Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Materials Advances is delighted to announce an open call for papers to our new themed collection focusing on amorphous materials!

If you are interested in contributing to this collection, please get in touch with the Editorial Office by email.

This themed collection is Guest Edited by:

• Professor Shuai Wei, Aarhus University
• Professor Juejun Hu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Dr Yanwen Sun, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Amorphous materials, broadly defined as condensed matter without crystalline structures, have become subjects of increasing interest in the twenty-first century. Philip W. Anderson once observed that “Randomness and disorder could result in generic properties that are utterly different from those of merely somewhat impure regular materials”. Amorphous materials exemplify this principle, inhabiting a realm of intrinsic complexity from structural disorder and often being intertwined with the problems of nonequilibrium or far-from-equilibrium behaviors. This broad category encompasses a wide range of systems including, but not limited to, oxide glasses, amorphous metals, chalcogenide and metalloids, molecular systems, polymers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and even amorphous ice. Research in amorphous materials not only searches for new phenomena and new types of theories for “the deepest puzzle” in condensed matter science, but also is indispensable for technological innovations, spanning displays, mechanical components, electronic and photonic computing circuits, biomedicine and drug delivery vehicles, energy storage devices, and beyond.

This themed collection on Amorphous Materials invites contributions from research communities of amorphous materials across disciplines including physics, chemistry, and materials engineering. It aims to bring together diverse perspectives from various fields to highlight current frontiers and future directions in the research of amorphous materials. The scope includes:

• Various types of amorphous materials, including, not limited to, oxide and geological glasses, amorphous metals, chalcogenide and metalloids, molecular systems, polymers, MOFs, and amorphous ice and aqueous system
• Dynamics, relaxations, aging, property drifting, ultrastable glasses, rejuvenations
• Phase transitions, glass transitions, crystallizations, melting, phase switching, polyamorphism,
• Emerging experimental techniques, including in-situ, operando, atomic- and nano-scales, multiscale, ultrafast, time-resolved, pump-probe, pulse/photo-excited
• Properties including mechanical, electronic, optical, vibrational, thermodynamical, and kinetic properties
• Structure-property relationships
• Materials in extreme conditions, high pressure, high voltage, external fields, and superheating, supercooling
• Theories, models, simulations, machine learning, and novel computational methods
• Applications of amorphous solids in functional devices

We are happy to consider both review articles and primary research work. If you are interested in contributing to this collection, please get in touch with the Editorial Office.

Submit your article before 28 February 2026.

Publishing open access with RSC journals unlocks the full potential of your research – bringing increased visibility, wider readership and higher citation potential to your work. As a not-for-profit organisation serving the chemical sciences community, we ensure that our article processing charge (APC) remains the most competitive of major publishers. More details can be found here and the standard APC for Materials Advances is £2,100 (+local taxes if applicable). There is a 15% RSC member and RSC open access agreement discount available (applicable to full price only). You can also use our journal finder tool to check if your institution currently has an agreement with the RSC that may entitle you to a discount of the APC.

Additional submission information

Please add a “note to the editor” in the submission form when you submit your manuscript to say that this is a submission for the themed collection amorphous materials.

The Editorial Office and Guest Editors reserve the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of the collection and inclusion of accepted articles in the collection is not guaranteed. All manuscripts will be subject to the journal’s usual peer review process. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are online, and they will be published in a regular issue of Materials Advances.

Congratulations to the winners of the Best Short Oral Presentation Prizes at the 21st International Zeolite Conference in Dalian, China!

Guangrui Chen, Jilin University

Guangrui Chen received his Ph.D. degree from Jilin University in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Jihong Yu. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Yu’s group. His research focuses on developing new synthesis strategies and exploring catalytic applications for hierarchical zeolites and zeolite-based composites.

Qiang Zhang, Jilin University

Qiang Zhang is currently an associate professor at Jilin University. He received his Ph.D. degree from Jilin University in 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Jihong Yu. After a Dingxin Scholar Postdoctoral experience with Prof. Jihong Yu, he joined the International Center of Future Science at Jilin University in 2024. His research interests include designed synthesis and crystallization mechanism of zeolite materials and the catalytic applications of zeolite and zeolite-based catalysts in C1 chemistry, lactide production, propane dehydrogenation, and low-temperature alkane oxidation.

