Materials Chemistry Frontiers Blog

Focus: Hydrogels

19 Aug 2026

Hydrogels continue to attract significant attention due to their unique characteristics such as high-water content, softness, biocompatibility and low cost. This collection highlights recent advances in hydrogel research published on Materials Chemistry Frontiers, spanning wound healing, tissue engineering, drug delivery, wearable sensors, flexible electronics, and energy storage applications. Articles featured in our focus collections are handpicked by Editors. We hope you find them enjoyable to read.

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Review Articles

Hydrogel polymer electrolytes for advanced zinc-ion batteries: structural design and anode stabilization strategies
Chen, Yu; Xie, Pengyun; Shen, Bingrong; Peng, Hui; Zhu, Lei; Shakir, Imran; Ma, Guofu; Xu, Yuxi

Hydrogel ionic sensory systems
Chen, Rui; Guo, Rongxi; Li, Ying; Yan, Hao; Huang, Jin; Xu, Hexiang; Shi, Wei; Zhang, Zongzheng; Zhuo, Shuyun; Liu, Mingjie

Recent advances in stretchable hydrogel-based triboelectric nanogenerators for on-skin electronics
Zhang, Baosen; Wang, Ruge; Wang, Ruizhi; Chen, Baojin; Li, Haidong; Shen, Ao; Mao, Yanchao

Stimuli-responsive Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene-based hydrogels: preparation and applications
Gao, Qi; He, Ping-Ping; Wang, Xiaowen; Du, Xiaoxue; Guo, Weiwei

Conductive hydrogels as an innovative healer for the treatment of diabetic wounds
Zhao, Jingyi; Gao, Chen; Guo, Wenlai; Zhang, Boxiang; Ren, Sixu; Wu, Siyu; Guo, Jie; Qu, Wenrui

Recent advances in tailored chitosan-based hydrogels for bone regeneration and repair
Feng, Peipei; He, Chaonan; Li, Guanrong; Li, Jin; Ke, Chunhai; Ma, Jingyun

Research Articles

Photothermal-responsive nanocomposite hydrogel for intelligent drug release and alveolar bone regeneration
Wang, Junjie; Chen, Haojie; Wang, Dai; Chen, Jianzhao; Lan, Liujia; Li, Wenqiang; Shen, Shan

Stimuli-responsive drug delivery, antioxidant and photothermal antibacterial hydrogel wound dressing for MRSA-infected pressure ulcer repair
Wu, Yuling; Dong, Ruonan; Fang, Qingqing; Chen, Zikun; Duan, Xianglong; Guo, Baolin; Liu, Liangle

Photoresponsive multifunctional anisotropic conductive hydrogel membrane for human motion detection, information encryption and transmission
Qi, Haina; Yu, Anran; Jing, Xuelian; Hu, Yaolin; Wu, Ping; Zhang, Xuejian; Li, Yongtao; Zhao, Hongkai; Liu, Huisheng; Dong, Xiangting

Amino acid-derived Cu(II)-coordinated supramolecular hydrogel with tunable mechanics, self-healing, and underwater adhesion
Singh, Nishikanta; Mahata, Koushik; Sinha, Durgesh Kumar; Banerjee, Sanjib

Suppressing γ- to α-Fe₂O₃ transformation using a reduced graphene oxide hydrogel
Quan, Xiangning; Duan, Shuo; Yan, Peixiu; Wang, Yongjian; Zhao, Yiqun; Yang, Jie; Dai, Bo; Si, Mingsu; Wang, Jun; Hu, Yang; Li, Hua; Zhang, Lili; Wu, Mingzai; Peng, Yong

A bioinspired hydrogel with balanced adhesion and compliance for reversible underwater adhesion
Zhang, Yanjing; Feng, Shanhao; Zhu, Shilei; Yang, Xin; Hu, Yulin; Kang, Beibei; Guo, Shuaijun; Zheng, Qiang; Fan, Hailong; Ye, Ya Nan

A highly conductive, biocompatible and stretchable sputtered Pt electrode via the island-bridge effect
Patino, F. Javier; Sanchez-Beato, Lidia; Jimenez, Alicia; Duran-Prado, Mario; Polo, J. L.; Payo, Ismael; Andres, J. P.; Herrero, M. Antonia; Vazquez, Ester

Sustained release of a low molecular weight antilipolytic drug from an electroactive hydrogel for antiaging and biomedical applications
Mondal, Himarati; Lee, Hyun Jong

