Multifunctional Gel Materials: Engineered Solutions for Wearable Sensing
A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Wearable Biosensors".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 6
Special Issue Editor
Interests: soft intelligent materials; wearable sensors; thermal management materials; polymer composites; energy materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Compared to the bulky and rigid characteristics of traditional inorganic conductive materials, gel materials including hydrogels, organic gels, ionic gels, etc., are able to integrate comfortably and compliantly onto the soft and dynamically deforming human body and, thus, have great potential in wearable electrics. However, current sensors based on these gel materials often suffer from poor environmental stability, inadequate mechanical stability (high hysteresis and low toughness), and insufficient adaptability to extreme conditions, severely limiting their long-term reliable monitoring.
This Special Issue aims to bring together interdisciplinary research at the intersection of materials science, biosensing, and flexible electronics, advancing the following directions: (1) environmentally robust design: developing gel materials that maintain stable performance in complex environments; (2) multifunctional synergistic optimization: breaking through traditional trade-offs between mechanical strength, conductivity, and biocompatibility; (3) intelligent integration applications: expanding the application scenarios of gel sensors in medical health (e.g., physiological signal monitoring), environmental interaction, and human–machine interfaces.
The Special Issue will focus on (but is not limited to) the following topics: (1) innovative gel material systems: design of various gel materials and integration of multiple functions; (2) performance enhancement mechanisms: hydrogen bond/coordination bond/dynamic covalent bond synergistic reinforcement of networks; micro/nano-structure regulation; (3) sensing application validation: high-sensitivity strain/pressure/humidity/temperature sensors.
Dr. Fei Zhang
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- gel material
- hydrogels
- Ionogels
- wearable sensors
- polymer network
- nanocomposites
- stretchable conductor
- strain sensors
- pressure sensors
- health monitoring
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