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Feature Paper in the Section 'Polymeric Materials' (3rd Edition)
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Feature Paper in the Section 'Polymeric Materials' (3rd Edition)

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 2958

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Xuming Xie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: super tough hydrogels; nanomaterials and nanocomposites; polymer blends; plastics recycling and value-added reuse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers can offer many advantages for modern technologies, which has led to polymeric materials occupying a permanent place in many sophisticated application areas, such as in medicine, sensors, photoelectric devices, coatings, and so forth, owing to their great potential to meet various requirements.

The present Special Issue aims to collect featured research and review articles on all aspects of polymeric materials, including their preparation, characterization, processing, properties, and application. The following aspects are within its main scope:

  • Design and synthesis of polymeric materials;
  • Structure characterization of polymers;
  • Property and functionality of different kinds of polymers;
  • The structure-property/functionality relationship;
  • Multiscale structure regulation of polymers;
  • Processing techniques of polymeric materials;
  • Applications of polymeric materials;
  • Service evaluation of polymeric materials;
  • Recycling of polymeric materials.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Material preparation;
  • Multiscale structures;
  • Structure regulation;
  • Crystallization and phase behavior;
  • Processing techniques and applications;
  • Structure and properties
  • Rubbers, plastics, and fibers;
  • Coatings and thin films;
  • Conducting polymers;
  • Shape memory polymers;
  • Biopolymers.

We kindly invite you to submit your work to this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Xuming Xie
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • polymerization
  • homopolymer
  • copolymer
  • biopolymer
  • conjugated polymer
  • polymer blend
  • polymer composite
  • processing
  • application
  • characterization
  • morphology
  • crystal structure
  • phase structure
  • properties
  • functionality

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 1027 KiB  
Article
Plastic Creep Constraint in Nylon Instrument Strings
by Nicolas Lynch-Aird, Jim Woodhouse and Claire Y. Barlow
Materials 2025, 18(2), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18020223 - 7 Jan 2025
Viewed by 513
Abstract
A number of rectified nylon harp strings, having the same nominal diameter, were subjected to different sequences of applied stress steps. Each string was tested continuously for several weeks to allow sufficient time for the stretching responses to be clearly observed. Qualitatively, much [...] Read more.
A number of rectified nylon harp strings, having the same nominal diameter, were subjected to different sequences of applied stress steps. Each string was tested continuously for several weeks to allow sufficient time for the stretching responses to be clearly observed. Qualitatively, much of the observed behaviour was in accordance with established expectations. However, the quantitative data gathered here are believed to be novel, and revealed some surprises. The strings displayed a combination of elastic stretching, fully recoverable viscoelastic stretching, and apparently non-recoverable plastic stretching. The elastic and recoverable viscoelastic stretching behaviour was quite straightforward, but the plastic creep behaviour was more complicated, with a number of the strings displaying an unanticipated phenomenon. When the applied stress was left unchanged, or was stepped down and back up again, it was noticed that, in some cases, the extent of the subsequent plastic stretching, when the applied stress was next increased beyond its previous maximum, was significantly less than might have been expected. The tests revealed that this apparent plastic creep ‘constraint’ mechanism seemed to depend primarily on the length of time between successive overall rises in the applied stress, with a threshold somewhere in the range of 30–40 days. It is suggested that this phenomenon may be due to a gradual increase in the polymer crystallinity during this rest period. Two of the strings, which were tested over a wider range of applied stress levels, revealed another aspect of the creep behaviour. There appeared to be an initial ‘straightening’ phase during which the plastic stretching rose with the applied stress in a diminishing manner to reach a stretching limit. As the applied stress was increased, this initial straightening was overtaken by an unlimited main stretching phase, which rose slowly at first before approaching a linear increase with the applied stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Paper in the Section 'Polymeric Materials' (3rd Edition))
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16 pages, 4776 KiB  
Article
Structural and Thermal Characterization of Bluepha® Biopolyesters: Insights into Molecular Architecture and Potential Applications
by Magdalena Martinka Maksymiak, Silke Andrä-Żmuda, Wanda Sikorska, Henryk Janeczek, Paweł Chaber, Marta Musioł, Marcin Godzierz, Marek Kowalczuk and Grazyna Adamus
Materials 2024, 17(23), 5863; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17235863 - 29 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 839
Abstract
This study presents an in-depth molecular and structural characterization of novel biopolyesters developed under the trademark Bluepha®. The primary aim was to elucidate the relationship between chemical structure, chain architecture, and material properties of these biopolyesters to define their potential applications [...] Read more.
This study presents an in-depth molecular and structural characterization of novel biopolyesters developed under the trademark Bluepha®. The primary aim was to elucidate the relationship between chemical structure, chain architecture, and material properties of these biopolyesters to define their potential applications across various sectors. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) analysis identified the biopolyesters as poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate] (PHBH) copolymers, containing 4% and 10% molar content of hydroxyhexanoate (HH) units, respectively. Mass spectrometry analysis of PHBH oligomers, produced via controlled thermal degradation, further confirmed the chemical structure and molecular architecture of the PHBH samples. Additionally, multistage electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) provided insights into the chemical homogeneity and arrangement of comonomer units within the copolyester chains, revealing a random distribution of hydroxyhexanoate (HH) and hydroxybutyrate (HB) units along the PHBH chains. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns demonstrated partial crystallinity in the PHBH samples. The thermal properties, including glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm), and melting enthalpy (ΔHm), were found to be lower in PHBH than in poly(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), suggesting a broader application potential for the tested PHBH biopolyesters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Paper in the Section 'Polymeric Materials' (3rd Edition))
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13 pages, 5451 KiB  
Article
Super Tough PA6/PP/ABS/SEBS Blends Compatibilized by a Combination of Multi-Phase Compatibilizers
by Jianhui Yan, Cuifang Wang, Tongyu Zhang, Zijian Xiao and Xuming Xie
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5370; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215370 - 2 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1228
Abstract
Development of multi-component blends to prepare high-performance polymer materials is still challenging, and is a key technology for mechanical recycling of waste plastics. However, a multi-phase compatibilizer is prerequisite to create high-performance multi-component blends. In this study, POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and [...] Read more.
Development of multi-component blends to prepare high-performance polymer materials is still challenging, and is a key technology for mechanical recycling of waste plastics. However, a multi-phase compatibilizer is prerequisite to create high-performance multi-component blends. In this study, POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and SEBS-g-(MAH-co-St) compatibilizers are prepared via melt-grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) and styrene (St) dual monomers to polyolefin elastomer (POE) and poly [styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] (SEBS), respectively. Subsequently, these compatibilizers are utilized to compatibilize the PA6/PP/ABS/SEBS quaternary blends through melt-blending. When POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and SEBS-g-(MAH-co-St) are added, respectively, both can promote the distribution of the dispersed phases, significantly reducing the dispersed phase size. When adding 10 wt% POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and 10 wt% SEBS-g-(MAH-co-St) together, compared to the non-compatibilized blend, the fracture strength, fracture elongation, and impact strength surprisingly increased by 106%, 593%, and 823%, respectively. It can be attributed to the hierarchical interfacial interactions which facilitate gradual energy dissipation from weak to strong interfaces, resulting in the improvement of mechanical properties. The synergistic effect of the enhanced phase interfacial interactions and toughening effect of elastomer compatibilizer achieved simultaneous growth in strength and toughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Paper in the Section 'Polymeric Materials' (3rd Edition))
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