by Tingbao Ning et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(11), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11110802
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/11/802 

3. “A Review on Polymer Nanocomposites and Their Effective Applications in Membranes and Adsorbents for Water Treatment and Gas Separation”
by Oluranti Agboola et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(2), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020139
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/2/139 

4. “A Review on Ionic Liquid Gas Separation Membranes”
by Karel Friess et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(2), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020097
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/2/97 

5. “Nanofiber-Based Face Masks and Respirators as COVID-19 Protection: A Review”
by Wafa K. Essa et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(4), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11040250
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/4/250 

6. “Polymers and Solvents Used in Membrane Fabrication: A Review Focusing on Sustainable Membrane Development”
by Xiaobo Dong et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(5), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11050309
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/5/309 

7. “Membrane-Based Harvesting Processes for Microalgae and Their Valuable-Related Molecules: A Review”
by Roberto Castro-Muñoz et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(8), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11080585
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/8/585 

8. “Ionic Mobility in Ion-Exchange Membranes”
by Irina A. Stenina et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(3), 198; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11030198
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/3/198 

9. “Characteristics of a Plasticized PVA-Based Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and H⁺ Conductor for an Electrical Double-Layer Capacitor: Structural, Morphological, and Ion Transport Properties”
by Mohamad A. Brza et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(4), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11040296
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/4/296 

10. “Polydopamine Functionalized Graphene Oxide as Membrane Nanofiller: Spectral and Structural Studies”
by Abedalkader Alkhouzaam et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(2), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020086
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/2/86 

11. “Green Synthesized of Ag/Ag2O Nanoparticles Using Aqueous Leaves Extracts of Phoenix dactylifera L. and Their Azo Dye Photodegradation”
by Salah Eddine Laouini et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(7), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11070468
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/7/468 

12. “Active Edible Films Fortified with Natural Extracts: Case Study with Fresh-Cut Apple Pieces”
by Simona Jancikova et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090684
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/9/684 

13. “Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Sulfonated Titanium Oxide Incorporated Chitosan Nanocomposite Membranes for Fuel Cell Application”
by Saad Ahmed et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(6), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11060450
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/6/450 

14. “Performance Analysis and Optimization of a High-Temperature PEMFC Vehicle Based on Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm”
by Yanju Li et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 691; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090691
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/9/691 

15. “Removing of the Sulfur Compounds by Impregnated Polypropylene Fibers with Silver Nanoparticles-Cellulose Derivatives for Air Odor Correction”
by Aurelia Cristina Nechifor et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(4), 256; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11040256
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/4/256 

16. “Lipid Membrane Mimetics in Functional and Structural Studies of Integral Membrane Proteins”
by Saman Majeed et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 685; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090685
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/9/685 

17. “Gas Permeation Properties of High-Silica CHA-Type Zeolite Membrane”
by Yasuhisa Hasegawa et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(4), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11040249
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/4/249 

18. “Recent Advances in the Prediction of Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors”
by Yaoke Shi et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(6), 381; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11060381
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/6/381 

19. “Bioactive Agent-Loaded Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes for Accelerating Healing Process: A Review”
by Seyyed-Mojtaba Mousavi et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 702; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090702
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/9/702 

20. “Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutant in Wastewater by Electrospun Functionally Modified Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers Membrane Anchoring TiO₂ Nanostructured”
by Fahad A. AlAbduljabbar et al.
Membranes 2021, 11(10), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11100785
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/10/785

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!

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 Membranes 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 Membranes (ISSN: 2077-0375), 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;
• Reviewing and making decisions for submissions under the mentorship of our Editorial Board Members. 

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Checking and making final decisions before the Special Issue is published online;
• Providing suggestions to young scholars on Special Issue editorial work;
• Checking Special Issues and giving feedback or advice in a timely manner to help to improve the quality of Special Issues.

Certificates and awards:

The Membranes Editorial Office will provide official certificates for mentors who help young scholars to lead a successful Special Issue. The younger scholars will be prioritized as candidates for Membranes Young Investigator Awards in future editions. 

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Membranes Editorial Office ([email protected]) 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, Membranes continues to welcome all Special Issue proposals based on hot research topics as usual. 

Membranes Editorial Office

MDPI will be attending the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2022, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 11 to 15 September 2022. This is the third edition of IWA, with the topic of “Water for Smart Liveable Cities”, which will engage stakeholders and key contacts within the conventional water sector and beyond. It will bring together core water sector groups, such as those focused on urban water and urban water services, as well as participants from industry and agriculture, architects and urban planners, soil and groundwater experts and hydrologists, social scientists, the ICT sector, the financial sector, and others.

During this conference, MDPI (at booth #C2-383) will welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest inspirations with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Water (leading journal);
• Hydrology;
• Sustainability;
• Energies;
• Geosciences;
• Infrastructures;
• Membranes;
• Toxics;
• Resources.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth at #C2-383. 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: https://worldwatercongress.org.

MDPI will be attending EuroBioFilms 2022 (EBF), hosted by the ESCMID Study Group for Biofilms (ESGB), which will be held from 31 August to 3 September 2022 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The conference will be held at the Meliá Palma Marina Hotel, Av. de Gabriel Roca, 29, 07014 Palma, Balearic Islands.

The multidisciplinary program will cover many subjects and will be a mix of basic and clinical biofilm-related topics. Leading scientists in the field will be present as keynote speakers and/or chairpersons. Oral presentations will be presented during various parallel sessions. On 31^st of August, several educational preconference workshops will be organized.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Antibiotics (leading);
• Pathogens;
• Membranes;
• Biology;
• Journal of Personalized Medicine.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference and our booth, please visit the following link: https://eurobiofilms2022.com/, or contact the Antibiotics Editorial Office at [email protected].

Conference: 49th World Polymers Congress MACRO 2022
Date: 17–21 July 2022
Place: Winnipeg, Canada
Booth: #6

Polymers (ISSN: 2073-4360) and Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) will be attending the 49th World Polymers Congress MACRO 2022 as exhibitors from 17 to 21 July 2022 in Winnipeg, Canada.

The year 2022 marks the first time that Canada is hosting the World Polymers Congress since it became a biennial event in 1998. The polymer science community of Canada looks forward to connecting at the 49th World Polymers Congress, which is held in the city of Winnipeg from 17 to 21 July 2022. True to its mission, MACRO 2022 will be a forum for international scientists and students who are in various stages of their career development to share knowledge and experiences.

The MACRO 2022 program comprises nine themes that represent the following subjects:

• Polymers for Biomedical Engineering;
• Polymers for Energy and Environmental Applications;
• Polymer Engineering and Rheology;
• Polymers for Nanotechnology;
• Polymer Physics and Characterization;
• Polymers from Renewable Resources and Biodegradable Polymers;
• Polymer Science Education;
• Polymer Synthesis and Kinetics;
• Smart and Functional Polymers.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Polymers;
• Materials;
• Membranes;
• Pharmaceutics;
• Sustainability;
• Bioengineering;
• Gels;
• Electrochem;
• Solar.

