Advanced Organic Functional Materials

Dear Colleagues,

The crucial importance of advanced organic functional materials as drivers of technological and societal progress is generally recognized and accepted by the international community of researchers in the natural, medicinal, and technical sciences. In addition, the basic importance of interdisciplinary research has been widely accepted for many decades and it is clearly demonstrated by the rapid development of areas such as informatics, communication and transportation techniques, energy production and storage, medicinal research, etc. Modern organic synthesis plays a crucial role as a driving force of the development of methods applied for the appropriate design and preparation of advanced functional organic materials, which, in many instances, are the result of interdisciplinary-oriented studies and are explored in collaborating physical and medicinal laboratories.

This Special Issue entitled ‘Advanced Organic Functionalized Materials’ welcomes manuscripts presenting results from current studies performed predominately in the research areas pointed out by the keywords given below. However, other related topics are also welcome.

Ionic liquids (ILs): Organic fluids and low melting point materials (<100 °C) composed of ions have been recognized as powerful polar solvents for organic synthesis, which often significantly tune reaction outcomes. Syntheses and applications of ILs, e.g., as green reaction media and bioactive materials, are of current interest.

Liquid crystals: Within a century of the discovery of liquid crystallinity, practical applications of mesogenic molecules, particularly as key components of LC displays, have revolutionized our daily life. Further development in the chemistry and analysis of the thermo- and electro-optic properties of both naturally occurring and synthetic liquid crystals is highly desirable.

Host–guest systems: Inspired by biological systems, host–guest interactions have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the context of chiral molecular recognition. In addition to this hot topic, manuscripts covering studies on different types of noncovalent bonding and the related problems are highly welcome.

Organic nanomaterials: Organic nanomaterials with a controlled morphology and well-defined properties, in many instances, demonstrate unique physical properties, thus opening diverse paths for their useful, practical application. There is a growing demand for the biomedical exploration of organic nanomaterials.

Organic radicals: Open-shell organic molecules attract considerable attention not only as reactive intermediates but also as active structural elements of functional materials exhibiting unique physicochemical properties. The synthesis and characterization of new materials derived from nitroxide, triphenylmethyl, verdazyl, and other persistent radicals are the focus of current, multidisciplinary research.

Radical polymers: Both the development of new therapies aimed at efficient drug delivery and electrochemical energy storage techniques are based on the wide exploration of diverse stable radical polymers (ORPs). In the course of their manufacture, the main challenges are related to their chemical composition and desired structure.

Dyes and pigments: organic photocatalysts: Organic dyes and pigments can be of natural or synthetic origin. Their traditional application is the coloration of diverse materials but current interest is also focused on other applications such as photocatalysis and phototherapy. In the latter case, anticancer and dermatological treatments are the main areas of interest. Numerous, selective photolytic conversions of organic molecules can only be performed in the presence of appropriate photocatalysts, which belong to the class of dyes or pigments. There is a growing number of such reactions reported in the recent literature, and many of them are classified as ‘nature inspired’ organic synthesis.

Photoluminescence: Organic materials with light-emitting properties have attracted growing attention as materials with a broad spectrum of applications in various technological fields. Organic luminogenic materials are widely used as fluorescent sensors or biological probes and show unique advantages in sensitivity, resolution, and the in situ visualization of biological processes.

Electroluminescence: Electroluminescence is a well-known phenomenon that is used in rigid and flexible electronic applications. In recent years, there has been an extremely rapid development in the field of electroluminescent materials for use in new and emerging technologies that could revolutionize illumination technologies.

Organic electronics: Organic compounds gained significant interest due to their broad spectrum of applications as organic semiconductors in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic field effect transistors (OFET), organic lasers, and other organic electronic devices. Organic electronics is a field of science concerning the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of organic molecules in various technological fields.

Prof. Grzegorz Mlostoń
Dr. Marcin Jasiński
Dr. Adam Marek Pieczonka
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. 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.