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Biomimetics
Special Issues
Recent Advances in Bio-Inspired Multifunctional Coatings/Films
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Recent Advances in Bio-Inspired Multifunctional Coatings/Films

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomimetic Surfaces and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1566

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rui Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
NPU Institute of Culture and Heritage (NICH), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Interests: bio-inspired surfaces; functional coatings
Dr. Xiu Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Interests: biobased and degradable polymer; functional film
Prof. Dr. Fei Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Interests: tribology; composite coatings; water lubrication
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nature has long served as a profound source of inspiration for the development of advanced materials, particularly in the realm of functional coatings and films. Bio-inspired multifunctional coatings/films represent a rapidly evolving frontier, where lessons from biological systems are translated into engineered solutions capable of performing multiple roles, such as self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, antimicrobial activity, liquid manipulation, and stimuli-responsive behavior, within a single integrated system. These materials hold great promise for applications across industries, including aerospace, marine, biomedical devices, protective equipment, intelligent sensors, and sustainable architecture.

This Special Issue, titled “Recent Advances in Bio-Inspired Multifunctional Coatings/Films”, aims to highlight cutting-edge research in the design, fabrication, characterization, and application of coatings/films that mimic the synergistic and adaptive properties found in nature. We welcome contributions that explore the convergence of structure, chemistry, and functionality to create surfaces that are not only highly performative but also hold potential across multiple fields.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Nature-inspired design strategies for multifunctional surfaces;
  • Coatings/films with combined properties, e.g., super-wetting, anti-fouling, fire-retardant, antimicrobial, self-healing, anti-icing, conductive, and corrosion-resistant;
  • Stimuli-responsive and adaptive coatings/films;
  • Sustainable and eco-friendly fabrication methods;
  • Applications in industrial systems, heritage conservation, healthcare, energy, and environmental protection, among others;
  • Durability, scalability, and real-world implementation of bio-inspired coatings/films.

We encourage submissions from interdisciplinary researchers in materials science, chemistry, biology, and engineering, whose work bridges the gap between biological principles and technological applications. This Special Issue will serve as a platform to share recent breakthroughs and foster collaboration in the pursuit of smarter, more versatile, and sustainable coating technologies.

Dr. Rui Feng
Dr. Xiu Dong
Prof. Dr. Fei Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coatings and films
  • bio-inspired
  • multifunctional
  • superwetting
  • protective
  • self-healing
  • antifouling
  • stimuli-responsive
  • sustainable fabrication

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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16 pages, 10600 KB  
Article
A Multifunctional Cationic Waterborne Polyurethane System with High Fire-Safety and Antibacterial Performance Enabled by Phosphorous Acid-Protonated Chitosan
by Xin-Yu Tian, Zhen-Guo Zhao, Peng Chen and Yan-Peng Ni
Biomimetics 2026, 11(6), 384; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics11060384 - 1 Jun 2026
Viewed by 289
Abstract
Waterborne polyurethane (WPU) is widely used in flexible films and textile finishing, but its intrinsic flammability, severe melt dripping, and sensitivity to polar additives restrict its fire-safe applications. Herein, a phosphorous acid-protonated chitosan (PCS) was designed as an emulsion-adaptable bio-based modifier and incorporated [...] Read more.
Waterborne polyurethane (WPU) is widely used in flexible films and textile finishing, but its intrinsic flammability, severe melt dripping, and sensitivity to polar additives restrict its fire-safe applications. Herein, a phosphorous acid-protonated chitosan (PCS) was designed as an emulsion-adaptable bio-based modifier and incorporated into cationic WPU via a facile aqueous blending route, yielding transparent multifunctional composite films and flame-retardant textile coatings. Unlike conventional flame-retardant WPU systems that rely on reactive monomers or suffer from poor emulsion compatibility, this work proposes an emulsion-compatible strategy based on PCS, enabling the simultaneous integration of dispersion stability, flame retardancy, and antibacterial functionality within a single system. PCS could be stably accommodated in the WPU latex without visible precipitation or demulsification after centrifugation, and the resulting films preserved a continuous matrix structure with uniformly distributed PCS-rich nanodomains. Rheological analyses revealed that the polar groups of PCS established strong intermolecular associations with urethane segments, strengthening the physical network. The char residue at 700 °C increased from 0.7 wt% for neat WPU to 32.7 wt% for WPU/PCS-5. Meanwhile, WPU/PCS-5 achieved a limiting oxygen index of 35.4% and a UL-94 V-0 rating, while its peak heat release rate and total heat release were reduced by 73.4% and 41.8%, respectively. The composite films also showed nearly complete antibacterial efficiency against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. As a textile coating, WPU/PCS-5 enabled immediate self-extinguishing of cotton fabric, increased the limiting oxygen index from 18.5% to 27.2%, and reduced the damaged length from 30.0 to 11.0 cm. This work demonstrates that an emulsion-compatible strategy based on PCS can effectively integrate dispersion stability, fire safety, multifunctionality, and coating applicability into WPU materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Bio-Inspired Multifunctional Coatings/Films)
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13 pages, 2807 KB  
Article
Regulating the Crystalline Structure and Ion Affinity of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Enhanced Lithium/Magnesium Separation
by Chuncai Wang, Shiwen Bao, Yanfeng Gong, Lei Yu, Zizhe Xu, Chul. B. Park, Kunyan Sui, Jun Gao and Xueli Liu
Biomimetics 2026, 11(3), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics11030177 - 3 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 990
Abstract
Selective ion transport is essential for many applications of membrane separation, such as rare metal and high-value element extraction from complex ionic sources. However, efficient regulation of permeability–selectivity remains a major challenge for advanced ionic transport membranes. Herein, we demonstrate that supercritical CO [...] Read more.
Selective ion transport is essential for many applications of membrane separation, such as rare metal and high-value element extraction from complex ionic sources. However, efficient regulation of permeability–selectivity remains a major challenge for advanced ionic transport membranes. Herein, we demonstrate that supercritical CO2 (ScCO2) drying combined with crown ether functionalization enables precise modulation of crystallinity and ion-specific affinity in covalent organic framework (COF) membranes. The pristine COF membrane prepared by solution casting was amorphous. Owing to its positively charged framework and sub-nanometer pores, the membrane exhibited a high Li+ transport rate over Mg2+ via a synergistic effect of size exclusion and electrostatic repulsion, resulting in a selectivity of 204. After ScCO2 drying, the crystallinity and structural ordering of the COF membrane were significantly enhanced, leading to a 1.5-fold increase in Li+ flux, accompanied by a moderate decrease in selectivity to 147. To compensate for this trade-off, 12-crown-4 (12C4) was introduced as a Li+ recognition agent into the ScCO2-treated membrane, restoring Li+/Mg2+ selectivity to 187 without compromising Li+ flux. Importantly, the selective Li+ transport performance was maintained in real salt lake brines. This structural–chemical co-regulation strategy provides a versatile approach for optimizing ion transport membranes in complex separation applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Bio-Inspired Multifunctional Coatings/Films)
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