<i>SusMat</i>: Materials innovation for sustainable development

A well-received conception of sustainability was formulated by the United Nations’ Brundtland Commission in 1987 as a process of change in which exploitation of resources, direction of investments, orientation of technical development, and institutional transformation are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations. Though raised a long time back, fostering a balanced development for the human race to meet the demands of the present without compromising the ability of future generations is still a tremendous challenge. Especially with the world energy needs growth rate outstripping that of population growth, a discouraging situation has been installed that points toward quick depletion of available resources. Moreover, the rapid urbanization shift in developing countries hungering for energy to emulate the level reached in developed countries to bolster rapid urban development further accelerates world energy consumption. The situation is exacerbated today, and approximately 80% of the world's energy is driven from fossil fuels regarded as the primary culprit for air pollution and greenhouse gases. This poses grievous threats not only to the health of human race causing rising hospital admission rates, chronic respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases, but also to the environment alike. The 21st century inaugurated an era of prosperity with rapid advances across a wide spectrum of technological fields, yet the picture depicted toward realizing sustainable development in the contemporary world is less than pleasing and has conspicuously given us substantive causes to be concerned. Luckily, thanks to the leaps made in nanotechnology along with the significant progress in materials science and engineering over the years, we material scientists have been invested with potent and versatile means to take on challenges and tackle perplexing sustainable issues confronting the society. Meanwhile, opportunities and choices abound for material scientists in view of multifarious problems hanging in the air requiring immediate attention. For example, to alleviate the deleterious impact of solid polymer wastes derived from the gigantic packaging industry, biodegradable polymers with high environmental benignity and mechanical properties such as modified polylactide, carbon dioxide-based copolymers, cellulose, and chitosan nanofibrils disintegrated from ubiquitous natural biomass should be developed. Besides, original technologies as well as theories prompting efficacious and economical polymer recycling should be advanced to better harness the utilities of waste polymer materials. In another example with regard to mitigating the influence of greenhouse gases, as a preemptive measure, it is essential to design innovative ultrahigh capacity batteries of high loading densities with favorable architectures promoting highly efficient electronic and ionic transport for exceptional specific areal and volumetric energy densities with unimpaired dynamic properties so that the stringent requirements from future energy-demanding applications such as electric vehicles could be met. For responsive measures, to realize carbon capture and utilization, advanced catalysts permitting room-temperature and large-scale conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into solid carbons in a continuous and self-propagating manner should be devised. Born in the age when multifarious journals concerning different disciplines spring up in a thriving manner, SusMat copublished by Wiley and Sichuan University, comes into existence under the urgent call from the society to address pressing and critical sustainable issues of the day. Differentiated from others, SusMat is designed to be material-focused and committed to implement a cradle-to-cradle philosophy and to interface material science with sustainability. SusMat intends to expand the frontiers in material research and wield the scientific and technological power to pinpoint the substantive origin of challenging and outstanding sustainable issues at the fundamental level to generate impactful solutions that possibly entail profound societal ramifications. Therefore, the scope of SusMat is intentionally broad including but not limited to environmentally friendly material development, water and air treatment, and clean energy systems, and so on, all of which strive to serve one unified yet demanding purpose, that is fostering a sustainable world. We welcome original and innovative works in a range of formats including Articles, Reviews, Short Communications, and Letters to the Editor. The journal is spearheaded by a professional board that commits to forging a high-quality platform that prompts efficient communication and discussions with academic communities. Prof. Qi Wang from Sichuan University, the Editor-in-Chief, oversees the whole publication process and steers the journal along the anticipated course. We are also proud to have four Associate Editors in our team, Prof. Jun Yang from University of Western Ontario (Canada), Prof. Volker Altstädt from University of Bayreuth (Germany), Prof. Shanwen Tao from University of Warwick (UK), and Prof. Jin Zhu from Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), assisting the Editor-in-Chief to efficiently manage the peer review process. With their expertise and professionalism, we are confident about the rosy future SusMat is set to shape up into. Finally, we are gratified to see we are not alone along the arduous journey toward building a sustainable world. Policy-makers and business giants are already taking the initiative to make paradigm shifts regarding current energy consumption patterns. For instance, the constitution of Powering Past Coal Alliance, led by Canada and the United Kingdom, signals the resolution to gradually phase out coal power. Apple has also released its 2020 Environmental Progress Report with a commitment to eradicate its carbon footprint and become carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030. The business giant promises to withdraw 100% renewable energy for its production and move the entire supply chain to clean power. We are confident that SusMat will develop into a leading open access journal in such cross-fields, shouldering with material scientists to share the responsibility and make strenuous efforts to help cement the critical nexus between materials science and sustainability. By resolving their “interfacial” issues to prompt a deep fusion, the enormous potential of material-intensive research for far-reaching sustainable solutions could be propitiously realized.

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