Sustainable Functional Coatings and Surface Engineering: Materials, Processes, and Applications
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1701
Editor
Interests: bioinspired materials; polyphenol chemistry; surface and interface engineering; sustainable polymers; functional coatings; biomaterials; adhesive hydrogels; polymer informatics; green chemistry
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue highlights the sustainable functional coatings and surface engineering strategies that improve performance, durability, and environmental compatibility across diverse substrates and use conditions. We particularly welcome papers on the advances in eco-friendly and bioinspired coating chemistries that deliver high-value surface functions—such as anti-fouling, corrosion resistance, adhesion control, barrier properties, antimicrobial activity, wettability tuning, and flame retardancy—while minimizing hazardous reagents, high-energy processing, and persistent fluorinated components. Submissions may address coating design principles, interfacial mechanisms, and scalable processing routes including solution/sol–gel methods, layer-by-layer assembly, spray/spin/dip coating, electrochemical approaches, and plasma/laser surface structuring. For flame-retardant coatings, contributions that elucidate char formation, heat/smoke suppression, self-extinguishing behavior, durability under abrasion/washing, and performance on textiles, polymers, wood, and metals are especially encouraged. Studies that establish clear structure–property relationships through rigorous characterization (e.g., wettability, adhesion, mechanical robustness, thermal stability, LOI/UL-94, cone calorimetry, smoke toxicity) are of high interest. Application-driven demonstrations for infrastructure, transportation, electronics, packaging, and protective materials are welcome, as are works that quantify sustainability metrics such as renewability, water-based formulations, low-VOC processing, and life-cycle considerations. Both original articles and comprehensive reviews synthesizing emerging directions and translational opportunities are encouraged.
Dr. Kyueui Lee
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. Molecules 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 2700 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
- sustainable coatings
- surface engineering
- flame-retardant coatings
- green chemistry
- bioinspired materials
- barrier coatings
- anti-fouling
- corrosion protection
- multifunctional interfaces
- scalable coating processes
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