Advanced Materials for Sustainable Energy Conversion and Storage

The transition toward a carbon-neutral economy relies heavily on the development of efficient, cost-effective, and scalable technologies for renewable energy utilization. Central to this challenge is the design of advanced materials capable of overcoming the performance limits of current energy systems. This Research Topic is launched in conjunction with the International Symposium on Recent Advances in Materials Science (IRAMS 2026), hosted by Duy Tan University in Da Nang, Vietnam, in strategic partnership with Soongsil University and Kyung Hee University (South Korea). Building on the symposium’s mission to foster collaborative innovation between leading international experts and rising researchers, this collection explores the intersection of fundamental materials science and applied energy engineering. It highlights recent breakthroughs discussed at IRAMS-2026—specifically in nanostructured materials, composites, and functional surfaces—that are essential for realizing a sustainable and resilient global energy infrastructure.

Goal:

The primary goal of this Research Topic is to consolidate cutting-edge research presented at IRAMS-2026 and beyond, bridging the gap between fundamental materials science and practical energy applications. As global energy demands rise, existing technologies face significant limitations in efficiency, durability, and cost-effectiveness. This collection aims to capture the critical exchange of ideas from the symposium, showcasing how novel material architectures can solve these engineering challenges.

We seek to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue among the chemists, physicists, and engineers participating in the symposium and the broader scientific community. By highlighting studies that move beyond proof-of-concept to demonstrate real-world viability, this topic strives to define the future roadmap for high-performance energy systems, as envisioned by the IRAMS collaborative network.

Scope and Information for Authors:

This Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Review, and Perspective articles, particularly those expanded from presentations given at IRAMS-2026. We specifically invite contributions that focus on the synthesis, characterization, and theoretical modeling of advanced materials for:

• Electrochemical Energy Storage: Next-generation batteries (Li-ion, Na-ion, metal-air), solid-state electrolytes, and high-power supercapacitors.
• Solar Energy Conversion: Perovskite solar cells, organic photovoltaics, and photoelectrochemical water splitting.
• Catalysis and Fuel Cells: Electrocatalysts for hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, and fuel cell membrane technologies.
• Thermal Management: Materials for thermoelectric generation and phase-change thermal storage.