Nanoscale Horizons blog

Submit your latest work to Nanoscale Horizons and Materials Horizons now

We are pleased to announce an open call for submissions to this themed collection on Beyond Post-Li Batteries: From Materials Discovery to Interface Engineering running across Nanoscale Horizons and Materials Horizons. This themed collection is guest edited by Professor Haegyum Kim (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S.A.), Professor Raju Kumar Gupta (Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India), Professor Fang Liu (University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.) and Professor Lingzi Sang (University of Alberta, Canada).

As energy storage demands surpass the limits of conventional Lithium-ion systems, the field is rapidly pivoting toward high-performance, sustainable alternatives. We are pleased to announce a Themed Collection on Beyond Li-ion Batteries, aiming to bridge fundamental materials discovery with rigorous surface/interface engineering and economic viability. We invite communications and reviews covering diverse chemistries (e.g., Na-ion, K-ion, multivalent, and solid-state systems) to Nanoscale Horizons and Materials Horizons. This collection specifically seeks to connect theoretical innovation with practical realization and standardization.

This themed collection particularly welcomes submissions from the following research topics:

• Computational & AI-Driven Material Discovery: First-principles modeling, simulations, and ML algorithms for materials screening and discovery.
• Experimental Synthesis: Novel electrodes and electrolytes, scalable synthesis.
• Interface Engineering: Stabilization strategies for electrode-electrolyte interphases.
• Advanced Diagnostics: Characterization of failure modes and degradation mechanisms.
• Standardization: Development of unified testing protocols to ensure data reliability and comparability.
• Technoeconomics & Sustainability: Life cycle analysis (LCA), cost modeling, and environmental impact assessments of emerging battery technologies.

Join us in establishing the benchmarks for the next generation of energy storage technologies. We look forward to your contributions.

The submissions deadline for this collection is 30 November 2026

Submissions to the journal should fit within the scope of Nanoscale Horizons or Materials Horizons. We invite authors to select the journal that best suits their submission. Please see the journal webpages for more information on the journals’ scopes, standards, article types and author guidelines, which can be accessed below.

Submission to the Collection

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Royal Society of Chemistry’s online submission service available here for Nanoscale Horizons and here for Materials Horizons. Please ensure that during the submission process you indicate that this is an invited submission for a themed collection. Please note that primary research is accepted in the form of Communications for both journals and require a ‘New Concepts statement’ to help ascertain the significance of the research. General guidance and examples can be found here.

For Nanoscale Horizons, we welcome exceptionally high-quality studies across all fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology in the form of Communications and Review-type articles (Reviews and Focus articles). For Materials Horizons, we welcome exceptionally high-quality materials science in the form of Communications and Review-type articles (Reviews, Opinions and Focus articles).

Please inform the Editorial Office at nanoscalehorizons-rsc@rsc.org as soon as possible if you plan to submit to the themed collection and state which journal you would like to submit to. If you are interested in submitting a review-type article, please contact the Editorial Office in the first instance with a proposed title and abstract as initial approval is required before submission to avoid potential topic overlap.

Nanoscale Horizons and Materials Horizons are hybrid journals, meaning you can choose to publish your work open access or you can choose to publish your work for subscription-only audiences.  When you submit to Nanoscale Horizons or Materials Horizons you may wish to consider the option of publishing your research open access. 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. You can use our Journal Finder tool to check if your institute currently has an agreement with the RSC that may entitle you to publish open access without needing to pay an article processing charge (APC).

Please note that all submissions are subject to rigorous assessment by our Editors before being sent for peer review if appropriate. Manuscripts must meet the journal requirements and as such we cannot guarantee peer review or acceptance.

We sincerely hope that you will be able to submit to this themed collection and we look forward to receiving your contribution.

Professor Haegyum Kim Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, United States ORCID: 0000-0002-5962-8244	Professor Raju Kumar Gupta Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India ORCID: 0000-0002-5537-8057
Professor Fang Liu University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States ORCID: 0000-0003-0885-5604	Professor Lingzi Sang University of Alberta, Canada ORCID: 0000-0002-1052-8947