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 that you might have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.macro2022.org/.

The 2021 citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and we’re pleased to announce the following results for MDPI journals:

For more information on Impact Factors and what it means to index academic journals, please visit our related blog posts.

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2022

Source: 2021 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ^TM (Clarivate, 2022)

MDPI’s Young Investigator Awards recognize promising junior researchers, acknowledge their contributions, and enhance communication among scientists. We are proud to present the winners for the year 2021 in the “Chemistry & Materials Sciences” category. The winners were selected by the journals’ editors.

We warmly congratulate the awarded Young Investigators for their outstanding contributions.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Coatings:

• Marta Mohedano, Complutense University of Madrid-UCM, Spain

Materials:

• Edoardo Baldini, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Magnetochemistry:

• Mauro Perfetti, University of Florence, Italy

Membranes:

• Xu Hou, Xiamen University, China

Molecules:

• Biplab Maji, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India

Nanomaterials:

• Andres Castellanos-Gomez, Instituto de Ciencia de los Materiales de Madrid, Spain
• Takuya Isono, Hokkaido University, Japan
• Panbo Liu, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize the winners for the year 2021 in the “Chemistry & Materials Sciences” category for their outstanding contributions among extensive competition by presenting them with the Outstanding Reviewer Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners on their achievement.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Catalysts:

• Rahat Javaid, Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, Japan
• Georgios Bampos, University of Patras, Greece
• Esmail Doustkhah, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan
• Pawan Kumar, University of Alberta, Canada

Magnetochemistry:

• Lorenzo Sorace, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy

Materials:

• Khaled Giasin, University of Portsmouth, UK
• Oldrich Sucharda, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic
• Danil Pimenov, South Ural State University, Russia
• Marián Palcut, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia

Metals:

• Khaled Giasin, University of Portsmouth, UK
• Catalin Pruncu, University of Strathclyde, UK
• Jacek Tomków, Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland
• Alexander Yu Churyumov, National University of Science and Technology (MISiS), Russia
• Hesam Pouraliakbar, Chungnam National University, South Korea

Nanomaterials:

• George Kenanakis, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Greece
• Goshtasp Cheraghian, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
• Oana Cadar, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation, Romania

Polymers:

• Sawsan A. Zaitone, Suez Canal University, Saudi Arabia
• Lucia Baldino, University of Salerno Via Giovanni Paolo II, Fisciano (SA) Italy
• Gyorgy Szekely, University of Manchester, UK
• Bin Jiang, Northeast Agricultural University, China
• Haibao Lu, Harbin Institute of Technology, China

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal last year.

We are honored to present the winners in the “Chemistry & Materials Sciences” category, who were selected amongst the extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

C — Journal of Carbon Research：

• “Activated Carbons Derived from High-Temperature Pyrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass”
  by Cristian I. Contescu, Shiba P. Adhikari, Nidia C. Gallego, Neal D. Evans and Bryan E. Biss
  C 2018, 4(3), 51; doi:10.3390/c4030051

Catalysts:

• “Hydrogen Oxidation on Ni-Based Electrocatalysts: The Effect of Metal Doping”
  by Elena S. Davydova, Jérémie Zaffran, Kapil Dhaka, Maytal Caspary Toroker and Dario R. Dekel
  Catalysts 2018, 8(10), 454; doi:10.3390/catal8100454
• “Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: Role of Sacrificial Reagents on the Activity of Oxide, Carbon, and Sulfide Catalysts”
  by Vignesh Kumaravel, Muhammad Danyal Imam, Ahmed Badreldin, Rama Krishna Chava, Jeong Yeon Do, Misook Kang and Ahmed Abdel-Wahab
  Catalysts 2019, 9(3), 276; doi:10.3390/catal9030276
• “A General Overview of Support Materials for Enzyme Immobilization: Characteristics, Properties, Practical Utility”
  by Jakub Zdarta, Anne S. Meyer, Teofil Jesionowski and Manuel Pinelo
  Catalysts 2018, 8(2), 92; doi:10.3390/catal8020092
• “Mechanistic Insights into Photodegradation of Organic Dyes Using Heterostructure Photocatalysts”
  by Yi-Hsuan Chiu, Tso-Fu Mark Chang, Chun-Yi Chen, Masato Sone and Yung-Jung Hsu
  Catalysts 2019, 9(5), 430; doi:10.3390/catal9050430

Ceramics:

• “Chemical Preparation Routes and Lowering the Sintering Temperature of Ceramics”
  by Philippe Colomban
  Ceramics 2020, 3(3), 312–339; doi:10.3390/ceramics3030029

Coatings:

• “State of the Art in Directed Energy Deposition: From Additive Manufacturing to Materials Design”
  by Adrita Dass and Atieh Moridi
  Coatings 2019, 9(7), 418; doi:10.3390/coatings9070418
• “Encapsulation of Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells: A Review”
  by Ashraf Uddin, Mushfika Baishakhi Upama, Haimang Yi and Leiping Duan
  Coatings 2019, 9(2), 65; doi:10.3390/coatings9020065
• “Poly (Lactic Acid)/Thermoplastic Starch Films: Effect of Cardoon Seed Epoxidized Oil on Their Chemicophysical, Mechanical, and Barrier Properties”
  by Rosa Turco, Rodrigo Ortega-Toro, Riccardo Tesser, Salvatore Mallardo, Sofia Collazo-Bigliardi, Amparo Chiralt Boix, Mario Malinconico, Massimo Rippa, Martino Di Serio and Gabriella Santagata
  Coatings 2019, 9(9), 574; doi:10.3390/coatings9090574
• “Physical and Morphological Characterization of Chitosan/Montmorillonite Films Incorporated with Ginger Essential Oil”
  by Victor Gomes Lauriano Souza, João Ricardo Afonso Pires, Carolina Rodrigues, Patricia Freitas Rodrigues, Andréia Lopes, Rui Jorge Silva, Jorge Caldeira, Maria Paula Duarte, Francisco Braz Fernandes, Isabel Maria Coelhoso and Ana Luisa Fernando
  Coatings 2019, 9(11), 700; doi:10.3390/coatings9110700
• “Application and Evaluation of a Pectin-Based Edible Coating Process for Quality Change Kinetics and Shelf-Life Extension of Lime Fruit (Citrus aurantifolium)”
  by Neda Maftoonazad and Hosahalli S. Ramaswamy
  Coatings 2019, 9(5), 285; doi:10.3390/coatings9050285