Fang Li, East China Normal University

Peng Zhu, Dalian University of Technology

Weiyu Wang, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology,CAS

Hao Xiong, Tsinghua University

Hao Xiong received his BS degree (2019) and PhD degree (2024) in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University under the supervision of Prof. Fei Wei. He continued his postdoctoral work at Tsinghua University. His research interests are in the development of in situ low-dose imaging techniques and their application in heterogeneous catalysis.

Bo Peng, Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing Co., LTD.

Bo Peng graduated from Tsinghua University and Nanjing University with B. Eng. and M. Sc. degrees, respectively. He then worked as a Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter at Lehrstuhl II für Technische Chemie, Technische Universität München, and received his doctoral title (Dr.-Ing.) in 2016 supervised by Prof. Johannes A. Lercher. Afterward, he conducted postdoctoral research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Applied Catalysis Team, Energy & Environment Directorate) and was offered a research engineer position in 2019. At the end of 2019, Bo joined SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP) as a staff engineer in the FCC Catalysts Department. The institute re-established the Basic Research Department in 2024, where Bo acts as the deputy director responsible for the R&D activities. He is also a research fellow and is an adjunct graduate student advisor at multiple universities and research institutes. Bo is active in application-oriented fundamental research for refining technology and green carbon science, specializing in heterogeneous catalysis and reaction engineering. In addition, he is the executive director of RIPP’s youth academic committee, an editorial board member of the journal “Carbon and Hydrogen”, and a member of CIESC’s petrochemical engineering professional committee.

Sen Wang, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Tongrui Liu, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Tongrui Liu is currently a PhD candidate in the team of Academician Zhongmin Liu and Prof. Peng Tian at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics(DICP). His research interest is focused on the development of efficient synthesis methods for zeolites and their catalytic applications, with a specific focus on the efficient and controllable synthesis of small-pore zeolites, as well as the modulation of their properties in the fields of SCR and MTO.

Yipu Xu, China University of Petroleum

Yi-Pu Xu is a PhD student jointly affiliated with the China University of Petroleum (East China) and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. At this conference, I’ve given a short oral presentation entitled “Diffusion and Cracking Reaction Kinetics Study Based on ZSM-5@meso-SiO₂ Model Catalysts.” I’m really honored to share our work, and I think it’s incredibly meaningful to have the chance to engage in scientific discussions with researchers from around the world at my PhD stage.

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Prakash Chandra Mondal (Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India) to the Advisory Board of Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

Dr. Prakash Chandra Mondal received his M.Sc. in Chemistry from IIT Kharagpur in 2008, and Ph.D. from the University of Delhi, India in 2013. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel (2013-2016), then moved to the University of Alberta, Canada. Before joining IIT Kanpur in 2019, he was a Marie-Curie post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Valencia, Spain. At present, he is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur. He works on surface chemistry, electrochromic devices, molecular electronics, and nanofabrication.

Read our interview with Dr. Mondal:

Question: What does it mean to you to join the Advisory Board of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C?

Answer: It is my immense pleasure to join the Advisory Board of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C. This role signifies a meaningful recognition of our teamwork, largely on the ‘molecular electronics’ and provides a valuable opportunity to engage with leading scholars in guiding the journal’s strategic vision. I am committed to supporting the journal’s mission by ensuring the highest standards of scientific rigor and integrity, promoting cutting-edge research, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. I look forward to contributing to the advancement of materials chemistry research and helping to maintain the journal’s position as a premier platform for impactful research in optical, electronic, and magnetic materials. Ultimately, it is a valuable opportunity to contribute to the scientific community and help foster emerging research that can drive future technological breakthroughs.

Question: What is the biggest challenge you currently face in your field?

Answer: The success of any research lab often depends on the passion and creativity of its young researchers. Challenges strengthen a field and shape innovative breakthroughs. The biggest challenge in the fabrication of molecular-scale devices lies in the transition from individual molecule measurements to practical, scalable devices. Integrating molecular electronics with existing silicon-based technologies is also a hurdle.

