Energy Storage and Electrochemical Performance of Metals

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the fundamental principles and applied advances in metallic materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. It centers on the use of metals and metal-based compounds—as electrodes, catalysts, or current collectors—in devices including batteries (e.g., Li-ion, Na-ion, Zn-based, and metal–air batteries), supercapacitors, and electrocatalytic systems (e.g., water splitting, CO₂ reduction, and fuel cells). Performance is rigorously evaluated through key metrics, including specific capacity, energy and power density, rate capability, cycling stability, and catalytic activity. Core scientific understanding hinges on charge-storage mechanisms—including intercalation, alloying, and conversion reactions—as well as ion/electron transport kinetics and electrode/electrolyte interfacial stability.

Scientifically, elucidating structure–property relationships, reaction pathways, and degradation mechanisms at atomic, nanoscale, and operando levels is essential to advance materials science and electrochemistry. From an engineering standpoint, rational design strategies—including nanostructuring, porous structuring, interface engineering, defect modulation, and scalable fabrication (e.g., electrodeposition, chemical bath deposition, and roll-to-roll processing)—are critical to realizing high-energy, long-lifetime, safe, and cost-effective devices.

We invite authors to submit original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and forward-looking perspectives on topics including: advanced metallic and bimetallic electrode design; medium- or high-entropy metallic energy materials; metallic in situ/operando characterization and computational modeling; mechanistic insights into electrochemical processes; stability enhancement and failure analysis; and integrative device architectures enabling practical deployment. By bridging discovery-level science and application-driven engineering, this issue aims to accelerate the development of robust, sustainable, and scalable metallic energy materials for a sustainable future.

Dr. Guangya Hou
Prof. Dr. Liankui Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.