Crystals:

• “Crystal and Magnetic Structures in Layered, Transition Metal Dihalides and Trihalides”
  by Michael A. McGuire
  Crystals 2017, 7(5), 121; doi:10.3390/cryst7050121
• “σ-Hole Interactions: Perspectives and Misconceptions”
  by Peter Politzer and Jane S. Murray
  Crystals 2017, 7(7), 212; doi:10.3390/cryst7070212
• “σ-Hole Interactions of Covalently-Bonded Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Arsenic: A Survey of Crystal Structures”
  by Peter Politzer, Jane S. Murray, Goran V. Janjić and Snežana D. Zarić 
  Crystals 2014, 4(1), 12-31; doi:10.3390/cryst4010012
• “Epitaxial Graphene on SiC: A Review of Growth and Characterization”
  by Gholam Reza Yazdi, Tihomir Iakimov and Rositsa Yakimova
  Crystals 2016, 6(5), 53; doi:10.3390/cryst6050053

Magnetochemistry:

• “A Clock Transition in the Cr₇Mn Molecular Nanomagnet”
  by Charles A. Collett, Kai-Isaak Ellers, Nicholas Russo, Kevin R. Kittilstved, Grigore A. Timco, Richard E. P. Winpenny and Jonathan R. Friedman
  Magnetochemistry 2019, 5(1), 4; doi:10.3390/magnetochemistry5010004
• “A Series of Field-Induced Single-Ion Magnets Based on the Seven-Coordinate Co(II) Complexes with the Pentadentate (N₃O₂) H₂dapsc Ligand”
  by Vyacheslav A. Kopotkov, Denis V. Korchagin, Valentina D. Sasnovskaya, Ildar F. Gilmutdinov and Eduard B. Yagubskii
  Magnetochemistry 2019, 5(4), 58; doi:10.3390/magnetochemistry5040058
• “Magnetic Janus Particles for Static and Dynamic (Bio)Sensing”
  by Susana Campuzano, Maria Gamella, Verónica Serafín, María Pedrero, Paloma Yáñez-Sedeño and José Manuel Pingarrón
  Magnetochemistry 2019, 5(3), 47; doi:10.3390/magnetochemistry5030047

Membranes:

• “Composite Membranes for High Temperature PEM Fuel Cells and Electrolysers: A Critical Review”
  by Xinwei Sun, Stian Christopher Simonsen, Truls Norby and Athanasios Chatzitakis
  Membranes 2019, 9(7), 83; doi:10.3390/membranes9070083

• “Transport Characteristics of Fujifilm Ion-Exchange Membranes as Compared to Homogeneous Membranes AMX and CMX and to Heterogeneous Membranes MK-40 and MA-41”
  by Veronika Sarapulova, Inna Shkorkina, Semyon Mareev, Natalia Pismenskaya, Natalia Kononenko, Christian Larchet, Lasaad Dammak and Victor Nikonenko
  Membranes 2019, 9(7), 84; doi:10.3390/membranes9070084

Nanomaterials:

• “Nanomaterials for the Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater”
  by Jinyue Yang, Baohong Hou, Jingkang Wang, Beiqian Tian, Jingtao Bi, Na Wang, Xin Li and Xin Huang
  Nanomaterials 2019, 9(3), 424; doi:10.3390/nano9030424
• “Injectable Alginate-Peptide Composite Hydrogel as a Scaffold for Bone Tissue Regeneration”
  Moumita Ghosh, Michal Halperin-Sternfeld, Itzhak Grinberg and Lihi Adler-Abramovich
  Nanomaterials 2019, 9(4), 497; doi:10.3390/nano9040497
• “Carbon Dots and Graphene Quantum Dots in Electrochemical Biosensing”
  by Susana Campuzano, Paloma Yáñez-Sedeño and José M. Pingarrón
  Nanomaterials 2019, 9(4), 634; doi:10.3390/nano9040634
• “A Smart Nanovector for Cancer Targeted Drug Delivery Based on Graphene Quantum Dots”
  by Daniela Iannazzo, Alessandro Pistone, Consuelo Celesti, Claudia Triolo, Salvatore Patané, Salvatore V. Giofré, Roberto Romeo, Ida Ziccarelli, Raffaella Mancuso, Bartolo Gabriele, Giuseppa Visalli, Alessio Facciolà and Angela Di Pietro
  Nanomaterials 2019, 9(2), 282; doi:10.3390/nano9020282
• “Evolution of Wearable Devices with Real-Time Disease Monitoring for Personalized Healthcare”
  by Kyeonghye Guk, Gaon Han, Jaewoo Lim, Keunwon Jeong, Taejoon Kang, Eun-Kyung Lim and Juyeon Jung
  Nanomaterials 2019, 9(6), 813; doi:10.3390/nano9060813
• “An Ultra-High-Energy Density Supercapacitor; Fabrication Based on Thiolfunctionalized Graphene”
  by Janardhanan. R. Rani, Ranjith Thangavel, Se-I Oh, Yun Sung Lee and Jae-Hyung Jang
  Nanomaterials 2019, 9(2), 148; doi:10.3390/nano9020148

Polymers:

• “The Relationships between the Working Fluids, Process Characteristics and Products from the Modified Coaxial Electrospinning of Zein”
  by Menglong Wang, Tao Hai, Zhangbin Feng, Deng-Guang Yu, Yaoyao Yang and SW Annie Bligh 
  Polymers 2019, 11(8), 1287; doi:10.3390/polym11081287
• “Design of Controlled Release System for Paracetamol Based on Modified Lignin”
  by Mahboubeh Pishnamazi, Hamid Hafizi, Saeed Shirazian, Mario Culebras, Gavin M. Walker and Maurice N. Collins 
  Polymers 2019, 11(6), 1059; doi:10.3390/polym11061059
• “Additive Manufacturing of PLA-Based Composites Using Fused Filament Fabrication: Effect of Graphene Nanoplatelet Reinforcement on Mechanical Properties, Dimensional Accuracy and Texture”
  by Miguel Ángel Caminero, Jesús Miguel Chacón, Eustaquio García-Plaza, Pedro José Núñez, José María Reverte and Jean Paul Becar
  Polymers 2019, 11(5), 799; doi:10.3390/polym11050799
• “Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Manufacturing, Properties, and Applications”
  by Miguel Ángel Caminero, Jesús Miguel Chacón, ,Eustaquio García-Plaza, Pedro José Núñez, José María Reverte and Jean Paul Becar
  Polymers 2019, 11(10), 1667; doi:10.3390/polym11101667 

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2021 Travel Awards in the “Chemistry & Materials Sciences” category for their outstanding presentations.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage talented junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps to increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of Travel Awards for the year 2021 and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors.

MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Crystals:

• Gaojun Mao, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
• Lidia Bofill Herrera, University of Barcelona, Spain

Gels:

• Demetra Giuri, University of Bologna, Italy
• Martina Genta, Imperial College London, UK

Journal of Functional Biomaterials:

• Anushree Seth, Washington University, USA

Magnetochemistry:

• Fabio Ferreira, University of Coimbra, Portugal
• Giulia Serrano, University of Florence, Italy

Materials：

• Giulia Fredi, University of Trento, Italy
• Mattia Biesuz, Czech Academy of Science, Czech Republic

Metals:

• Adriana Eres-Castellanos, Spanish National Center for Metallurgical Research, Spain
• Pavel Shurkin, National University of Science and Technology, Russia

Nanomaterials:

• Aleksandrs Leitis, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, France
• Ekaterina Kolesova, ITMO, Russia

Separations:

• Christoph Gstoettner, Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

The Membranes (ISSN: 2077-0375) editorial team is pleased to announce this open call for Special Issue proposals to provide a group of authors with the opportunity to work on an interconnected set of papers on an innovative topic. We would like to solicit high-quality proposals, which will be evaluated through a competitive procedure on a rolling basis throughout the year.

In order to ensure that the topic of your proposal is within the scope of Membranes, please read the aim and scope of Membranes at the following website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes/about.

Please click on the following link to submit your proposals: https://www.mdpi.com/journalproposal/sendproposalspecialissue/membranes.

The following information must be provided in the proposal:

• A 100–200-word summary rationally explaining the proposed topic’s significance, novelty, technical advancement, and adherence to the scope of the journal;
• A list of 5–15 keywords on the topic;
• A proposed submission deadline (a Special Issue will usually be open for submissions for 6–8 months);
• A list of at least eight confirmed submissions (if you have not collected 8 planned papers, please send your proposal to [email protected], along with a list of at least 20 potential authors in related research fields);
• A brief resume of the proposed Guest Editors, together with their information (title, name, email, affiliation, personal website, and keywords of interests). 

The benefits of being a Guest Editor are as follows:

• Special discounts will be offered for your submissions and to any of the articles you invite;
• Expanding your network by engaging with experts in the field;
• Keeping up with developments in the field;
• Increasing your own influence;
• Recognition by the promotion evaluation committee;
• If eight or more papers are published in a Special Issue, the Special Issue can be published as a printable book, and each Guest Editor will receive a complimentary hard copy. 

The responsibilities of being a Guest Editor are as follows:

• Refining the Special Issue title, scope, and schedule and providing the required information to set up the Special Issue website;
• Inviting submissions;
• Promoting the Special Issue within networks on social media, personal websites, relevant networks, and any attended conferences when possible;
• Pre-checking, making decisions, and overviewing the manuscript submission process;
• Writing an editorial when the Special Issue is successfully published. 

The Editorial Office will take care of setting up the Special Issue website, arranging the promotional materials, and assisting with invitations to contribute papers, and it will also take care of the rest of the administrative tasks associated with the peer-review process, including inviting reviewers, collating reviews, contacting authors, and professional production before publication. 

Please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]) for further details and clarification. 

We look forward to receiving your proposals. 

Membranes Editorial Office

The Membranes (ISSN: 2077-0375) Editorial Office is pleased to inform you that applications are open for the Topical Advisory Panel. Should you decide to serve on the Topical Advisory Panel, you would be responsible for some of the following tasks, depending on your availability:

• Providing regular reviews of manuscripts;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue (SI) in partnership with a senior researcher within two years of the appointment and proposing a detailed strategy plan for the SI. The topic of the proposal should be within the scope of Membranes. The scope of the Special Issue should be broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions but narrow enough to provide a cohesive collection of articles;
• Providing a detailed strategy plan for the SI including assisting in preparing the titles of Special Issues/Topics as well as their aim and scope, summary, and keywords and soliciting papers and promoting the SI;
• Providing support for the Special Issues/Topics related to your expertise when the Guest Editor(s) is not available. This includes SI promotion via social media and giving advice in certain scientific cases;
• Working with Editorial Board Members or the Editorial Office to promote high-quality/featured papers (for example, writing summaries or highlights for editor-selected papers). 

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in a field related to Membranes;
• Have completed their Ph.D. within approximately the last 10 years;
• Have published at least 6–8 papers in the last 5 years as a first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or in a government institute. 

Each year, member performance is evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief. Please click on the following link to submit your application: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes/topical_advisory_panel_application.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]) for further details or clarification.

Membranes Editorial Office

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Academic editors play a crucial role in leading our journals and ensuring that each article undergoes a robust and timely peer-review. With the launch of Topics this year and addition of Topic Editors to our family of academic editors, we decided it would be a good time to restructure our academic boards, thus providing more clarity and support for each role. MDPI is pleased to announce the launch of a new position—Topical Advisory Panel Member, that will replace the previous position of Topics Board Member. The Topical Advisory Panel will be comprised of early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of the new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Guest Editors, Topic Editors, and Section Board Members. The responsibilities of the Topical Advisory Panel are available here: https://www.mdpi.com/editors.

Each year, the members’ performances are evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to the journal;
• Have received a Ph.D. in the last 10 years, approximately;
• Have at least 6-8 published papers in the last 5 years as first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this role, please contact the editorial office by email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Founded in 1996, MDPI was one of the first fully Open Access publisher. Over 25 years MDPI has grown to become the largest Open Access publisher globally, publishing over 160,000 articles across more than 350 journals in 2020. At the core, MDPI was founded in response to a pressing need of fast publication and inclusion. The scholar was set at the centre of the publication process for the first time. Acting as a service provider, rather than a product provider, MDPI exists to help scientists achive their objective to disseminate research results. At MDPI, we believe scientists deserve a better service from the publishing world.

The International Open Access Week (Open Access Week), founded by the SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) Alliance and student partners in 2008, has been successfully running for 13 years. As an advocate and pioneer of open access publishing, MDPI actively responds to the call of International Open Access Week. This year’s theme of “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity” highlights the Recommendation’s call for equitable participation from all authors and readers.

For the last 25 years, MDPI has been committed to disseminating open research. Here is a video showing MDPI’s Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for More than 25 Years.

International Open Access Week is an important opportunity to catalyze new conversations, create connections across and between communities that can facilitate this co-design, and advance progress in the building of more equitable foundations for opening knowledge—discussions and actions that need to be continued, year in and year out. MDPI has always aimed to provide professional and efficient publishing services to scholars around the world.

Our mission is to make scientific research accessible to everyone; this year, we interview and hold discussions with open science ambassadors on how to build an equal and inclusive environment for open science. Academic editors help us collaborate with more institutions to advocate for open access ideas.

