Frontiers in energy materials research: novel measurement, modelling and processing approaches

Approaches to energy generation and storage are undergoing phenomenally rapid change, driven by transitions to net-zero carbon emissions and a need for energy security to support human development and growth. These developments are being enabled by a new generation of functional materials designed for specific applications in renewable energy applications, including solar cells, photocatalytic nanomaterials, thermoelectrics, batteries, fuel cells and super-capacitors. Cutting-edge research in the physical sciences has critically underpinned these efforts, through advances in three complementary fields. First, it is becoming increasingly feasible to assess specific materials properties required for energy applications through novel, fast and accurate characterization approaches. For example, local probes may determine spatial variation in performance, processes occurring at interfaces, or identify local sites initiating degradation. In addition, in-situ probes and combinatorial approaches increasingly allow for multimodal analyses with high accuracy, now often also guided by machine learning approaches. Meanwhile, non-contact, non-destructive performance probes enable information to be gathered both in-operando, and for material constituents prior to their optimization within an energy application. Second, continuous development of first principles computational methods has significantly enhanced predictive power over functional materials design. Vastly increased computational infrastructure now allows for rapid materials screening on theoretical grounds, placing humanity at the cusp of being able to design and select solids with targeted properties from first principles. Third, advances in processing approaches have revolutionized the speed with which functional materials may be shaped for any given energy application. Novel deposition approaches for specific energy applications are quickly evolving, for example in additive manufacturing, vapor-deposition, nanocomposite engineering and robotic high-throughput techniques. These combined advances have transformed the discovery and improvement of new energy materials from the past slow, trial-and-error search into a rapid, targeted and systematic exploration. This APR Special Topic will explore cutting-edge research in these three areas, serving as an introduction to the state of the art in novel measurement, modelling and processing approaches for the next generation of materials with energy applications.

Guest Editors: Aron Walsh and Haimei Zheng, with APR Editor-in-Chief Laura Herz.