An adenine-modified chitosan cross-linked 8-arm-PEG-CHO hydrogel for promoting infected wound healing
Jiang, Jiaxi; Jiang, Tao; Zhou, Cong; He, Yingjie; Jiang, Ankang; Yang, Guichun; Nie, Junqi; Wang, Feiyi; Yang, Xiaofan; Chen, Zhenbing; Lu, Cuifen

MoS₂-functionalized chitosan hydrogel with antibacterial and antioxidant functions promotes healing of infected diabetic wounds
He, Yingjie; Guo, Jiahe; Li, Hua; Jiang, Jiaxi; Chen, Jing; Yang, Guichun; Yang, Xiaofan; Chen, Zhenbing; Lu, Cuifen

Self-healing photothermal antibacterial hydrogels constructed through multiple dynamic chemical bonds
Chang, Jingrui; Wang, Xinyu; Ma, Xuejiao; Lu, Bo

Programmable folding kinetics in single-composition hydrogel actuators via UV-induced microphase separation
Han, Gi-Yeon; Rho, Yumi; Zhao, Jiayu; Lei, Willie; Bae, Jinhye

Integrated molecular functions in photo-generated hydrogels for wound healing
Xu, Xiangchuan; Tong, Huanhuan; Kong, Hongtao; Chen, Canwen; Fan, Ping; Huang, Wenhuan; Miao, Hui; Zhang, Guoqing; Zhu, Rui

A pillararene-based supramolecular polymer hydrogel for removal of organic dyes from water
Ma, Jiaxin; Gong, Shanhao; Cheng, Yujie; Cao, Wei; Wei, Xuehong; Wang, Pi; Xia, Danyu

Synthesis of Schiff base crosslinked polyaniline hydrogels with enhanced electrochemical performance for supercapacitor applications
Ghosh, Samaresh; Majhi, Jagannath; Sharma, Sonal; Priya, Kumari; Bandyopadhyay, Anasuya

Design and electrospinning synthesis of red luminescent-highly anisotropic conductive Janus nanobelt hydrogel array films
Qi, Haina; Huang, Huazhi; Hu, Yaolin; Li, Ning; Yang, Liu; Zhang, Xuejian; Li, Yongtao; Zhao, Hongkai; Li, Dan; Dong, Xiangting

Multi-stimuli responsive smart materials: cyanine amphiphile self-assembly for photochromic and pH-switching applications
Tseng, Tzu-Yu; Yeh, Yao-Chun; Hsing, Wei; Fu, Lien-Chen; Yeh, Mei-Yu

Strong and highly conducting PPyNT/PAA/PVA triple network hydrogel: scalable construction and strain sensing
Wang, Shi; Yang, Huan; Chen, Yukai; Hu, Boyuan; Tian, Peng; Xue, Xiongbiao; Wang, Yong; Li, Yu; Jing, Xinli

High-strength anisotropic hydrogels as adhesive strain sensors for dual-environment applications
Li, Yali; Ma, Ruiyao; Liu, Hui; Liu, Qiang; Song, Shasha; Xing, Ling-Bao; Ma, Shuanhong

Flexible keratin hydrogels obtained by a reductive method
Peralta Ramos, Maria Luz; Rivas-Rojas, Patricia; Ascolani, Hugo; Cavallo, Margherita; Bonino, Francesca; Fernandez de Luis, Roberto; Ximena Guerbi, Maria; Michelini, Flabia; Bernal, Celina; Lazaro-Martinez, Juan Manuel; Copello, Guillermo

Constructing highly efficient dual-confinement phosphorescence supramolecular naphthalimide pyridinium networks via eco-friendly post-polymerization assembly
Song, Qi; Meng, Xianfeng; Bai, Xue; Sun, Yongbin; Ge, Yanqing; Dai, Xian-Yin

Red-light controlled supramolecular assemblies of N,N′-diarylindigo amphiphiles for soft robotic actuation
Yau, Jerry Chun-Kit; Chen, Chris Yanzhi; Zhang, Haiqi; Chau, Ming-Hin; Kajitani, Takashi; Leung, Franco King-Chi

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2025 Materials Chemistry Frontiers Most-Popular Articles

13 Feb 2026

By Coleen Wu, Assistant Editor.

To celebrate the Year of the Horse, we are delighted to highlight some of the most popular articles published in Materials Chemistry Frontiers.