Read our anniversary blog post: "Sharing 'Collective Human Knowledge': The Benefits of Open Access Publication"

Besides this, our scientific community is a key driver of our success and MDPI’s remarkable growth. Despite the pandemic, we have prepared online conferences and workshops to gather scholars from different communities.

The Basel Sustainable Publishing online forum provides an equal opportunity for stakeholders and researchers from multi-cultural environments to exchange ideas and eliminate barriers to participation.

Conference date: 25 October 2021, online
Conference website: https://bspf2021.sciforum.net/
Main topics: MDPI discusses the current dilemma of open access science from various perspectives such as governments, libraries, and publishers, and related measures on how to change the status quo of discrimination from a global perspective.

We aim to support equality, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications. We collaborate with universities and key laboratories and have scholarly communications with researchers, teachers, and students on open access workshops.

• 25 October 2021
  Energies journal and Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• 28 October 2021
  Machines journal and State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University

• 29 October 2021
  Processes journal and Beijing Institute of Technology

• 29 October 2021
  Coatings journal and Wuhan University of Technology

MDPI is committed to providing open access and high-quality publishing services for scholars and promoting rapid dissemination of academic achievements. We hope to promote the practices and policies of open access publishing and diversify the dissemination of academic achievements.

MDPI will be attending the Advanced Membrane Technology Summit for Water Treatment 2021, jointly hosted by the International Water Association (IWA), China Regional Office and Tongji University, which will be held from 15 to 17 October 2021, in Shanghai, China.

Famous domestic and foreign experts will give keynote speeches during the conference, in addition to poster exhibitions, postgraduate seminars and other academic activities. This summit is focused on the theme of "Sustainable Development of Membrane Water Treatment Technology under the Background of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality". Topics covered by the summit include, but are not limited to, membrane water and wastewater treatment, new theories of membrane processes, advanced membranes and membrane modules, advanced membrane processes and combined processes, sustainable membrane water treatment technologies, and the industrial application of membrane technology.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Membranes;
• Separations;
• IJERPH;
• Applied Sciences;
• Water;
• Toxics;
• Resources;
• Sustainability;
• ChemEngineering.

If you are also attending this conference, please 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 visit:

https://amts2021.scimeeting.cn/cn/web/index/12145.

MDPI will be attending the 21st Chinese Zeolite Conference (21 CZC), hosted by the Chinese Zeolite Association and China University of Petroleum, which will be held from 27 to 30 September 2021 in Qingdao, China. The conference will be held at the International Conference Center of China Railway Qingdao World Expo City. More than 1500 delegates are expected to attend.

The theme of this conference is “Porous Materials and Future Energy”. The conference aims to show the latest progress in the field of zeolite and porous material in China and discuss the responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges in zeolite and related porous functional material chemistry in the new era of energy reform and sustainable development. We also aim to further promote the development and achievements of zeolite science and technology.

The main topics of the conference include: the synthesis, modification, and characterization of porous zeolite materials; host-guest chemistry and functional materials; adsorption, separation, and diffusion performances; porous material catalysis and chemical processes; theoretical calculations and simulations of porous material properties, structures, and applications.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Molecules;
• Separations;
• Energies;
• Crystals;
• Materials;
• Membranes;
• Inorganics;
• Sustainability;
• Sustainable Chemistry;
• Symmetry;
• Reactions.

If you are also attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (#B20). Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://www.chemsoc.org.cn/meeting/21czc/.

Rigorous peer-review is the cornerstone of high-quality academic publishing. Over 369,916 scholars served as reviewers for MDPI journals in 2020. We are extremely appreciative of all those who made a contribution to the editorial process in this capacity. At the beginning of every year, journal editorial offices publish a list of all reviewers’ names to express our gratitude. In addition, this year, the MDPI Top Reviewer Award was announced, to recognize the very best reviewers for their expertise and dedication, and their high-quality, and timely review reports. We are pleased to announce the following winners of the 2020 MDPI Top Reviewer Award:

• Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu;
• Alban Kuriqi;
• Álvaro González-Vila;
• Alessandro Alaimo;
• Alexey Beskopylny;
• Alexander Yu Churyumov;
• Alberto Fernández-Isabel;
• Andrea Mastinu;
• Antonios N. Papadopoulos;
• Anton Rassõlkin;
• Antonio Humberto Hamad Minervino;
• Arkadiusz Matwijczuk;
• Artur Słomka;
• Baojie He;
• Bartłomiej Potaniec;
• Bojan Đurin;
• Camilo Arturo Rodriguez Diaz;
• Carmelo Maria Musarella;
• Chiachung Chen;
• Chiman Kwan;
• Cristian Busu;
• Danil Pimenov;
• Dan-Cristian Dabija;
• Delfín Ortega-Sánchez;
• Demetrio Antonio Zema;
• Denis Butusov;
• Elena Lucchi;
• Gaurab Dutta;
• Livia Anastasiu;
• M. R. Safaei.

For more information about how to become a reviewer of MDPI journals, please see: www.mdpi.com/reviewers.

UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. In 2020 the SDG Publishers Compact was launched, aimed to inspire publishers and accelerate progress to achieve the 17 goals by 2030. Members of the programme are committed to support the publication of materials that will promote and inspire actions towards SDGs.

MDPI is an eager advocate of SDGs and has already been supporting the programme by creating Special Issues and publishing a series of books on SDGs prior to joining the Compact in 2021. MDPI's Sustainability Foundation initiated the World Sustainability Awards in 2016. We fully support UN's goals to promote sustainable actions that make the world a better place for all and, as part of its commitment, we will focus our actions on SDG10: Reduced Inequalities whilst promoting all 17 SDGs. For more details, please visit the programme’s website: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-publishers-compact/.

Joining this initiative was a unanimous decision. MDPI has in its core values the dissemination of science for all, breaking the wall between research access and under-represented members of the scientific community and the general population. To support this initiative further and continue to support under-represented scientists, MDPI will take a series of actions that will be announced once ready.

The first action MDPI takes is to nominate Dr. Liliane Auwerter as the coordinator of the programme. Dr. Auwerter studied Environmental Process Technology (UTFPR, Brazil), obtained her MSc degree in Water and Environmental Engineering (University of Surrey, UK) and in 2020 completed her PhD in self-healing low-friction materials for water transport (Imperial College London, UK), always focusing on diverse scientific projects that would potentially bring sustainability to industrial processes. As a student in Brazil, she engaged in volunteering activities focused on environmental education and took part in the Millennial Development Goals meetings held at the university.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Liliane Auwerter
Scientific Officer
[email protected]

This serves to announce to our valued authors based in Japan that value-added tax, or consumption tax will now be imposed on article processing fees and other service fees for all papers submitted, or resubmitted (assigned new paper IDs), effective from 15 August 2021. The change is in accordance with the Japanese "Act for Partial Revision of the Income Tax Act and Other Acts" (Act No. 9 of 2015), which includes a revision of consumption taxation on cross-border supplies of services such as digital content distribution.

