Leading Future Technologies of Energy and Material Science at the College of Engineering, Korea University

This special issue published in Advanced Energy Materials covers novel strategic approaches to achieve leading technologies in the field of energy and material science at Korea University. Korea University is rooted in Bosung College established in 1905 and then started to be elevated into a university with the current name from 1946. Since its opening, Korea University has achieved a great deal of growth through continuing to expand departments in colleges and improving their own educational philosophy specialty. To be a prestigious world-class university, Korea University has an education and research vision for the next generation: the establishment of a system for innovative value-creating education/research and fostering future-oriented talents. Korea University has recruited 4979 global faculty members. The total number of students consists of 27209 undergraduate students and 9467 graduate students, 10% of which are foreign students. Through its fast-growing and solid academic development, Korea University made a leap forward as a leading university in the world. From 2013 to 2020, the QS World University Ranking of Korea University soared to 69th from 145th. In addition, Korea University was ranked 12th at the QS Asian University Ranking. Korea University continues its efforts and commitments to create a virtuous cycle where the university's intellectual properties contribute to businesses and society. Through this virtuous cycle ecosystem for technology commercialization, Korea University is receiving tremendous research fund of approximately 372 million USD from national institutions (e.g., National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and ICT) and global private companies (Samsung, Hyundai Motor Company, SK, and LG Corp., etc.). Since the establishment of Korea University Research Management System in 2004, approximately 4500 patents have been developed by faculty members and students. According to the U.S. Intellectual Property Owners Association, Korea University is ranked 43rd in 2019 among the top 100 universities that registered patents in the U.S. Among the competitive faculty members, seven professors from Korea University were selected for Highly Cited Researchers for 2019 by the global corporation Clarivate Analytics (top 1% of highly cited papers). This is the largest number among private universities in Korea, proving the unparalleled status of a research-focused university. Among various colleges in Korea University, the College of Engineering (KUCE) has also been recognized as the top research-oriented school in Korea, which has been ranked 53rd in the 2020 QS Rankings for Engineering and Technology. In the past decade, KUCE has experienced successful accomplishments in research and education, establishing 9 departments, 197 faculty members, 218 research professors, 4865 undergraduate students, and 1324 graduate students. To achieve our goal of being one of “World's Top 20 Universities of Engineering and Technology” by 2030, KUCE has been promoting groundbreaking research activities in the fields of new and renewable energy. Recently, KUCE opened two new departments of Fusion Energy Engineering and Semiconductor Engineering in response to new industrial trends in digital transformation and energy. In KUCE, the cutting-edge research on energy has been focusing on the following areas: 1) new energy materials and devices, 2) fuel cell and other hydrogen technologies, 3) solar energy, and 4) secondary batteries and other energy storage technologies. In addition, KUCE is trying to pursue further industry-cooperation in energy research to make real contribution to energy industries by applying advanced technologies developed in academia. Going through the unprecedented Corona pandemic era, technological innovation is approaching realistically at a much faster rate than we expected. In the future, as a prestigious private institution, Korea University will play an impactful role for realizing our vision for the next generation of technology and science. We are convinced that Korea University will be a seat of learning, be a cradle of innovative growth for talents, and provide breakthrough technologies for global thresholds to deliver a great contribution for the prosperity of humankind. This Special Issue contains 9 Reviews and 3 Progress Reports, which provide a comprehensive overview on the state-of-the-art energy research development done by a few faculty members in KUCE. These areas cover energy storage technologies including secondary batteries as well as supercapacitors, energy conversion technologies such as water splitting, solar fuel and photovoltaics, and related fundamental sciences. As for energy storage technologies, the possible role of lattice oxygen as a redox center in layered oxide cathodes for lithium secondary batteries is suggested in details from the perspective of not only crystal structure but also microstructure (article number 2003227, Prof. Y.