We hope you enjoy reading these articles and wish you a happy and prosperous year of the Horse.

		Advances in organic room-temperature phosphorescence: design strategies, photophysical mechanisms, and emerging applications Yujie Yang, Qianqian Li and Zhen Li Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 744-753 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01032A
		Strategies for broadening the emission spectra of Cr³⁺-doped near-infrared emitting phosphors Changheng Chen, Jiwen Chang, Renze Chen, Ruibo Gao, Yiqing Wang, Kexin Zhu, Jinmeng Xiang and Chongfeng Guo *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2025,9, 1821-1838 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01109K
		Multiscale engineering of anode catalyst layers in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers Qianqian Liu, Yanfei Wang, Xiao Liang, Hui Chen and Xiaoxin Zou Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 30-44 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00842A
		MOF electrocatalysts in CO₂ conversion: critical analysis of research trends, challenges and prospects Oriyomi Ogunbanjo, Paramaconi Rodríguez and Paul Anderson Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 1650-1680 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01060D
		In situ polymerization-driven quasi-solid electrolytes for Li-metal batteries Jinxuan Liu, Yinglei Wu, Zhenying Chen, Zhixin Xu, Jinhui Zhu and Xiaodong Zhuang Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 1971-1996 https://doi.org/10.1039/D5QM00116A
		Construction of a CoP/MnP/Cu₃P heterojunction for efficient methanol oxidation-assisted seawater splitting Weijia Liu, Min Zhou, Jingwen Zhang, Wenxian Liu, Doudou Qin, Qian Liu, Guangzhi Hu and Xijun Liu Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 953-964 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01067A
		Persistent glutathione-depleting MFO@MIL nanoreactors enhance the antitumor efficiency of a skin scaffold Wenjing Yang, Yibing Ji, Lang Li, Chenhang Ding, Wurikaixi Aiyiti, Feilong Xiong and Cijun Shuai Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 1249-1258 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01014K
		*Near-infrared II photochromic behavior triggered by green light in an in situ* protonated dithienylethene functionalized by quinoxalinone moieties Ziyong Li, Jinzhao Song, Qilian Wang, Yongliang Feng, Qingxin Song, Sixin Wang, Qianqian Nie, Fan He, Haining Zhang and Hui Guo Mater. Chem. Front.**, 2025,9, 234-242 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00719K
		Dual role of lone pair electron and rattling vibration in Zintl phase BaCaPb thermoelectric material Shuwei Tang, Pengfei Zhang, Da Wan, Xiaodong Li, Peng Ai, Zhiwei Zhang, Wanrong Guo, Shulin Bai and Xiuling Qi Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 592-607 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00972J
		Design of donor–acceptor covalent organic frameworks for photocatalytic hydrogen generation Amit Nagar, Gulshan Singh, Akhtar Alam, Pradip Pachfule and C. M. Nagaraja Mater. Chem. Front., 2025,9, 1421-1430 https://doi.org/10.1039/D5QM00074B

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Explore the Highly Cited Articles in Materials Chemistry Frontiers

12 Aug 2025

By Shengnan Sha, Assistant Editor.

We are delighted to highlight the following highly cited research articles published in Materials Chemistry Frontiers since 2023. We hope you enjoy reading them.