For additional information from the National Tax Agency please see here ("Cross-border supplies of electronic services").

Contact: Setsuko Nishihara, MDPI Tokyo

The 2020 citation metrics have been officially released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR)!

We are pleased to announce that 85 MDPI journals are included, of which:

• 10 journals received their first impact factor
• 96% of journals increased their impact factor from 2019
• 32 journals (38%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2021

Source: 2020 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ® (Clarivate, 2021)

We are pleased to inform you that the open access journal Membranes is now covered in the "Chemistry Physical" category in Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)—Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics). 

Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375) is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal. The journal covers broad science and technology related aspects of both biological and non-biological membranes. Membranes provides a forum for publishing papers that advance our understanding of membrane structure, performance, processes, and applications that cover membrane chemistry, physics, engineering, and biology. The journal publishes original reviews, research articles, and short communications. Authors are encouraged to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. Thus, there is no restriction on paper length. Full experimental, theoretical, and computational details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced. 

We ask you to consider Membranes as the platform for publishing your work. 

Membranes Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce that 24 new scholars were recently appointed Editorial Board Members for the journal Membranes.

Prof. Dr. Slav W. Hermanowicz (University of California, USA)
Dr. Sébastien Déon (Univ Bourgogne Franche Comte, France)
Prof. Dr. Anthony Gordon Fane (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Dr. Vítor Geraldes (Univ. Lisbon, Portugal)
Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Remigy (Université de Toulouse, France)
Dr. Sabrina Morelli (Institute on Membrane Technology, Italy)
Dr. Geelsu Hwang (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Prof. Dr. Jack Gilron (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)
Prof. Dr. Xiaodong Wang (North China Electric Power University, China)
Prof. Dr. John Fraser (University of Queensland, Australia)
Prof. Dr. Jiahua Zhu (Nanjing Tech University, China)
Prof. Dr. Xinsheng Peng (Zhejiang University, China)
Dr. David Alfredo Pacheco Tanaka (Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Spain)
Dr. Vitaly Gitis (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)
Dr. Laura Donato (Institute on Membrane Technology, Italy)
Prof. Dr. Hyung Chul Ham (Inha University, Korea)
Prof. Dr. Yu Tian (Harbin Institute of Technology, China)
Prof. Dr. Weifeng Li (Shandong University, China)
Prof. Dr. Hongjun Lin (Zhejiang Normal University, China)
Prof. Dr. Huaqiang Chu (Tongji University, China)
Prof. Dr. Masahiko Matsukata (Waseda University, Japan)
Prof. Dr. Jiangnan Shen (Zhejiang University of Technology, China)
Dr. Mariano Andrea Scorciapino (University of Cagliari, Italy)
Prof. Dr. Alexander Toikka (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)
We wish them every success in developing the journal. 

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

MDPI Books recently released Book Builder, a new online tool to conveniently arrange, design and produce an eBook from any content published in MDPI journals. Book Builder offers two functions: on the one hand (1) Selections, available to every registered user of MDPI; on the other hand (2) Special Issue Reprints, which can be used exclusively by Guest Editors of Special Issues.

Selections

In just a matter of a few clicks, all users are now able to assemble books from MDPI articles and receive instantaneous feedback in the form of a fully produced and compiled book (PDF), which can be downloaded or ordered as print copy. Selections can include any paper published with MDPI, picking and combining content from different journals and special issues.

This way, the user may for example choose to compile an ebook focusing around a particular topic, or assemble articles from a group of others.

We invite you to make yourself familiar with the new tool! The Book Builder can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/books/book_builder.

Special Issue Reprints

The Book Builder allows Guest Editors of MDPI journals to create a reprint from a successfully completed Special Issue or Topical Collection in book format. If you are a Guest Editor for an MDPI journal, you can use the new tool  to create an PDF document which includes all articles published in the Special Issue as well as a book cover and table of contents.

For Special Issues containing a minimum of 5 articles, the Guest Editor can request its publication on the MDPI Book platform. Published reprints are assigned an ISBN and DOI.

In addition to the PDF copy of the Reprint Book, as a token of our gratitude, MDPI offers every Guest Editor one (1) complimentary print copy (via print-on-demand). All contributors benefit from a discount on orders of any additional print copies, to share with colleagues or libraries or others.

Why choose MDPI Books?

In line with our organization's values, MDPI Books publishes all content in open access, promoting the exchange of ideas and knowledge in a globalized world. MDPI Books encompasses all the benefits of open access—high availability and visibility, as well as wide and rapid dissemination. MDPI Books are distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License, meaning as an author you retain the copyright for your work. In addition, with MDPI Books you can complement the digital version of your work with a high-quality printed counterpart.

If you are interested in editing a book volume or series, or have a monograph manuscript to be considered for publication, please submit your proposal online and look at our Information for Authors.

Contact: Laura Wagner, MDPI Books Manager (email)

In June of this year, MDPI will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its foundation. To mark this significant milestone, we have created a 25th Anniversary page on our website that evokes the development of our company over the past quarter-century.

MDPI has been a pioneer of Open Access publishing ever since the concept was first created.

In a wide-ranging interview, our CEO Delia Mihaila reflects on the company’s 25th anniversary and its contribution to the world of scientific publishing.

Delia considers how MDPI has evolved since starting life in 1996 as a visionary ‘project’ run out of an apartment in Basel, Switzerland, by Dr. Shu-Kun Lin. A chemist who was passionate about the long-term preservation of rare chemical sample, Dr. Lin was determined to help scholars publish their findings as quickly as possible and make their research results available to as wide a readership as possible worldwide. That determination remains unchanged 25 years later.

Today, MDPI is an international organization with over 4,000 employees based on three continents and in ten countries, and ranks among the world's top four academic publishers.

MDPI's mission is to accelerate access to new scientific research, delivering insight faster for researchers worldwide. Read more here about the company's remarkable success story and what the Open Access publishing model can offer the global scientific community.

We are pleased to announce that 29 new scholars were recently appointed as Editorial Board Members for the journal Membranes.

Prof. Dr. Kwang Jin Kim (University of Southern California, USA)
Prof. Dr. Seunghyeon Moon (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Korea)
Prof. Dr. Jonathan Soboloff (Temple University, USA)
Prof. Dr. Petros Samaras (International Hellenic University, Greece)
Prof. Dr. Gyula Vatai (Szent István University, Hungary)
Prof. Dr. Byung Joo Kim (Pusan National University, Korea)
Prof. Dr. Maxime Pontié (Angers University, France)
Prof. Dr. Shihe Yang (Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, China)
Prof. Dr. Udo Kragl (University of Rostock, Germany)
Prof. Dr. Fu Liu (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Prof. Dr. Huanting Wang (Monash University, Australia)
Prof. Dr. Xiaomao Wang (Tsinghua University, China)
Dr. Carme Güell (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain)
Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Stamatialis (University of Twente, The Netherlands)
Dr. Aaron Thornton (CSIRO Manufacturing, Australia)
Prof. Dr. Anastasios J. Karabelas (Centre for Research and Technology—Hellas (CERTH), Greece)
Prof. Dr. Zhaoxiang Zhong (Nanjing Tech University, China)
Prof. Dr. Karel Friess (University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT) Prague, Czech Republic)
Prof. Dr. Hong Wu (Tianjin University, China)
Prof. Dr. Rebecca Green (University of Reading, UK)
Prof. Dr. Zhi Wang (Tianjin University, China)
Dr. Dinis Reis Miranda (Erasmus University Medical Center, The Netherlands)
Prof. Dr. Gheorghe Benga (Romanian Academy, Romania)
Prof. Dr. Liyuan Deng (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway)
Dr. Byungchan Bae (Korea Institute of Energy Research, Korea)
Dr. Hyung Keun Lee (Korea Institute of Energy Research, Korea)
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schuster (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)
Dr. Alessandra Criscuoli (Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR), Italy)
Dr. Jean Chemin (Universités de Montpellier, France) 

We wish them every success in developing the journal. 

Further details about the Editorial Board can be found at:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes/editors.

At MDPI, we strive to make your online publication process seamless and efficient. To achieve this, our team is continuously developing tools and features to make the user experience useful and convenient.

As the number of academic papers continues to grow, so does the need to analyze and work with them on a large scale. This prompted us to design a new feature aimed at helping researchers find journals that are relevant to their publication by matching their abstract topic. In this regard, we designed a similarity model that automatically identifies the most suitable academic journals for your paper.

We are pleased to introduce Journal Selector, a new feature that measures similarity in academic contexts. By simply entering the title and/or abstract into our Journal Selector, the author will see a list of the most related scientific journals published by MDPI. This method helps authors select the correct journals for their papers, highlighting the time of publication and citability.

The methodology is known as representation learning, where words are represented as vectors in hyperspace. Representation helps us differentiate between different concepts within articles, and in turn, helps us identify similarities between them.

We used an advanced machine learning model to better capture the semantic meanings of words. This helps the algorithm make better predictions by leveraging scientific text representation. In turn, this ensures high precision, helping authors decide which journal they should submit their paper to.

The goal is to support authors to publish their work in the most suitable journal for their research, as fast as possible, accelerating their career progress.

Contact: Andrea Perlato, Head of Data Analytics, MDPI (email)

We hope to call upon your expertise as a reviewer to help maintain the quality and efficiency of Membranes.

We are particularly interested in recruiting reviewers in the below-listed fields related to membranes science. In recent decades, this area has attracted a lot of research interest and significant progress has been made. We welcome scholars with research experience in topics including, but not limited to, the following:

Membrane Preparation and Characterization
Fundamentals of Membrane Processes
Membrane Engineering and Applications
Membrane Modeling and Simulation
Membranes in Life Sciences

As a reviewer, you will receive the following benefits:

1. The Membranes Editorial Board will acknowledge all reviewers in its annual reviewer list through a publication/announcement in the "Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Membranes" editorial on the journal website.
2. Reviewer members who provide prompt, thorough, and rigorous peer-review reports will receive a voucher that can be applied to reduce the cost of their next publication in an MDPI journal.
3. Reviewers may be presented with the possibility of joining the Editorial Board of the journal (subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief).

We would greatly appreciate your support and if you are interested in this position, please submit your information at https://susy.mdpi.com/volunteer/journals/review.

Membranes is launching a new position—Topic Editor. The main responsibilities of Topic Editors are as follows:

1. Setting up at least one Special Issue (SI) within the first two years of the journal opening, and proposing a detailed strategy plan for the SI (including soliciting papers, promoting the SI, etc.);
2. Promoting the journal during conferences (adding 1–2 slides into your presentation, distributing flyers, recommending the journal to your colleagues, etc.);
3. Facilitating a collaboration between the journal and related institutions/societies/conferences, etc.;
4. Providing support for Special Issues on topics related to your expertise or when the Guest Editor(s) is/are not available, including SI promotion via social media, pre-checking new submissions, making decisions, giving advice on particular scientific cases, etc.

Benefits:

1. 50% discounts on the article processing charge (APC, 1800 CHF) for papers published in Membranes per year in the Special Issues you supervise, and special discounts on any additional papers from your group or by your invitation;
2. Travel grants per year if you lead a successful Special Issue and would like to promote it at conferences that you attend or organize;
3. Additional sponsorships for conferences organized by Topic Editors.

If you are interested in this role or if you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us ([email protected]).

For more information about Membranes, please visit the website:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes

It is our pleasure to welcome the following recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Membranes:

Prof. Dr. Akihiko Tanioka, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Prof. Dr. Kew-Ho Lee, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea

Prof. Dr. Marek Bryjak, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland

Prof. Dr. Michael Zharnikov, Heidelberg University, Germany

Prof. Dr. José Villalaín Boullón, Universitas “Miguel Hernández”, Spain

Prof. Dr. Bart Van der Bruggen, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Prof. Dr. César Valderrama, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)-BarcelonaTECH, Spain

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Stamatialis, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Ivo F.J. Vankelecom, KU Leuven, Belgium

Prof. Dr. Michael Stoukides, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Prof. Dr. Yung Chang, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan

Prof. Kamalesh K. Sirkar, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA

Prof. Dr. Sangho Lee, Kookmin University, Korea

Prof. Dr. Eric Guibal, Institut Mines Telecom—Mines Ales, France

Prof. Dr. Hongyang Ma, Stony Brook University, USA

Dr. Mazeyar Parvinzadeh Gashti, Research and Development Laboratory, Canada

Prof. Dr. Moon-Sung Kang, Sangmyung University, Korea

Prof. Dr. Nidal Hilal, Swansea University, UK

MDPI is proud to adopt the principles of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) to support building equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications.

The C4DISC represents organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications and is focused on addressing issues of diversity and inclusion within the publishing industry.

MDPI’s Managing Editors encourage the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to appoint diverse expert Editorial Boards. This is also reflective in our multi-national and inclusive workplace. We are proud to create equal opportunities without regard to gender, ethnicity, geographic location, sexual orientation, age, disability, political beliefs, religion, or socio-economic status. There is no place for discrimination in our workplace and editors of MDPI journals are to uphold these principles in high regard.

