Call For Papers: Polymer-Electrolyte Interphases

Polymer–electrolyte interphases (PEIs) are critical to modern and emergent electrochemical technologies, governing performance, stability, and lifetime of batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, photoelectrodes, and electrochemical sensors. Spanning a meso-length scale rather than a discrete boundary (interface), the interphase exhibits highly dynamic functionality. These interphases fundamentally determine transport and redox phenomena, including coupled ionic and electronic conductivity, electrochemical doping states, voltage stability windows, and mechanical strain accommodation. Consequently, PEIs present both a critical failure point and an opportunity for innovative materials design; understanding and controlling the formation and evolution of these interphases is essential for optimizing device performance.

This Special Issue at Chemistry of Materials aims to bring together contributions that advance the fundamental understanding and practical control of polymer–electrolyte interphases, with a key focus on the role of polymer architecture and dynamics in governing functional properties.

Topics of Interest

Topics include, but are not limited to:

Fundamental Aspects of Polymer–Electrolyte Interphases

• Mechanisms of interphase formation and evolution
• Thermodynamics and kinetics at polymer–electrolyte boundaries
• Coupled ionic-electronic and localized ionic transport phenomena
• Influence of polymer chain dynamics and relaxation on interfacial processes
• Correlation between chemical/molecular composition and interfacial properties

Materials Design and Engineering

• Design of functional polymer architectures, including but not limited to mixed ionic-electronic conductors, solid polymer electrolytes, and gel systems
• Advanced polymer blends, blocks, and hybrid organic-inorganic polymer-electrolyte systems
• Tailored interfacial layers and coatings

Non-classical Electrochemical Mechanisms and Interfacial Dynamics

• Spatiotemporal measurement and control of electric fields and electrochemical potential distributions
• Deviation from classic Nernstian redox kinetics and Fickian transport models
• Mechanics of dendrite suppression and morphological interfacial stability
• Viscoelastic properties, mechanical stress evolution, and strain accommodation
• Adhesion, wetting behavior, and contact resistance at polymer–electrode junctions

Advanced Characterization Techniques

• In situ and operando spectroscopy or microscopy
• Advanced electron and scanning probe microscopy
• Neutron and X-ray scattering, diffraction, and reflectivity
• Surface-sensitive analytical techniques
• Multiscale and multi-dimensional imaging of evolving interphases

Modeling and Simulation

• Atomistic and molecular dynamics simulations of interphases
• Continuum modeling of ion transport and interfacial kinetics
• Data-driven frameworks, high-throughput screening, and machine learning for interphase design
• Multiscale modeling paradigms linking molecular structure to device performance

Submit your manuscript by January 15, 2027.

Organizing Editors

Prof. Chad Risko, Associate Editor, Chemistry of Materials
University of Kentucky, United States

Prof. Simone Fabiano, Guest Editor
Linköping University, Sweden

Prof. Christine Luscombe, Guest Editor
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Prof. Erin Ratcliff, Guest Editor
Georgia Institute of Technology, United States

Submission Information

We welcome submissions for this Special Issue through January 15, 2027. For more information on submission requirements, please visit the journal’s Author Guidelines page.

Accepted manuscripts for consideration in this Special Issue will include research Articles, Perspectives, Reviews, and Methods/Protocols. Papers accepted for publication for this Special Issue will be available ASAP (as soon as publishable) online as soon as they are accepted. After all submissions have been published, they will then be compiled online on a dedicated landing page to form the Special Issue. Manuscripts submitted for consideration will undergo the full rigorous peer review process expected from ACS journals.

Open Access: There are diverse open-access options for publications in American Chemical Society journals. Please visit our Open Science Resource Center for more information.

How to Submit

• Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
• Select your manuscript type; upload your manuscript and related files.
• Review the title and abstract fields to ensure any pre-populated information has uploaded correctly.
• Under "Special Issue Selection," select Polymer-Electrolyte Interphases.
• Confirm all other information has uploaded correctly.
• Submit your article.

If you have any general questions regarding submission to this Special Issue, please contact Prof. Chad Risko (risko-office@cm.acs.org).