Question: What advances in your field are you most excited about?

Answer: ‘Molecular electronics’ itself is an exciting domain, where molecules mimic conventional electronics. What excites me most is that why molecules behave tunable electronic features and in-depth understanding through the lenses of experimental and computational studies. Engineering the molecule-electrode interface, crucial for the charge transport studies in molecular electronics, by employing an electrochemical grafting method, is a step towards the fabrication of a robust interface. In our laboratory at IIT Kanpur, we prepare molecular thin films via an electrochemical grafting method to create covalent interfaces between electrode-molecules, controlled thickness, and homo to heterostructures. I am also excited about integrating machine learning with molecular memory devices to enable intelligent, adaptive, and predictive electronics systems at the nanoscale and to merge biology with electronics to develop smart and selective biosensors.

Read Dr. Prakash Chandra Mondal’s latest publications in Journal of Materials Chemistry C below:

Magnetic field enhanced charge conduction in paramagnetic nickel(ii)–cysteine heterostructures

Manajit Mandal, Abhik Ghoshal, Ankur Malik and Prakash Chandra Mondal

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article

A twist in the molecular memory function: chemical compositions of different redox couples control the resistive switching bias polarity

Abhik Ghoshal, Rajwinder Kaur, Sanku Sanju, Alok Kumar Singh and Prakash Chandra Mondal

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, 13, 7307-7317

“All-organic” electrode materials toward high-performing rigid to flexible supercapacitor devices

Pradeep Sachan, Priyanka Makkar, Ankur Malik and Prakash Chandra Mondal

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, 12, 13639-13650

Novel materials and devices for photon and ionizing radiation detection (Deadline: 3 October 2025)

We are delighted to announce this open call for papers to contribute to a themed collection for Journal of Materials Chemistry C on Novel materials and devices for photon and ionizing radiation detection, guest edited by Professor Andrea Ciavatti (University of Bologna, Italy), Professor Francesca Cova (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy) and Professor Michele Sessolo (University of Valencia, Spain).

Scope

This themed collection will focus on novel materials and devices for the sensitive detection of photons and for the conversion of high energy ionizing radiation. The focus will be mainly on organic semiconductors and metal halide perovskites, although the themed collection is open to the submission of alternative materials. The topics will be focused on electromagnetic radiation detection beyond the visible range. Novel developments on active materials both for direct detection and for indirect detection (scintillators) will be covered by the themed collection.

Key Topics to be considered:

Growth/synthesis of new materials for radiation sensors:

• Growth methods for perovskite and organic crystals and defect characterization
• Nanoparticle and polycrystalline perovskite and organic films
• Fabrication of hybrid and meta-materials

Materials and devices characterization:

• UV and high energy photon detection
• NIR photon detection
• Noise and defects in advanced detectors
• Materials for neutron and charge particles detection
• Scintillators for fast timing detection and imaging
• Interaction of nanomaterials and nanocomposites with ionizing radiation from fundamental to applied perspectives
• Long-term stability, environmental effects and radiation hardness

Submit to the themed collection

Please consider contributing to this open call for papers for our upcoming themed collection on Novel materials and devices for photon and ionizing radiation detection to be published in Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

Submissions should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry C. Please see the journal’s website for more information on the journal’s scope, standards, article types and author guidelines.

This call for papers is open for the following article types:

• Communications
• Full papers

Open for Submissions until 3 October 2025

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, you can submit your article directly to the online submission service for Journal of Materials Chemistry C. Please mention that this submission is a contribution to the Novel materials and devices for photon and ionizing radiation detection collection in the “Themed issues” section of the submission form and add a “Note to the Editor” that this is from the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection, and inclusion of accepted articles in the final themed issue is not guaranteed.

