Advanced Manufacturing for Architected Materials and Multifunctional Coatings

Dear Colleagues,

Materials engineering is experiencing a paradigm shift, moving beyond the constraints of conventional monolithic materials. This transformation is propelled by two convergent frontiers: architected materials, in which precise geometric design across micro- and macro-scales yields unprecedented mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties; and multifunctional coatings, which endow surfaces with tailored combinations of characteristics such as wear resistance, corrosion inhibition, thermal management, and bioactivity. Central to the realization of these sophisticated material systems is advanced manufacturing. Technologies including additive manufacturing, freeze casting, directed energy deposition, cold spray, and hybrid processes now provide unparalleled control over material composition, microstructure, and geometry—capabilities that were previously unattainable.

This Special Issue, “Advanced Manufacturing for Architected Materials and Multifunctional Coatings,” aims to showcase cutting-edge research and review articles exploring the synergistic relationship between innovative fabrication techniques and the development of next-generation materials. We invite contributions that demonstrate how advanced manufacturing enables the digital design, precise fabrication, and performance validation of materials with engineered architectures and multifunctional surface properties. The scope spans fundamental process development, novel material systems, computational design and modeling, and experimental characterization of properties and performance for targeted applications.

By bringing together research from materials science, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing disciplines, this collection will highlight the transformative potential of integrating design, materials, and process innovation to create the high-performance materials of the future. In particular, topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Advanced Manufacturing Processes for Diverse Materials: Novel fabrication techniques (e.g., freeze casting, ultrafast sintering, 3D printing) for ceramics, metals, and composites.

(2) Advanced Deposition Techniques for Surface Engineering: Coating-specific processes (e.g., cold spray, laser cladding) for creating multifunctional surfaces.

(3) Design and Fabrication of Bio-inspired and Metamaterial Structures: Design, modeling, and fabrication of nature-inspired or engineered architectures for tailored properties.

(4) Multi-material and Functionally Graded Additive Manufacturing: Additive manufacturing enabling controlled spatial variation of material composition and properties.

(5) Materials and Coatings for Extreme Environment Applications: Materials and coatings designed to withstand high temperature, corrosion, wear, or erosion.

(6) Interface Science in Hybrid Manufacturing: Fundamental study and engineering of interfaces and bonding in dissimilar material systems.

(7) Process Monitoring, Control, and Digital Twins in Manufacturing: In situ monitoring, real-time control, and digital twins for intelligent manufacturing.

(8) Post-Synthesis Processing for Microstructure and Property Tailoring: Secondary processes (e.g., heat treatment) to tailor final microstructure and properties.

(9) Data-Driven Design and Process Optimization: Computational tools and machine learning for material design and process optimization.

(10) Integrated Design-to-Fabrication Workflows for Architected Materials: Seamless digital workflows from computational design to final fabrication of architected materials.

Dr. Likai Yang
Dr. Zhijie Hu
Dr. Yuyang Gao
Dr. Chen Yin
Dr. Haimin Zhai
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. Coatings 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 2600 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.

• coatings
• advanced manufacturing
• additive manufacturing
• architected materials
• composite materials
• multifunctional materials
• bio-inspired design
• surface engineering mechanical properties
• machine learning