In an effort to better recognize the innovative research gaining traction across the diverse span of ECS’s topical interest areas, the Society has instituted a new blog series, which will highlight the top five most-downloaded journal articles in each TIA during each quarter of the year.

The most-downloaded Journal of The Electrochemical Society articles by TIA during the first quarter of 2018 (January through March) are listed below.

Highlights are based on articles published since January 1, 2016.

(more…)

After over 115 years of peer-reviewed research, what is it that keeps authors publishing in ECS journals? In what ways do ECS journals excel?

To those who have opted to publish elsewhere, how might ECS journals adapt to meet your needs as an author? What aspects of ECS journals need reexamination?

Above all else, what do you look for in a scientific journal?

Whether you’re a proponent or a critic of ECS journals, please take a few minutes to tell us more.

Any feedback you are able to provide—positive or negative—will assist ECS in evaluating the strength and scope of its peer-reviewed journals.

Share your thoughts today to help shape the future of these publications!

The deadline for submission to the Journal of The Electrochemical Society Focus Issue on The Brain and Electrochemistry has been extended to April 30, 2018.

The focus issue will provide a forum for the discussion of research and developments on how the central and peripheral nervous systems can be viewed and studied in terms of electrical circuits and electrochemical sensors, reactions, and methods.

The issue is dedicated to R. Mark Wightman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Christian Amatore (Ecole Normale Supérieure), two individuals who devoted their careers to study of these topics, training and influencing countless researchers over the years.

(more…)

ECS is pleased to announce that, thanks to a $20,000 donation, the 2018 volume of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society has been named in honor of ECS fellow Chung Chiun Liu.

The Chung Chiun Liu Leadership Collection will contain all of the content published in JES volume 165.

Liu is the Wallace R. Persons Professor of Sensor Technology & Control at Case Western Reserve University. He has been an ECS member for over 50 years. During this time, he has given many oral presentations and organized several symposia for Society meetings. He has also received the 2008 ECS Sensor Division Outstanding Achievement Award and many other accolades.

(more…)

In a recent survey of over 100 corresponding authors who published in ECS journals, over 55% of respondents said the speed from initial manuscript submission to publication was faster than expected, and nearly 25% said it was very fast.

The survey also asked the authors to rate ECS’s turnaround speed during specific periods of the publication process: (1) from initial submission to first decision, (2) from manuscript acceptance to receipt of page proofs, and (3) from manuscript acceptance to publication.

Here are the key takeaways:

(more…)

Fuel cells play a major role in creating a clean energy future, with a broad set of applications ranging from powering buildings to electrifying transportation. But, as with all emerging technologies, researchers have faced many barriers in developing affordable, efficient fuel cells and creating a way to cleanly produce the hydrogen that powers them.

In a new Perspective article, published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, researchers are aiming to tackle a fundamental debate in key reactions behind fuel cells and hydrogen production, which, if solved, could significantly bolster clean energy technologies.

In the open access article, “Perspective—Towards Establishing Apparent Hydrogen Binding Energy as the Descriptor for Hydrogen Oxidation/Evolution Reactions,” Yushan Yan and his coauthors from the University of Delaware provide an authoritative overview of work done in the areas of hydrogen oxidation and evolution, present key questions for debate, and provide paths for future innovation in the field.

(more…)

The Journal of The Electrochemical Society Focus Issue on Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Materials, Mechanisms, Modeling, and Applications is now complete, with 18 open access papers published in the ECS Digital Library.

“Lithium sulfur batteries are in the focus of research at many hundreds of prominent research groups throughout the world and at several industrial firms as well,” says JES Technical Editor Doron Aurbach in the issue’s preface. “These batteries are highly attractive due to their theoretical high energy density, that may be 4–5 times higher compared to that of Li-ion batteries.”

The focus issue includes invited papers and selected papers from the 2017 Li-SM³ Conference.

“The important technical challenges of Li-S batteries are dealt with in the papers of this focus issue, including development of new sulfur cathodes, protected Li anodes, new electrolyte systems including solid state electrolytes, study of degradation mechanisms, in-situ spectroscopic efforts, surface and structural aspects,” Aurbach continues. “This focus issue of JES is indeed a very suitable epilogue for a very successful and fruitful meeting on a very “hot” topic in modern electrochemistry in general and advanced batteries in particular.”

Read the full JES Focus Issues on Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Materials, Mechanisms, Modeling, and Applications.

Charles L. Hussey is Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi and professor of chemistry. He is a fellow of ECS and a recipient of the Society’s Max Bredig Award in Molten Salt and Ionic Liquid Chemistry. His scientific research with molten salts/ionic liquids has been directed at the electrochemistry and spectroscopy of d- and f-block elements, the electrodeposition of aluminum and corrosion-resistant aluminum-transition metal alloys, the electrodissolution of metals and alloys, and the electrochemical processing of spent nuclear fuel. Hussey was recently reappointed as technical editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society in the area of electrochemical/electroless deposition.

The Electrochemial Society: What has your experiences as a JES editor been like?

Charles Hussey: I was appointed as an associate editor in 2000 and continued in that role until 2011. As an associate editor, I handled manuscripts on all topics for JES and Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters. Handling a variety of topical manuscripts for JES and ESL was the job that needed to be done, and it was a very challenging and sometimes uncomfortable assignment, but also highly educational.

(more…)

To date, the ECS Digital Library contains over 40 completed focus issues across the Journal of The Electrochemical Society and the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology.

All of these issues, devised to highlight rapidly accelerating areas of scientific and technological interest, continue to attract significant attention from ECS’s readership.

During 2017, the average ECS focus issue received 12,495 full text downloads.

One particular focus issue of 2017, however, proved no average issue, acquiring nearly 9.5 times that amount.

The JES Focus Issue of Selected Papers from IMLB 2016 with Invited Papers Celebrating 25 Years of Lithium Ion Batteries amassed a whopping 119,465 full text downloads over the course of 2017, securing its place not only as the most read focus issue of the year, but also as the most read focus issue in ECS history.

(more…)