Advances in Solid-State and Hybrid Batteries: Interface Engineering and Ion Mobility

The rapidly growing field of energy storage is becoming increasingly focused on solid-state and hybrid batteries, which offer significant safety and energy density advantages over traditional lithium-based systems. At the core of these advancements is the critical behavior of ion transport across interfaces, where the interaction of different materials influences key phenomena such as conductivity, stability, and overall electrochemical efficiency. Current research is dedicated to understanding and optimizing these interactions to unlock the full potential of next-generation battery technologies. Progress in materials science, nanotechnology, and computational modeling is providing deeper insights into the dynamics of these interfaces and the mechanisms of ion transport.

Despite substantial advancements in battery technology, the challenge of achieving high-performance, safe, and long-lasting energy storage systems persists. Solid-state and hybrid batteries present attractive prospects due to their superior energy density and enhanced safety features. However, challenges related to ion transport across complex interfaces, such as poor interfacial contact, high resistance, chemical instability, and issues with fabrication and operational pressures, pose significant obstacles to their widespread adoption. These challenges result in compromised ion mobility, performance degradation, and reliability concerns.

This Research Topic aims to address these challenges by showcasing innovative approaches in interface engineering, material design, and advanced characterization techniques. By exploring ion behavior at the micro- and nanoscale across various material boundaries, the initiative seeks to uncover pathways for optimizing conductivity, stability, and efficiency. Through such explorations, the development of next-generation batteries can be accelerated by overcoming key barriers in ion transport and interface science.

To gather further insights in this expansive field, this Topic welcomes articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Solid electrolyte/electrode interfaces
- Composite electrolyte systems
- Grain boundary transport
- Artificial interphases
- Interface modeling and simulations

Contributions that explore emerging materials, scalable fabrication methods, and strategies for performance optimization are encouraged. Manuscripts may be submitted in the form of full-length research articles, reviews, or mini-reviews. Multidisciplinary approaches that integrate experimental and theoretical insights are especially valued, with the purpose of advancing understanding in interface engineering and ion dynamics for future energy storage solutions.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: solid-state batteries, ion transport, interface engineering, electrochemical stability, hybrid energy storage

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.