Please also note that all submissions will be subject to initial assessment and rigorous peer review to meet the usual high standards of Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

Meet the Guest Editors

Professor Andrea Ciavatti (University of Bologna, Italy)

Andrea Ciavatti received M.Sc. Degree in Physics (2010) and the Ph.D in Physics (2015) at the University of Bologna, with a thesis on Transport Properties and Novel Sensing Applications of Organic Semiconducting Crystals. He was Visiting Scientist at University of Surrey (UK) focusing on the direct detection of X-rays, alpha particles and neutrons (2013) and at ETH (Zurich) investigating the charge carrier transport in OTFTs (2014). In 2017 he moved at NEST Laboratory (Pisa, IT) working on THz quantum cascade lasers. From 2020 he is Technical Manager and Adjunct Professor at the Advanced Sensing Laboratory (OPH) of the Department of Physics and Astronomy (DIFA). He is an associate of the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN).

His research focuses on the electrical and photonic characterization of advanced materials and devices: flexible and large-area sensors for ionizing radiation based on organic and hybrid perovskite materials. He is currently involved in research projects aimed at monitoring ionizing radiation exposure in medical and space applications.

Professor Francesca Cova (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)

Francesca Cova is assistant professor at the Department of Materials Science of the University of Milano – Bicocca (Italy). She graduated in Physics in 2016 and earned her PhD in Materials Science and Nanotechnology in 2020, with a thesis on scintillating optical fibers. She is currently working on the development of the future generation of ionizing radiation detectors. Her research interests focus on new, fast, and radiation hard scintillating materials, with special attention to emerging technologies such as nanostructures and nanocomposites, including quantum dots, perovskites nanocrystals, semiconductor nanoplatelets and metal organic frameworks. Besides, the focus of her research is on the presence of defect-related phenomena, deeply investigated by means of thermally stimulated luminescence spectroscopy, to unveil their role in the scintillation process and their influence on the performance of scintillating materials, in order to guide the optimization of scintillating devices.

Professor Michele Sessolo (University of Valencia, Spain)

Michele Sessolo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Valencia. He obtained his degree in Chemistry from the University of Padova (Italy) in 2006, followed by an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. (2010) from the University of Valencia, for his research on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). He later joined the Department of Bioelectronics at the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne (France) as a Marie Curie Fellow, where he worked on the application of conducting polymers in electrophysiology. In 2016, he was awarded a Ramón y Cajal tenure-track fellowship and joined the Institute for Molecular Science (ICMol) at the University of Valencia. His current research focuses on two main areas: the vapor-phase deposition of perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications, and the development of perovskite-based photodetectors − employing both thin films and monolithic materials − for the detection of visible and ionizing radiation.

Congratulations to the prize winners at Ferroelectrics UK and Ireland 2025, sponsored by the materials and nano journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Best oral presentation: sponsored by Materials Horizons

Adrian Savovici, Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials

Adrian Savovici is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials in Düsseldorf, DE. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA working on Order/Disorder phase transformations in ferromagnetic binary alloys. He is primarily interested in solving basic science problems in ferroic materials, with an emphasis on advanced characterization techniques in electron microscopy. His current aim is to further expand the polar metals field.

Best poster: sponsored by Nanoscale Horizons, Nanoscale and Nanoscale Advances

Guilherme Selicani, Technical University of Denmark / University of Bath

Guilherme obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in mechatronics and mechanical engineering, respectively. He is currently a PhD student at the Technical University of Denmark, focusing on applications of computational modelling of complex-shaped ferroelectric ceramics. He was recently awarded the poster presentation prize from Nanoscale Horizons at the Ferroelectrics UK and Ireland 2025 conference in Bath, UK. This award is sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Best industrially related project: sponsored by Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C

Sakineh Fotouhi, University of the West of England

Dr. Sakineh Fotouhi is currently an assistant professor in Smart Materials and Structures at the University of the West of England Bristol. Before joining UWE Bristol, Sakineh had been working on an ambitious project supported by the US Office of Naval Research, in collaboration at the University of Glasgow as a postdoctoral researcher. The research focuses on the characterisation of piezoelectric materials using AI and a single miniature sample, an approach that addresses a significant challenge in the field. Building on this research, Sakineh has been awarded an EPSRC Impact Acceleration grant to collaborate with CeramTec, a leading global supplier of piezoelectric materials based in Germany. This partnership aims to enhance CeramTec’s characterisation processes using the AI-based method developed during her time at Glasgow. Preliminary findings were presented at the Ferroelectrics UK and Ireland 2025 conference (1–2 May), where the project was awarded the Best Industrially Related Project prize on behalf of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Sakineh is now passionate and focused on expanding her research and strengthening academic and industrial collaborations to support both suppliers and users in the field of piezoelectrics.