Representatives from C4DISC meet monthly, and have started to implement initiatives to shed light and improve on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications. Some of the initiatives include developing a joint statement of principles; conducting market research; providing training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation for our collective memberships; and establishing outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications.

The Coalition is committed to:

• eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
• creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
• promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
• raising awareness about career opportunities in our industries to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
• supporting our members in achieving diversity and inclusion within their organizations.

We are pleased to announce that Membranes has passed the milestone of having published 1000 papers since its inception in 2011. On behalf of the editorial team, we would like to express our gratitude to the Editor-in-Chief of Membranes Prof. Dr. Spas D. Kolev, and Section Editors-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Shiro Suetsugu, Prof. Dr. Giulio C. Sarti, Prof. Dr. Benjamin S. Hsiao, Prof. Dr. Wojciech Kujawski, and Prof. Dr. Clàudia Fontàs. Our gratitude extends to all the Editorial Board Members, Topic Board members, and Guest Editors of Special Issues. Together, they have ensured the continued success of the journal through their hard work and diligence. In addition, we also acknowledge the many valuable publications from our authors and the important contribution of our dedicated reviewers. We wish to thank you all for your support, and we look forward to receiving more quality submissions from you in the future.

Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375) is an open-access journal published monthly online by MDPI, covering all aspects of science and technology of both biological and non-biological membranes. It is now covered in the Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science) and Scopus. With a 2019 Impact Factor of 3.094, it ranks 53th out of 143 (Q2) titles in the ‘’Engineering, Chemical’’, 129th of 314 (Q2) titles in the ‘’Materials Science, Multidisciplinary’’, and 23rd out of 89 (Q2) titles in the ‘’Polymer Science’’ categories.

At MDPI we have slightly revised the layout for articles to be published in the 2021 Volume, starting at the end of December 2020. As of today, the article templates available for download on ‘Instructions for Authors’ pages have been updated.

The most noticeable change can be found on the first page of the article, where a left-hand column has been created to include the following front matter elements: (i) the recommended citation style for the article, (ii) the publishing history, (iii) as well as the Creative Commons Attribution license used (iv) a standard note regarding affiliations. At the same time, the extra spacing on the left means the authors’ affiliations are now more clearly set apart than before. Other front matter key elements such as journal logo, article type, article title, authors, abstract and keywords remain unchanged.

The blank column on the left runs through all pages in an article; as a result, the main text is slightly more condensed, which improve reader friendliness for smaller screens. Small figures/tables are aligned on the left with standard indenture, while large figures/tables are centered and covering the full width of the page. The revised layout was applied in the article pictured below, to serve as an example:

1) Information is displayed in the left information bar.

2) In the main text, there is a blank column on the left.

3) Small tables/figures are aligned on the left, large tables/figures are centered.

We are pleased to acknowledge that many academic editors who have made an impact on MDPI journals as editorial board members, editors-in-chief, or section editors, are recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate.

Highly Cited Researchers highlights the top 1% of researchers, by citations, in one or more of the 22 fields used in Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators. We offer our congratulations to 279 academic editors of MDPI journals who were recognized as the most influential scholars in their fields in 2020.

The full list of 2020 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed on https://recognition.webofsciencegroup.com/awards/highly-cited/2020/

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

MDPI will be attending the China Materials Conference and Exhibition 2020, Qingdao, Shandong, China, November 19–21, 2020.

CMC's 19th annual meeting is the premier venue for the presentation in the field of materials sciences, where one can learn from experts, forge collaborations with peers, explore new tools and technologies, and advance their career.

The purpose of the conference is to build an exchange platform for experts, scholars, professors, scientific and technological workers, relevant government management departments and leaders, entrepreneurs, and related personnel, engaged in the scientific research, development, and industrialization of new materials in China to exchange and share the latest materials research achievements, in order to achieve the purpose of mutual promotion and common improvement.

There are many outstanding people in the committee of the meeting, such as Professor Boyun Huang and Academician Lian Zhou of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Bingbo Wei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc. The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Coatings (leading journal);
• Materials;
• Crystals;
• Energies;
• Molecules;
• Metals;
• Nanomaterials;
• Polymers.
• Actuators
• Sustainability
• Membranes
• Technologies
• Gels
• ASI

If you are also attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (Booth C13). Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit: http://cmc2020.medcon.net.cn/cn/web/index/

It is our pleasure to welcome the following 35 recognized researchers to join the Editorial Board of Membranes. We look forward to their contributions to the journal.

We are delighted to announce the establishment of our Open Access agreement with Jisc Collections, which will allow UK institutions to benefit from access to article processing charge (APC) discounts and streamlined payment workflows.

All institutions participating in the agreement will also gain access to the MDPI online submission system where they can find full article metadata and pricing information for easy identification and additional transparency.

Eligible authors affiliated with the participating institutions are prompted to choose the corresponding Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP) when they submit an article via our online submission system.

About Jisc

Jisc's vision is for the UK to be the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world. At its heart is the super-fast national research and education network, Janet, with built-in cyber security protection.  Jisc also provides technology solutions for its members (colleges, universities and research centres) and customers (public sector bodies), helps members save time and money by negotiating sector-wide deals and provides advice and practical assistance on digital technology. Jisc is funded by the UK higher and further education and research funding bodies and member institutions.

For more information, contact [email protected]

About MDPI

MDPI is a publisher of fully peer-reviewed, Open Access journals with a focus on thorough and rapid editorial processing. Its aim is to ensure that high-quality research is verified and made available to the research community as quickly as possible. MDPI stands at the forefront of the Open Access movement, having launched its first online journal Molecules in 1996. Today, MDPI is a leader in Open Access publishing with over 250 journals across all research disciplines, and all content published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

For any questions about this agreement, please contact the MDPI IOAP team at [email protected].

The updated citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), published by Clarivate. The recent release of the JCR includes seventy-one MDPI titles. Out of these, 18 titles are newcomers, receiving a first Journal Impact Factor which is based on citation activity in 2019: Actuators, Agriculture, Biology, Biomedicines, Biosensors, Chemosensors, Children, Healthcare, Journal of Fungi, Journal of Personalized Medicine (JPM), Land, Life, Magnetochemistry, Membranes, Pharmaceuticals, Photonics, Separations and Toxics.

• Out of the previously listed journals, a total of 72 percent boast an increased Impact Factor.
• 25 journals are ranked among the top 25% of journals in at least one of the categories they are ranked for.
• Articles published in 2019 in MDPI journals account for approximately 17 percent of of articles published in gold Open Access journals covered in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).
  
  

First Impact Factors

Updated Impact Factors