	Construction of a CoP/MnP/Cu₃P heterojunction for efficient methanol oxidation-assisted seawater splitting Weijia Liu, Min Zhou, Jingwen Zhang, Wenxian Liu, Doudou Qin, Qian Liu, Guangzhi Hu and Xijun Liu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2025,9, 953-964 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01067A
	Nanosheet floral clusters of Fe-doped Co₃O₄ for high-performance supercapacitors Congcong Lu, Yu Yang, Songjun Lia and Maiyong Zhu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 2282-2292 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00170B
	Robust imidazole-linked Ni-phthalocyanine-based covalent-organic framework for CO₂ electroreduction in the full pH range Xu Yang, Duan-Hui Si, Hong-Fang Li, Rong Cao and Yuan-Biao Huang *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1611-1618 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01190A
	Chalcogen modification: one-step strategy for tuning the photophysical properties and NIR phototherapy of iodinated BODIPY Hongyi Liu, Hui Li, Wen Li, Jinjin Zhang, Jingtao Ye, Shenglong Liao, Yang Li and Shouchun Yin *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 3308-3320 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00508B
	High performance inverted planar perovskite solar cells enhanced by heteroatomic functionalized hole transport materials Zheng Xie, Yuheng Li, Xuehui Li, Yizhen Fang, Jinrui Chang, Qiong Yang, Xiaowen Sun, Chunyang Miao, Gang Lu, Zhangxin Chen, Gongqiang Li, Yanxian Jin, Zhoulu Wang and Xiong Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 2764-2774 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00417E
	Facile synthesis of 2D Al-TCPP MOF nanosheets for efficient sonodynamic cancer therapy Zhan Zhou, Tao Wang, Tingting Hu, Chunhua Cheng, Shilong Yu, Hai Li, Shuyan Liu, Lufang Ma, Meiting Zhao, Ruizheng Liang and Chaoliang Tan *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 1684-1693 https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM01333A
	Engineering raspberry-like CuCo₂S₄@ZnS hollow particles encapsulated with reduced graphene oxide for hybrid supercapacitors Bahareh Ameri, Akbar Mohammadi Zardkhoshoui and Saied Saeed Hosseiny Davarani *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 3127-3145 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00212H
	FeNi₃ nanoparticles for electrocatalytic synthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrate Tong Hou, Junyang Ding, Hao Zhang, Shanshan Chen, Qian Liu, Jun Luo and Xijun Liu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 4952-4960 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00627A
	*Red-shift emission and rapid up-conversion of B,N-containing electroluminescent materials via* tuning intramolecular charge transfer Yi-Hui He, Feng-Ming Xie, Hao-Ze Li, Kai Zhang, Yang Shen, Feng Ding, Cheng-Yuan Wang, Yan-Qing Li and Jian-Xin Tang Mater. Chem. Front.**, 2023,7, 2454-2463 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00131H
	Universal synthesis of rare earth-doped FeP nanorod arrays for the hydrogen evolution reaction Minnan Chen, Zijing Lin, Yi Ren, Xuan Wang, Meng Li, Dongmei Sun, Yawen Tang and Gengtao Fu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 4132-4141 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00516J

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Explore the Highly Cited Articles in Materials Chemistry Frontiers

11 Aug 2025

By Shengnan Sha, Assistant Editor.

We are delighted to highlight the following highly cited review articles published in Materials Chemistry Frontiers since 2023. We hope you enjoy reading them.

	Cobalt-containing ZIF-derived catalysts for Zn–air batteries Yansheng Fan, Wenhui Wang, Yixin Chen, Zhenyi Xu, Dongming Cai, Miao Xu and Rui Tong *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 2394-2419 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00169A
	Recent advances in highly-efficient near infrared OLED emitters Paloma L. dos Santos, Patrycja Stachelek, Youhei Takeda and Piotr Pander *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1731-1766 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01067H
	Recent advances in all-solid-state batteries for commercialization Junghwan Sung, Junyoung Heo, Dong-Hee Kim, Seongho Jo, Yoon-Cheol Ha, Doohun Kim, Seongki Ahn and Jun-Woo Park *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1861-1887 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01171B
	Mechanism and solutions of lithium dendrite growth in lithium metal batteries Yafei Huang, Haotian Yang, Yan Gao, Guorong Chen, Yan Li, Liyi Shi and Dengsong Zhang *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1282-1299 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01151H
	Towards separator safety of lithium-ion batteries: a review Boli Tong and Xifei Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 309-340 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00951C
	Advances in organic room-temperature phosphorescence: design strategies, photophysical mechanisms, and emerging applications Yujie Yang, Qianqian Li and Zhen Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2025,9, 744-753 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01032A
	Lessons learned: how to report XPS data incorrectly about lead-halide perovskites Chi Li, Ni Zhang and Peng Gao *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 3797-3802 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00574G
	Recent advances in electrochromic materials and devices for camouflage applications Haichang Fu, Ling Zhang, Yujie Dong, Cheng Zhang and Weijun Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 2337-2358 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00121K
	Rare earth-based MOFs for photo/electrocatalysis Senyao Meng, Ge Li, Ping Wang, Miao He, Xiaohua Sun and Zhenxing Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 806-827 https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM01201D
	Covalent organic frameworks in heterogeneous catalysis: recent advances and future perspective Ziad Alsudairy, Normanda Brown, Allea Campbell, Abrianna Ambus, Bianca Brown, Kayla Smith-Petty and Xinle Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2023,7, 3298-3331 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00188A

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2024 Materials Chemistry Frontiers Most-Popular Articles

27 Jan 2025

By Shengnan Sha, Assistant Editor.

