Advances in Elastomers and Functional Soft Composites
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 104
Special Issue Editor
Interests: polymer science; mechanical properties; viscoelasticity; rheology; magnetorheology; electrorheology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Elastomers and functional soft composites are pivotal classes of materials distinguished by their exceptional elasticity, tunable mechanical properties, and versatile functionality. These materials can be engineered to respond adaptively to external stimuli—such as mechanical deformation, temperature, light, electric or magnetic fields, or chemical environments—exhibiting reversible changes in shape, stiffness, conductivity, or other physicochemical characteristics. A critical challenge in advancing this field lies in designing materials that combine robust mechanical durability, environmental stability, and strong, controllable stimulus-responsiveness. Soft composites, which often integrate elastomeric matrices with functional fillers, structural reinforcements, or dynamic bonding networks, offer an up-and-coming platform. Their modular nature enables precise tuning of properties across multiple scales, from molecular design to macroscopic architecture. Furthermore, such systems can be endowed with advanced functionalities such as self-healing, reprogrammable shape memory, or adaptive sensing and actuation capabilities.
This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in the design, synthesis, processing, and characterization of elastomers and functional soft composites, as well as their emerging applications in areas including soft robotics, wearable electronics, energy‑harvesting devices, adaptive damping systems, etc.
We would like to take this opportunity to invite contributions from scientists in the field who are encouraged to submit both original research papers and review articles, from basic aspects to future directions in the field.
Dr. Haoming Pang
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. 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
- electrorheological elastomers
- magnetorheological elastomers
- shape memory polymers
- dielectric elastomers
- self-healing polymers
- liquid crystal elastomers
- soft actuators
- biosensors
- soft robotics
- wearable devices
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