-M. Kang), while a structural engineering with covalent organic frameworks is correlated with their final electrochemical performances to innovate the electrode technologies for various alkali-ion batteries (article number 2003054, Prof. Y.-M. Kang). In addition, the effect of hetero-structure or hetero-interface enabling the lowered activation energy for surface electrochemical reactions is discussed for the anode materials in multiple alkali-ion (Li+, Na+, and K+) batteries (article number 2003058, Prof. Y. C. Kang), the diffusion kinetics of alloying anodes is detailed to extend its electrochemical performances (article number 2003078, Prof. J.-C. Lee), and the critical role and direction of further development in situ/operando analyses are highlighted for the development of stable Li metal anode in lithium secondary batteries (article number 2003004, Prof. S.-H. Yu). In the case of supercapacitors composed of not only faradaic process but also non-faradaic process, a review is provided, which provides integrated perspectives on ultrafast supercapacitors for AC-line filtering applications (article number 2003306, Prof. W. Kim). In the area of energy conversion through water splitting, because of the high potential of perovskite oxides as oxygen evolution electrocatalysts in acidic media, the state-of-the-art perovskite oxide electrocatalysts for acidic water oxidation is summarized by focusing on their stability, electrocatalytic activity, some challenges, and a perspective on their future (article number 2002428, Prof. D. W. Kim). In the area of photovoltaic cells, the recent evolution of semiconducting oxide overlayer materials for halide perovskite solar cells is described finally, providing guidance toward its commercialization (article number 2003119, Prof. J. H. Noh), while the latest developments in indoor organic photovoltaics is discussed, focusing on the strategic role of synergistic parasitic resistance to suppress the leakage current and thereby achieve high indoor efficiencies (article number 2003103, Prof. J. W. Shim). In order to stress fundamental materials issues in the energy-related area, 3 reviews are assigned. Because of the importance of direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen as the most green and energy-efficient production method, how recent advances in density functional theory calculations and nanocatalyst synthesis technologies appreciably helped to discover “dream catalysts” is addressed (article number 2003121, Prof. K.-Y. Lee). The physicochemical parameters of hybrid materials based on the Metal Organic Framework are discussed from the possibility of synergistic photocatalytic activity toward bolstering solar fuel production (article number 2003052, Prof. J. H. Lee). Finally, the latest progress in flexible energy electrodes for energy harvesting, conversion, and storage is described along with the challenges in designing high-performance energy electrodes (article number 2002969, Prof. J. Cho). The latest pandemic situation accelerated entry into the era of 4th industrial revolution which is characterized by a non-contact culture, the use of renewable energy, hyperconnectivity and so on. Hence, Korea University as a prestigious university in the world is doing its best to help our society to get into this new era and human beings to be accustomed to all the changes successfully with our cutting-edge education and research. Among the research we are pursuing, the research on renewable energy technologies must be one of the most important areas for the bright future of the humankind. Korea University will continue to tackle all the possible problems for mankind on earth. Yong-Mook Kang is a professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in Korea University and the director for Brain Korea Center for Smart Materials and Devices at the same department. He is the director of KU-LG Energy Solution Next-generation Battery Materials Center. He has been a RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry) fellow and representative of Korea from 2015 and is a member of Y-KAST(Young Korean Academy of Science and Technology) from 2020. Yongchan Kim is dean of College of Engineering and professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Korea University. He is the director of HVAC and Two-phase Flow Laboratory. He was the president of SAREK (The Society of Air-conditioning and Refrigerating Enginners of Korea) in 2019. He has been a SAREK fellow from 2018 and member of NAEK (National Academy of Engineering of Korea) from 2019. Kwan-Young Lee is Executive Vice President for Research, also for Graduate School, and a professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Korea University. He was the president of Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2020. He is a member of NAEK (National Academy of Engineering of Korea) as well as KAST (Korean Academy of Science and Technology). He received Doyak Medal of Order of Science and Technological Merit from Korean Government.