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Gels
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Gel Materials for Advanced Energy Systems and Flexible Devices
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Gel Materials for Advanced Energy Systems and Flexible Devices

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 758

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Antonia Stoyanova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: energy; carbons; electrolytes; supercapacitors; gels; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The European Green Deal, as well as other initiatives, will help achieve climate neutrality by 2050 to transform the EU and the world into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. Energy storage and conversion technologies are two important features of the current global transformation and the next "climate neutral" scenario. Therefore, highly efficient energy systems and flexible devices have attracted extensive research interest in recent years, with efforts focused on the development of new electrode materials and electrolytes tailored for these applications.

Due to their unique properties, such as flexibility, stretchability, and biocompatibility, gel materials are increasingly finding applications in various types of energy conversion and storage systems (e.g., lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells) as well as flexible devices. The ability to easily modify the properties of gels further expands their capabilities and improves their performance—applying energy gels to flexible substrates enables the fabrication of extremely flexible and stretchable devices, while reactive polymer gels can be employed to create smart energy devices and flexible systems that respond to environmental changes. It is extremely important to emphasize that by using different gel materials, the applications of energy devices and flexible technologies can be extended to other technological fields.

In order to popularize the great potential of gel materials and their application in modern energy systems and flexible devices, as well as to strengthen the links in academia, the present Special Issue, titled "Gel Materials for Advanced Energy Systems and Flexible Devices", has been launched. Original research articles, reviews, and perspectives relevant to the scope of this Special Issue are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Antonia Stoyanova
Guest Editor

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. Gels 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 2100 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

  • energy storage
  • energy conversion
  • gel-based materials
  • gel-based electrolytes
  • conductive polymer gel
  • flexible devices
  • sensor
  • biosensor

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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19 pages, 29855 KB  
Article
Hybrid Conductive Hydrogels Reinforced by Core–Shell PANi@PAN Nanofibers for Resilient Electromechanical Stability at Subzero Temperatures
by Yuxuan Chen, Chubin He and Xiuru Xu
Gels 2026, 12(5), 358; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12050358 - 24 Apr 2026
Viewed by 165
Abstract
Conductive hydrogels are attractive for flexible electronics, but their practical use is often limited by resistance drift during repeated deformation and performance degradation at low temperatures. Here, core–shell polyaniline-coated polyacrylonitrile (PANi@PAN) electrospun nanofibers were incorporated into a polyacrylamide/hydroxypropyl cellulose (PAM/HPC) hydrogel matrix to [...] Read more.
Conductive hydrogels are attractive for flexible electronics, but their practical use is often limited by resistance drift during repeated deformation and performance degradation at low temperatures. Here, core–shell polyaniline-coated polyacrylonitrile (PANi@PAN) electrospun nanofibers were incorporated into a polyacrylamide/hydroxypropyl cellulose (PAM/HPC) hydrogel matrix to construct a hybrid conductive network. The PANi shell serves as an electronic pathway alongside ionic conduction in the hydrated polymer network, leading to markedly improved electromechanical stability. The resistance drift is about 11% after 2000 stretching–relaxation cycles at 0–100% strain, about 12 times lower than that of the nanofiber-free hydrogel. Stable electrical responses are maintained under large deformation, with a resistance drift as low as 3.3% over a strain range of 0–400%. The hydrogels show a conductivity of 0.32 S m−1 while retaining high stretchability (>600%). An ethylene glycol/water binary solvent is used to suppress ice formation and improve moisture retention, allowing stable electromechanical performance at −15 °C over 500 cycles. The hydrogel also adheres reliably to human skin (about 10.25 kPa) and functions as a conformal strain sensor without extra fixation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gel Materials for Advanced Energy Systems and Flexible Devices)
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13 pages, 2367 KB  
Article
PFSA D50-U Proton-Exchange Gel Membrane for Symmetric Supercapacitors
by Borislava Mladenova, Mariela Dimitrova, Gergana Ivanova, Ivan Radev and Antonia Stoyanova
Gels 2026, 12(3), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12030223 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 390
Abstract
Gel polymer electrolytes are key components in next-generation energy storage systems, particularly supercapacitors, due to their high ionic conductivity, mechanical robustness, and operational safety. Ionomer-based gels derived from perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) are particularly promising, as their nanophase-segregated morphology enables the formation of three-dimensional [...] Read more.
Gel polymer electrolytes are key components in next-generation energy storage systems, particularly supercapacitors, due to their high ionic conductivity, mechanical robustness, and operational safety. Ionomer-based gels derived from perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) are particularly promising, as their nanophase-segregated morphology enables the formation of three-dimensional ionic clusters capable of absorbing and retaining aqueous electrolytes. In this study, the commercial PFSA D50-U (Thasar S.r.l.) membrane was investigated for the first time as a gel-state ionomer electrolyte and separator in symmetric supercapacitors using coconut shell-derived activated carbon (YP-80F Kuraray Co., Ltd.). The effects of cation type on gel swelling, ionic conductivity, and electrochemical performance were investigated using Na2SO4 and Li2SO4 aqueous electrolytes. The results showed that PFSA D50-U formed stable gel structures, resulting in low internal resistance, high specific capacitance, and excellent long-term cycling stability. These findings demonstrate that PFSA D50-U is a novel proton-exchange gel membrane with strong potential for high-performance symmetric supercapacitors and other gel-based energy storage devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gel Materials for Advanced Energy Systems and Flexible Devices)
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