To celebrate the Year of the Snake, we are delighted to highlight some of the most popular articles published in Materials Chemistry Frontiers by corresponding authors based in celebrating the Chinese New Year.

We hope you enjoy reading these articles and wish you a happy and prosperous year of the Snake.

	“Delocalized π-bond” guided pyramidal nanocrystal superstructures for excellent light trapping in SERS Yang Shang, Bo Ren, Xiaotian Wang and Jie Lin *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2025,9, 65-73 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00576G
	Carbon dot hybrid porous carbon nanofibers as efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction Hongwu Yuan, Penghuan Liu, Jun Ren, Zhan Jiang, Xiaohan Wang and Haiguang Zhao *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1643-1650 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01064C
	Nanosheet floral clusters of Fe-doped Co₃O₄ for high-performance supercapacitors Congcong Lu, Yu Yang, Songjun Lia and Maiyong Zhu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 2282-2292 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00170B
	Robust imidazole-linked Ni-phthalocyanine-based covalent-organic framework for CO₂ electroreduction in the full pH range Xu Yang, Duan-Hui Si, Hong-Fang Li, Rong Cao and Yuan-Biao Huang *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1611-1618 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01190A
	High performance inverted planar perovskite solar cells enhanced by heteroatomic functionalized hole transport materials Zheng Xie, Yuheng Li, Xuehui Li, Yizhen Fang, Jinrui Chang, Qiong Yang, Xiaowen Sun, Chunyang Miao, Gang Lu, Zhangxin Chen, Gongqiang Li, Yanxian Jin, Zhoulu Wang and Xiong Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 2764-2774 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00417E
	Nanozyme-enhanced ferroptosis for cancer treatment Yue Ming, Mingshu Huang, Yisheng Huang, Danqing Liu, Min Sun, Bo Jia and Jianzhong Du *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1685-1702 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01202F
	Mechanism and solutions of lithium dendrite growth in lithium metal batteries Yafei Huang, Haotian Yang, Yan Gao, Guorong Chen, Yan Li, Liyi Shi and Dengsong Zhang *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1282-1299 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01151H
	Strategies to regulate the interface between Li metal anodes and all-solid-state electrolytes Yi Peng, Xiaosong Xiong, Weijia Fan, Wanjie Gao, Xinbing Cheng, Jiarui He, Lijun Fu, Teunis van Ree, Tao Wang and Yuping Wu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1421-1450 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01023F
	Rational design and application of electrocatalysts based on transition metal selenides for water splitting Haiyan Xiang, Qizhi Dong, Meiqing Yang and Song Liu *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024,8, 1888-1926 https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00021H
	*Recent progress on covalent organic frameworks for photocatalytic hydrogen generation via* water splitting Shan-Shan Zhu, Zhenwei Zhang, Zhongping Li and Xiaoming Liu Mater. Chem. Front.**, 2024,8, 1513-1535 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00965C

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Materials Chemistry Frontiers Best Covers of 2024

20 Jan 2025

By Shengnan Sha, Assistant Editor.

We are proud to announce the three best covers of Materials Chemistry Frontiers in 2024! The awarded works were chosen by our readers through a worldwide vote. To learn more about the science behind the winning pieces, read for free the cover stories up until 03 February 2025.

	Backbone-shape engineering of fused-ring electron-deficient molecular semiconductors for unipolar n-type organic transistors: synthesis, conformation changes, and structure–property correlations Zekun Chen, Zeng Wu, Yuzhong Chen, Shuixin Zhang, Zhen Jiang, Wenhao Li, Yan Zhao, Yang Wang and Yunqi Liu Mater. Chem. Front., 2024, 8, 1101-1111 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01189E
	Photoinduced electron transfer endows fluorogenicity in tetrazine-based near-infrared labels Tianruo Shen, Xin Li and Xiaogang Liu Mater. Chem. Front., 2024, 8, 2135-2141 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM01217D
	Towards separator safety of lithium-ion batteries: a review Boli Tong and Xifei Li *Mater. Chem. Front.*, 2024, 8, 309-340 https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00951C

Congratulations to the winners!

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for all the support and contribution from our authors, reviewers, and readers during 2024.

Looking forward to receiving your high-quality work in 2025.

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Materials Chemistry Frontiers Early Career Advisory Board – Open for Nominations

09 Jul 2024

By Yu Zhang, Assistant Editor.

We are delighted to announce that we are now eagerly welcoming nominations for our inaugural Early Career Advisory Board of Materials Chemistry Frontiers. This initiative aims to provide a direct channel for engaging with early-career researchers, supporting their professional development, and infusing our journal with fresh innovative perspectives from the younger generation.

We warmly invite you to nominate emerging investigators to the board or encourage your colleagues to self-nominate before 31 July 2024.

Role of the Early Career Advisory Board

At Materials Chemistry Frontiers, we value the voices of early-career researchers. Joining the board, you will be part of a dynamic group of emerging investigators, helping shape the future of a leading materials chemistry journal and benefiting from networking opportunities with the journal’s Editorial and Advisory Board members.

Your insights will be invaluable as you provide feedback on the journal’s scientific standards, suggest emerging topics and researchers worth featuring, and contribute to promotional and visibility initiatives within your community.

Terms of Service

Normally, members of the Early Career Advisory Board will serve a term of two years, with the possibility of reappointment for a maximum of two consecutive terms.

Eligibility

Nominations are open to researchers of any nationality from academia or industry.
Candidates should typically be under 40 years old and have obtained an academic faculty position or equivalent. Appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, followed a different career path or research evaluation system.
Candidates should possess prior experience in publishing articles in reputable academic journals.
Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to advancing materials chemistry through developing high-quality journals.

How to Nominate

Please email the following information to MaterChemFrontiersED@rsc.org for your nominations.

Self-nominations are very welcome. If you are interested in joining our Early Career Advisory Board, please provide:

An up-to-date CV which highlights your engagements in academic activities (representative publications, conferences participation etc.) and services to the wider community (journals, societies, etc.)
Any supplementary materials, such as a personal statement and reference letters.

To nominate someone else, please provide:

Candidate’s name, position, affiliation, website URL and contact details, along with a brief description of the candidate’s research contribution and community engagement
Nominator’s name, position, affiliation and contact details
Any supporting materials, such as an up-to-date CV of the candidate

Selection Criteria

Editorial Board of the journal will consider the following aspects of all nominations as appropriate:

Profile within institute and/or community
Involvement in community and advocacy activities
Area and quality of research
Motivation to join the Early Career Advisory Board

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Kind Regards,

Professor Shu-Hong Yu
Editor-in-Chief, Materials Chemistry Frontiers
Southern University of Science and Technology

Dr Wenjun Liu
Executive Editor, Materials Chemistry Frontiers
Royal Society of Chemistry

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Materials Chemistry Frontiers Best Covers of 2023

01 Feb 2024

By Yu Zhang, Assistant Editor.

We are proud to announce the three best covers of Materials Chemistry Frontiers in 2023! The awarded works were chosen by our readers through a worldwide vote. To learn more about the science behind the winning pieces, read the cover articles below for free until 29 February 2024.

Functional conductive hydrogels: from performance to flexible sensor applications

Quancai Li, Bin Tian, Jing Liang and Wei Wu *

Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 2925-2957

https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00109A

Enhancement of interfacial sodium ion transport stability in quasi-solid-state sodium-ion batteries using polyethylene glycol

Minjie Hou, Jie Zi, Lanqing Zhao, Yingjie Zhou, Fupeng Li, Zhipeng Xie, Da Zhang, Bin Yang and Feng Liang *

Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 2027-2037

https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00054K

Recent advances of stimuli-responsive viologen-based nanocomposites

Xin Li, Jie Yang * and Ying-Wei Yang *

Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 1463-1481

https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00151B

Congratulations to the winners!

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for all the support and contribution from our authors, reviewers, and readers during 2023.

Looking forward to receiving your high-quality work in 2024.

Happy New Year!

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Emerging Investigator: Gengtao Fu at Nanjing Normal University

15 Sep 2023

By Yu Zhang, Assistant Editor.

Emerging Investigator: Gengtao Fu

Position Professor

Postdoc 2019–2021 The University of Texas at Austin (USA)

2017–2019 Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

Education 2014–2017 Nanjing Normal University Ph.D.

2011–2014 Nanjing Normal University M.Sc.

ORCID 0000-0003-0411-645X Google Scholar

Read Gengtao Fu’s Emerging Investigator Series article in Materials Chemistry Frontiers and learn more about him.


