materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Processing and Joining of Green Polymer Composites

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2026 | Viewed by 416

Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Interests: polymer composites; natural materials; materials processing; in situ interface formation; mechanical properties

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plastics are widely used due to their versatility, low cost, and ease of processing, but their non-biodegradable nature has created an urgent environmental crisis. Developing high-performance green composites, especially biodegradable or bio-based polymers reinforced with natural fibers or fillers, has become a critical solution. Despite the growing number of studies on green polymer composites, most reported products remain limited to films or small, simple-shaped components, which are insufficient for many practical applications. To enable green composites to truly replace conventional plastics, it is essential to advance the processing of such materials into products with complex geometries and larger dimensions. This requires the development of advanced forming technologies, including both processing and joining techniques, tailored to the unique characteristics of bio-based materials.

This Special Issue, entitled “Processing and Joining of Green Polymer Composites”, aims to present cutting-edge research on processing and joining techniques for polymer composites, with a particular focus on bio-based systems. Its scope includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Processing techniques for green polymer composites, including emerging methods such as additive manufacturing, compression molding, and thermoforming.
  2. Joining techniques for green polymer composites, such as ultrasonic welding, laser transmission welding, and adhesive bonding optimized for bio-based materials.
  3. Morphological characterization of the reinforcement–matrix interface, with emphasis on interfacial adhesion and compatibility.
  4. Mechanical and other functional properties of green polymer composites, including durability, thermal stability, and environmental performance.
  5. Evaluation of environmental effects, such as biodegradability, life cycle assessment, and long-term service behavior.

Dr. Haiyu Qiao
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

Keywords

  • polymer
  • polymer composites
  • green polymer composites
  • manufacturing techniques
  • joining techniques
  • interface
  • morphological characterization
  • mechanical properties
  • environmental evaluation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 10739 KB  
Article
Optimizing Process Parameters in Laser Transmission Welding Solid PC/Porous-PET Using Prediction Models: Experimental Validation and Morphology Analysis
by Jinqiang Li, Yitao Wu, Xiangsheng Luo, Siyu Zhou, Zijian Wang, Huang Zhang, Bowen Zhong and Haiyu Qiao
Materials 2026, 19(15), 3177; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19153177 - 24 Jul 2026
Viewed by 231
Abstract
Determining optimal process parameters for laser transmission welding (LTW) of solid/porous materials remains challenging due to the complexity of influencing factors. In this study, the welding of solid polycarbonate (PC) and porous polyethylene terephthalate (porous-PET) was chosen as an exemplary case and the [...] Read more.
Determining optimal process parameters for laser transmission welding (LTW) of solid/porous materials remains challenging due to the complexity of influencing factors. In this study, the welding of solid polycarbonate (PC) and porous polyethylene terephthalate (porous-PET) was chosen as an exemplary case and the relationship between parameters and welding quality was established using a Gaussian process regression (GPR) model. First, the experimental dataset, comprising welding power, welding speed, PC thickness, and porous-PET density, is established based on a flexible factor-level design. Then, the optimized GPR model trained based on the full experimental dataset achieved high predictive performance, significantly outperforming that trained with the averaged experimental dataset. Next, using the optimal prediction model as the objective function, three different optimization methods, genetic algorithm (GA), Bayesian optimization (BO), and covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES), are employed to optimize the process parameters, and the performance of the different optimization algorithms shows that CMA-ES has demonstrated the fastest convergence and the shortest runtime, while still converging to the same recommended parameters as GA and BO. Experimental validation confirms the accuracy of the recommended parameters, with a low relative error. Morphological analysis confirms that the weld seam is uniformly formed at recommended parameters. The proposed strategy provides an efficient route for achieving high-performance LTW joints and shows strong potential for improving process efficiency and reducing manufacturing cost in solid/porous materials joining. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Joining of Green Polymer Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop