In celebration of International Open Access Week 2025 (October 20–26), The Electrochemical Society (ECS) is proud to reaffirm our longstanding commitment to open science and equitable access to knowledge. This year’s theme, “Who Owns Knowledge?”, invites the global research community to reflect on how scholarly information is shared, who can access it, and how collective progress depends on removing barriers to discovery.

In honor of Open Access Week, ECS will remove the paywall for all ECS subscription-based content across our journal portfolio for the open access week period. From October 20 through October 26, every reader, regardless of institutional affiliation or funding, will have free access to our full library of peer-reviewed research.

This initiative underscores our commitment to advancing science for the benefit of humanity, the mission that has guided ECS since 1902. Open science accelerates innovation, promotes collaboration across borders and disciplines, and ensures that every researcher, educator, and student can contribute to solving the world’s most pressing challenges from sustainable energy to clean water and beyond. (more…)

The Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES) proudly celebrates the rapid success of the open access article “Understanding Lithium Deposition in Lithium-Ion Batteries: The Link between Impedance Results and Electrochemical Behavior.” In just a few short weeks since publication, this paper has risen to the top of JES’s Most Read Articles of 2025, capturing global attention for its clarity, rigor, and real-world relevance.

Illuminating Lithium Deposition

Lithium deposition, or plating, remains a major challenge in advancing lithium-ion batteries. When metallic lithium forms during fast charging or under non-ideal conditions, it can cause dendrites, capacity loss, and safety risks. This groundbreaking study offers fresh insight by directly linking impedance spectroscopy results to electrochemical deposition behavior, providing researchers with a predictive framework to better understand and control plating phenomena.

By connecting impedance signals with changes in morphology and capacity, the authors reveal when and how lithium deposition occurs. Their work identifies spectral features associated with plating onset, evolving interfacial kinetics, and irreversible capacity fade—insights that will guide the design of safer and more durable energy storage systems. (more…)

Interest in silicon carbide (SiC) materials continues to grow—as witnessed by Alain E. Kaloyeros’ and Barry Arkles’ open access article in the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS). The Electrochemical Society (ECS) proudly celebrates “Silicon Carbide Thin Film Technologies: Recent Advances in Processing, Properties, and Applications – Part I Thermal and Plasma CVD,” which has consistently ranked among the Top Read articles across the ECS journals platform. 

The latest Editors’ Choice article in ECS Advances takes on one of the most pressing challenges in electrochemical energy research: advancing sustainable, high-performance materials for fuel cells. In “Can Hydrocarbon-Based MEAs Close the Performance Gap to State-of-the-Art Perfluorosulfonic Acid-Based MEAs for PEM Fuel Cells?,” Konstantin A. Weber, Carla S. Harzer, Elias Bindl, Kilian Stengl, and Hubert A. Gasteiger present a breakthrough approach that could reshape the future of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs).

Closing the Gap with Innovation

The research introduces a wet hot-pressing method that enables the fabrication of high-performance hydrocarbon (HC)-based MEAs—an important fluorine-free alternative to conventional perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA)-based ionomers. Historically, HC-based systems struggled to match the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and durability of PFSA-based MEAs, largely due to catalyst poisoning and incompatibilities in processing. (more…)

The Electrochemical Society (ECS) is proud to announce the appointment of three distinguished scholars as Technical Editors for the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS). Each brings deep expertise in their respective fields, strengthening JSS’s editorial leadership and furthering its mission to publish world-class research in solid state science and technology.

Dr. Travis Anderson

Dr. Travis Anderson

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, US
Topical Interest Area: Electronic Materials and Processing

Dr. Anderson’s research and teaching focus on electronic materials and processing innovations that are advancing the next generation of semiconductor and electronic technologies. His leadership will guide JSS authors and readers through cutting-edge developments in this critical area.

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September 15–19, 2025

Every September, Peer Review Week offers an opportunity to highlight the essential role that peer review plays in advancing scholarly communication. As ECS celebrates Peer Review Week 2025 (September 15–19, 2025), we proudly recognize the dedicated individuals whose careful, insightful, and timely reviews sustain the integrity and quality of the ECS family of journals.

For the 2024–2025 program year, ECS editorial leadership selected 39 outstanding reviewers for recognition as Top ECS Reviewers. Each of these individuals was chosen from among thousands of active reviewers across our journals, representing the very best of their topical interest areas. Their efforts ensure that more than 3,500 annual submissions are reviewed with rigor, fairness, and respect for scientific integrity. (more…)

Lithium-ion battery innovation takes a leap forward with the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES)’s illuminating new article, “Main Ageing Mechanism of SiO_x-Graphite Anodes during Fast Charging in the Absence of Lithium Deposition,” by  Hao-Chen Hsiao, Alexander Adam, Daniel Goldbach, Yichen Dai, Jiahao Li, Thomas Waldmann, and Markus Hölzle.

This study rigorously uncovers the primary aging culprit—the irreversible loss of over 20 percent of cyclable lithium after just 400 equivalent full cycles—even when lithium plating is absent. (more…)

“Agentic Assistant for Materials Scientists,” by Ruozhu Feng, Yangang Liang, Tianzhixi Yin, Peiyuan Gao, and Wei Wang (ECS Interface 34(2), June 2025), is one of the year’s most-read feature articles. This innovative work showcases the potential of large language models (LLMs) as autonomous yet scientifically rigorous collaborators in materials science. By blending AI-driven function calling with experimental and computational tools, the authors pioneer a future where scientific inquiry gains speed and sophistication. It’s no surprise that this article has resonated widely—offering both a thought-provoking vision and concrete methods for the emerging age of agentic scientific automation. (more…)

We’re thrilled to spotlight the new review article “Different Sensing Technologies for Water Quality Monitoring: A Review,” in ECS Sensors Plus (ECSSP). (more…)