	Universal synthesis of rare earth-doped FeP nanorod arrays for the hydrogen evolution reaction
	Minnan Chen, Zijing Lin, Yi Ren, Xuan Wang, Meng Li, Dongmei Sun,* Yawen Tang * and Gengtao Fu *
	A universal plasma-assisted strategy is proposed for the fabrication of rare earth-doped FeP as a kind of potential electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

	From the themed collection: Frontiers Emerging Investigator Series
	The article was first published on 06 Jul 2023
	Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 4132-4141
	https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00516J

My research interests

Key words: energy storage and conversion, electrocatalysis, rare-earth functional materials, catalytic mechanism

My research interests focus on the rational design and the synthesis of advanced rare-earth functional materials for electrocatalysis, electrochemical energy storage, and conversion. Particularly, I have made great efforts in solving the difficult doping of rare earth elements uniformly in transition metals, ambiguous catalytic mechanisms, and undefined structure-activity relationships, to gradually realize the industrialization and marketization of rare-earth-doped transition metal electrocatalysts in energy conversion devices, such as fuel cells and rechargeable batteries.

10 Facts about me

I published my first academic article on the synthesis and catalytic properties of porous palladium nanospheres in Journal of Materials Chemistry in 2012.

An accomplishment I’m particularly proud of is the pioneering work on identifying the active sites of rare-earth-based transition metal oxides towards electrocatalytic oxygen evolution, published in Advanced Materials, 2023.

The person who has had the greatest influence on my research career is my postdoctoral supervisor Prof. John B. Goodenough at The University of Texas at Austin.

I always feel lucky that my Ph.D. and M.S. advisors directed me to the cutting-edge research fields.

I received the first funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2021.

Good work depends not only on good ideas and results but also on great writing and logic skills.

I advise my students to develop abilities including diligence, strong will, and thinking independently, which are crucial to success in their beginning research career.

A recent epiphany: where there is a will there is a way.

It is my favorite time when I travel with my wife and lovely son.

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Emerging Investigator: Yu Zhou at Nanjing Tech University

15 Sep 2023

By Yu Zhang, Assistant Editor.

Emerging Investigator: Yu Zhou

Position Professor

Visiting Scholar 2016 National University of Singapore

Education 2009–2012 Nanjing University Ph.D.

2006–2009 Nanjing University M.Sc.

Group Website http://www.groupwangjun.com/

ORCID 0000-0003-1757-3705

Read Yu Zhou’s Emerging Investigator Series article in Materials Chemistry Frontiers and learn more about him.


	Ionic polyamide boosting Ru efficiency in reductive amination of carbonyl compounds
	Qizhi Hu, Hongzhong Xu, Yue Wu, Shi Jiang,* Jun Wang* and Yu Zhou*
	Ionic polyamide-stabilized ruthenium nanoparticles for ultra-efficient reductive amination of carbonyl compounds to primary amines with NH₃ and H₂.

	From the themed collection: Frontiers Emerging Investigator Series
	The article was first published on 19 Mar 2023
	Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 2266-2276
	https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM01234K

My research interests

Key words: zeolite molecular sieves, ionic liquid-derived materials, heterogeneous catalysis, adsorption and separation, CO₂ capture and conversion

Our research interests focus on the development of functional zeolite molecular sieves and their application in adsorption, separation and catalysis. We developed a unique acid co-hydrolysis route for the synthesis of metal-doped zeolites with varied topology, Si/Al molar ratio and different kinds of metal species such as single atoms, clusters, and nanoparticles. We developed various new synthetic routes for the construction of porous poly(ionic liquid)s, ionic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and ionic covalent organic frameworks (COFs). In addition, we evaluated the performance of these molecular sieves in CO₂ capture and conversion, gas separation, biomass conversion, acid-base catalysis, oxidation and hydrogenation reactions, and photo-electrocatalysis.

10 Facts about me

I published my first academic article in Chem. Eur. J. in 2009.

The most important academic article that I published was in Science in 2021.

I received the first funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2013.

My favourite sport is swimming.

I enjoy thinking freely.

One of my favourite activities is playing with my kids.

One of my hidden talents is my patience.

One thing I cannot live without is hope.

An accomplishment I’m particularly proud of is that I have two daughters.

I am most passionate about my work in exploring a new research field because it is full of unknowns, fulfilling my curiosity.

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