EES Solar and Journal of Materials Chemistry A were proud to support Symposium D of E-MRS Spring 2025 with poster prizes. The Symposium focused on Next-Generation Solar Technologies: unconventional materials and sustainable innovations for photovoltaic, photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic systems. The organisers included: Francesco Lamberti, Francesca de Rossi, Luigi Angelo Castriotta, Matteo Bonomo, Salvador Eslava and Teresa Gatti (seen in the image below).

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The winner of the Journal of Materials Chemistry A poster prize was Kun Woong Lee (Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea) with the poster titled: A Study on VO2 Protective Layer Deposition and Defect Inactivation of BiVO4 Photoelectrodes via Photoelectrochemical Transition Metal Engineering.

I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea. My research focuses on developing high-performance BiVO4 photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting. I am truly honored to have received the poster prize at this E-MRS meeting.

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The winner of the EES Solar poster prize was Sunwoo Kim (Kyungpook National University, Republic of Korea) with the poster titled: Grain Boundary Passivation for Wide Bandgap Sub-cell of Perovskite Tandem Solar cells using Inorganic Potassium Lead Halide.

I am currently pursuing an integrated M.S.-Ph.D. program in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Kyungpook National University, South Korea, where I also completed my bachelor’s degree. My research focuses on next-generation high-efficiency and high-stability perovskite tandem solar cells. I am passionate about advancing sustainable photovoltaic technologies through innovative materials and device engineering.

Congratulations to these poster prize winners at Symposium D of E-MRS Spring 2025!

Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Horizons were delighted to sponsor the poster prize awards at the 2025 Materials for Medical Devices workshop which took place at the University of Nottingham from 21-22 January 2025. Congratulations to our poster prize winners Antonis Stylianou and Qiran Du! Find out more about them below:

Antonis Stylianou, a PhD student at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy, is at the forefront of vaccine delivery innovation. Under the guidance of Dr. James E. Dixon, Dr. Maria Marlow, and Prof. Janet M. Daly, Antonis is developing mass-deployable, self-administered DNA vaccines using Microneedle Array Patches (MAPs).His research, supported by an EPSRC Industrial CASE studentship in collaboration with Nemaura Medical, aims to revolutionise global immunization strategies. The MAPs Antonis is developing consist of micro-projections under 1 mm in length, enabling painless self-administration of vaccines into the skin. This innovative approach has the potential to eliminate the need for cold-chain infrastructure and reduce dependence on healthcare professionals for vaccine administration. By addressing key challenges in MAP manufacturing and global vaccine accessibility, Antonis’s work represents a significant advancement in pandemic preparedness and vaccine technology. The impact of this research extends beyond technological innovation, with the potential to transform immunisation practices worldwide, particularly benefiting regions with limited healthcare infrastructure. Antonis won a prize for his poster entitled, ‘Mass deployable self-administered DNA vaccines by Microneedle Arrays’

Qiran Du is currently a PhD student in Immunology since 2021 and a Research Associate at the University of Nottingham, UK. Qiran studied a BSc in Pharmacy at Ocean University of China from 2013-2017 before studying an MSc in Pharmaceuticals at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China from 2017 – 2020. Qiran is fascinated by materials and their ability to modulate immune responses and how material controlled applications can be used in areas of wound healing and tissue regeneration to improve lives.  Qiran won a prize for the poster entitled, ‘Elucidating the in vitro immune response to surgical meshes coated with immune-instructive polymer’

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C, Materials Horizons, Materials Advances and Nanoscale Advances were delighted to sponsor poster prizes at the recent 15th Asian Conference on Chemical Sensors (ACCS15) which was held in Kitakyushu-city, Japan from November 17 – 20. We would like to congratulate the winners and you can find out more about them below:

Kimiharu Oba received his B.S. degree in engineering from Tohoku University in 2023. He is currently a master’s student at Tohoku University under supervision of Profs. Shiku and Ino. He is developing a new imaging system based on working on electrochemiluminescence for the visualization of cellular function. Currently, He is visualizing the permeability of vascular endothelial and intestinal epithelial cells, comparing it with electrical resistance values, and investigating cellular drug responses. Kimiharu Oba received a poster prize for his poster entitled ‘Electrochemiluminescence imaging of cell adhesion in gut-on-a-chip’

Kwangmin Shim received his B.S. degree from Hongik University in 2014 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Jung Hwan Seo at the same institution. His research focuses on the development of micro gas chromatography systems for real-time, on-site analysis of hazardous substances. Currently, he is working on designing an advanced micro gas chromatography system specifically targeting ultra-light hazardous substances. Kwangmin Shim received a poster prize for his poster entitled ‘A micro GC sensor system for detecting environmental gas mixtures’

Chia-Ling, Chiang completed her bachelor’s degree in Department of Biomedical Engineering at Chung Yuan Christian University in 2021. She then earned her master’s degree in Department of Biomedical Engineering at National Taiwan University in 2023, joining Dr. Chii-Wann, Lin research team. During her master’s studies, under the co-supervision of Dr. Nan-Fu, Chiu from the Institute and Undergraduate Program of Electro-Optical Engineering at National Taiwan Normal University, she focused on the feasibility study of surface plasmon resonance-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, successfully applying it to detect the heparin-platelet factor 4 protein complex. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD. in the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics at National Taiwan University, with research focusing on optical detection techniques for cells and tissues, as well as the design and application development of microfluidic chips. Chia-Ling Chiang received a poster prize for her poster entitled ‘Challenges in Surface Plasmon Resonance Detection Limits: Precision Measurements Based on Fluid Control and Light Wavelength Stability’

Hikaru Tago received his master’s degree in 2024 and is advancing his research in the Ph.D. course of the Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan. His research focuses on developing a pathogen detection system by integrating image analysis with deep learning. He has already published a paper on this topic as the first author in an international academic journal. Hikaru Tago received a poster prize for his poster entitled ‘High-throughput microbial species identification by image sensor-based colony fingerprinting system’

Frontiers in materials discovery – innovations and challenges in machine learning and artificial intelligence

Submit your work before 28 March 2025

Materials Horizons, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C and Materials Advances are pleased to announce an open call for papers for a joint cross-journal collection on ‘Frontiers in materials discovery – innovations and challenges in machine learning and artificial intelligence’.

Automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence has enabled new frontiers in materials discovery. The advent of high-throughput calculations and the creation of comprehensive materials property databases, machine learning and AI are now equipped to navigate vast compositional spaces and effortlessly and rapidly predict physical properties. At the same time, automated laboratories are driving a revolution in synthetic methodologies. However, amidst these transformative developments lie specific challenges intrinsic to the autonomous discovery of materials. Interpreting characterization data is problematic, successfully synthesizing materials within lesser-known chemical spaces that have been identified by machine learning remains rare, and navigating the complexities of addressing crystal defects and disorder through simulation and synthetic processes is demanding. Much work remains to be done.

Guest Edited by Dr Jakoah Brgoch (University of Houston, USA), Dr Alex Ganose (Imperial College London, UK), Professor Janine George (Federal Institute of Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Germany, and University of Jena, Germany), Dr Kedar Hippalgaonkar (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Professor David Scanlon (University of Birmingham, UK), this themed collection convenes innovative research spanning various disciplines, including materials science, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, statistics, and robotics, with the aim of stimulating discussions and fostering novel collaborations. These interdisciplinary connections are essential for developing new AI-driven algorithms, automated processes, and human-robot collaborations crucial to enhancing the data-driven scientific workflow necessary for material discovery. A multitude of topics are explored, such as generative AI for material design, machine learning potentials, foundation model development, autonomous experimental and computational workflows, the seamless integration of chemical and physical insights into AI, automated material identification post-synthesis, large language models (LLMs), and the utilization of extensive, multi-modal materials data. Together, this collection will showcase recent advancements, spur the emergence of new ideas and partnerships, and define the prospects and challenges necessary to further this dynamic research field.

Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to:

• Generative AI for material design
• Machine learning
• Foundation model development
• Autonomous experimental and computational workflows
• Integration of chemical and physical insights into AI
• Automated material identification post-synthesis
• large language models (LLMs)
• Multi-modal materials data

The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection, and as such inclusion of accepted articles in the final themed collection is not guaranteed.

How to submit

Articles can be submitted at any time before the deadline via our online submission system to any of the participating journals. Please see the journals’ webpages linked above for more information on their scope, standards, article types and author guidelines and for more information on how to submit.

This open call is open for submissions of:

• Full Papers
• Communications

All manuscripts will undergo the normal initial assessment and peer review processes, if appropriate, in line with the journal’s high standards, managed by the journal editors. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are published and they will be featured in a regular issue of the relevant journal and collated online into the collection. Please note that peer review or acceptance are not guaranteed.

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, please submit your article directly through the journal submissions platform. Please quote the themed collection code XXMatDis25 when prompted in the “Themed issues” section of the submission form and mention that this is in response to the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection.

If you have any questions about the collection or the submissions process, please do contact the Editorial Office at materials-rsc@rsc.org and they will be able to assist.

Your institute may have a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Royal Society of Chemistry. This means that you may be able to publish gold open access for free – maximising the visibility and impact of your article to the broadest possible audience. Your institution’s agreement may already include the article processing charge for publishing as a corresponding author. Check here to find out more and to see if your institution has an open access deal in place.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

We are delighted to announce this open call for papers to contribute to a themed collection for Journal of Materials Chemistry C on Transport in Organic and Hybrid Semiconductors, guest edited by Dr Oana Jurchescu (Wake Forest University, USA), Dr Yuning Li (University of Waterloo, Canada), and Dr Simone Fabiano (Linköping University, Sweden). For more details about the Open Call and how to submit, see this blog post.

Dr Oana Jurchescu (Wake Forest University, USA)

Oana D. Jurchescu is a Baker Professor of Physics at Wake Forest University (USA) and a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She received her PhD in 2006 from University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA. Her expertise is in charge transport in organic and organic/inorganic hybrid semiconductors, device physics and semiconductor processing. She has received numerous awards for her research and teaching, including the NSF CAREER Award, the NSF Special Creativity Award, and the Pegram Award from the American Physical Society.

Dr Yuning Li (University of Waterloo, Canada)

Dr. Yuning Li is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and a member of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN). He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in polymer materials from Dalian University of Technology in China in 1985 and 1988, respectively, and completed his Ph.D. in materials science at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) in 1999.

Before joining the University of Waterloo in 2010, Dr. Li gained extensive research experience at institutions such as Simon Fraser University, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC), and the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) at the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore.

Since 1999, Dr. Li has focused on printed electronics, particularly organic light-emitting diodes, organic thin-film transistors, and organic photovoltaics. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, with an h-index of 64 and more than 18,000 citations. His innovative contributions have also led to 76 U.S. patents and the commercialization of multiple products.

Dr Simone Fabiano (Linköping University, Sweden)

Simone Fabiano is an associate professor and docent in Applied Physics at Linköping University, Sweden. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Palermo in 2012. During his doctoral studies, he was a visiting scholar at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He then held postdoctoral positions at both Linköping University (2012-2015) and Northwestern University (2016-2017) before returning to Linköping University to establish his research group. In 2020, he founded n-Ink AB, a spinout company that focuses on developing n-type organic conductive inks, where he serves as the Chief Scientific Officer. His group at Linköping University primarily focuses on developing organic dopant-free conductors and mixed ionic-electronic conductors for printed electronics and neuromorphic hardware applications. He has received several awards, including the Swedish Research Council Starting Grant in 2017 and Consolidator Grant in 2023. He is also a Wallenberg Academy Fellow.