Advances in Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 765

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Interests: electrocatalysis; stability; fuel cells; electrolyzers; single crystals; operando methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, V94T9PX Limerick, Ireland
Interests: electrocatalysis; sensors; supercapacitors; carbon materials; bioelectrochemistry; materials science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world is facing the crisis of climate change associated with the use of fossil fuels and related CO2 and greenhouse gases emissions. The global population needs to fulfill their energy needs with alternative and sustainable green and renewable energy conversion and storage technologies with no detrimental effects on the environment.

Among the renewable and sustainable sources of energy, the ones most frequently considered are solar, wind, tidal and hydropower. However, due to the intermittent nature of these energy sources, these technologies are only operative for some part of the day. Therefore, alternatives to the use of these renewable sources of energy are necessary. Electrochemical energy storage and conversion methods can play a key role in a more sustainable landscape. They can convert, store and transport energy when other alternative renewable sources are inefficient. Different energy conversion and storage methods include fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries, and supercapacitors.

This Special Issue, titled “Advances in Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies”, focuses on the latest research and developments in this area. We are pleased to invite you to submit articles within the scope of physical chemistry, materials science and chemical engineering, aimed at developing new electrocatalysts and devices for electrochemical energy storage and Conversion. Original research and review articles are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Electrocatalysis;
  • Interfacial Electrochemistry;
  • Physical Methods for the Study of Electrode Surfaces and Interfaces;
  • Computational Simulations in Electrochemistry;
  • Electrochemical Engineering;
  • Electrochemical Materials Science;
  • Fuel Cells;
  • Electrolyzers;
  • Batteries;
  • Supercapacitors;
  • Flow Batteries;
  • Solar Cells and Solar Electrolyzers.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Valentín Briega Martos
Guest Editor

Dr. Andres Quintero-Jaime
Guest Editor Assistant

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes 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 2400 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.

Keywords

  • electrochemistry
  • electrocatalysis
  • energy storage
  • energy conversion
  • fuel cells
  • electrolyzers
  • batteries
  • supercapacitors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 3918 KiB  
Article
Engineered Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4/GCN Spinel Nanostructures for Dual-Functional Energy Storage and Electrocatalytic Water Splitting
by Abdus Sami, Sohail Ahmad, Ai-Dang Shan, Sijie Zhang, Liming Fu, Saima Farooq, Salam K. Al-Dawery, Hamed N. Harharah, Ramzi H. Harharah and Gasim Hayder
Processes 2025, 13(7), 2200; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13072200 - 9 Jul 2025
Viewed by 313
Abstract
The rapid growth in population and industrialization have significantly increased global energy demand, placing immense pressure on finite and environmentally harmful conventional fossil fuel-based energy sources. In this context, the development of hybrid electrocatalysts presents a crucial solution for energy conversion and storage, [...] Read more.
The rapid growth in population and industrialization have significantly increased global energy demand, placing immense pressure on finite and environmentally harmful conventional fossil fuel-based energy sources. In this context, the development of hybrid electrocatalysts presents a crucial solution for energy conversion and storage, addressing environmental challenges while meeting rising energy needs. In this study, the fabrication of a novel bifunctional catalyst, copper nickel aluminum spinel (Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4) supported on graphitic carbon nitride (GCN), using a solid-state synthesis process is reported. Because of its effective interface design and spinel cubic structure, the Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4/GCN nanocomposite, as synthesized, performs exceptionally well in electrochemical energy conversion, such as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and energy storage. In particular, compared to noble metals, Pt/C- and IrO2-based water-splitting cells require higher voltages (1.70 V), while for the Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4/GCN nanocomposite, a voltage of 1.49 V is sufficient to generate a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in an alkaline solution. When used as supercapacitor electrode materials, Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4/GCN nanocomposites show a specific capacitance of 1290 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 and maintain a specific capacitance of 609 F g−1 even at a higher current density of 5 A g−1, suggesting exceptional rate performance and charge storage capacity. The electrode’s exceptional capacitive properties were further confirmed through the determination of the roughness factor (Rf), which represents surface heterogeneity and active area enhancement, with a value of 345.5. These distinctive characteristics render the Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4/GCN composite a compelling alternative to fossil fuels in the ongoing quest for a viable replacement. Undoubtedly, the creation of the Cu0.5Ni0.5Al2O4/GCN composite represents a significant breakthrough in addressing the energy crisis and environmental concerns. Owing to its unique composition and electrocatalytic characteristics, it is considered a feasible choice in the pursuit of ecologically sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Full article
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