This special issue is proposed in the framework of the laser symposium titled ‘Innovation and sustainability through material laser processing: Advancing knowledge and emerging applications’ of the international conference E-MRS Spring Meeting 2026 held in Strasbourg (France) from May 25 to 29, 2026. As in previous editions, the symposium topic will revolve around laser processing from fundamental studies to versatile applications, inviting the leading experts of this field to publish in Applied Physics A.

More particularly, the symposium aims to address key topics for sustainable development by means of cutting-edge innovative strategies for material research from theoretical laser-matter interaction to feasible applications. This will cover laser- and plasma-based materials synthesis, surface structuring and functionalization, 3D writing and processing, additive manufacturing, high-performance device fabrication, advanced beam shaping methods, life science applications, as well as process analytics and materials diagnostics, with a special emphasis on working towards green developments and artificial intelligence implementations.

The new developments in laser sources, currently reaching extremely high peak intensities, covering temporal domains from continuous wave to GHz femtosecond bursts, over the entire spectral range from deep UV to far infrared, result in numerous new routes. These include multiphoton materials processing, improved high-resolution micromachining, novel materials synthesis, volumetric material modifications inside functional materials, time-resolved diagnostics, high-rate and high-precision laser processing, laser printing and manufacturing, or nano and microscale material engineering, which will be welcome in the special issue.

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Scope and Motivation

Hydrogen storage and hydrogen isotope separation (H₂/D₂/T₂) are increasingly converging into a single materials-physics challenge: controlling adsorption thermodynamics/kinetics, quantum effects (quantum sieving), framework/solid-state dynamics, and transport under practically relevant operating conditions. Recent progress in porous materials, metal hydrides and related solids, membranes, and in situ characterization now enables unprecedented mechanistic insight and performance optimization. This Special Issue will provide a focused forum for cutting-edge experimental, theoretical, and computational work at the intersection of functional materials, advanced characterization, and application-relevant performance—core themes of Applied Physics A.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to)

1. Porous materials for hydrogen storage and isotope separation
   • MOFs/COFs/zeolites/carbons; ultramicroporosity; open metal sites; functional groups
   • Quantum Sieving (KQS/CAQS), zero-point energy effects, isotope-selective binding
2. Framework and lattice dynamics
   • breathing/gating phenomena; isotopologue-induced structural changes; thermo-structural coupling
3. Metal hydrides and related solid-state storage materials
   • kinetics/thermodynamics; thermal management; cycling stability; system-level integration
4. Membranes and electrochemical/solid-state separation concepts
   • isotope-selective transport; mixed conductors; graphene/2D pathways
5. Advanced characterization and measurement science
   • in situ/operando diffraction (X-ray/neutron), spectroscopy, calorimetry, adsorption kinetics
   • reproducibility, standardized reporting, uncertainty quantification
6. Theory, computation, and data-driven design
   • DFT, GCMC/MD, quantum nuclear effects, multiscale transport modeling, screening