Polymer–Water–Solid Interfaces: Molecular Mechanisms and Separation Processes
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Analysis and Characterization".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 242
Editors
Interests: polymer–water–solid interfaces; computer simulation; flocculation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: population balance modeling of flocculation processes; thickening, leaching, and flotation operations; rheological studies, particularly those related to the impact of organic reagents, nanoparticles, and liquor ionic composition on interfacial processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Polymer interactions at solid–water interfaces play a critical role in a wide range of industrial, environmental, and technological processes, including solid–liquid separation, flocculation, adsorption, water treatment, mineral processing, and surface functionalization. Despite their importance, the molecular mechanisms governing polymer adsorption, conformation, charge regulation, and interfacial performance in complex aqueous environments remain insufficiently understood.
This Special Issue aims to bring together experimental, computational, and multiscale studies that elucidate the behavior of polymers at solid–water interfaces, with particular emphasis on linking molecular-level interactions to macroscopic separation and interfacial processes. Contributions addressing both synthetic polymers and biopolymers, as well as idealized and realistic aqueous conditions, are welcome.
The scope includes—but is not limited to—studies involving mineral surfaces, inorganic solids, oxides, clays, and particulate materials interacting with polymers in aqueous media under varying chemical conditions such as ionic strength, multivalent ions, pH, seawater, and industrial brines. This Special Issue encourages works that integrate molecular simulations, theoretical modeling, and experimental validation to advance structure–interaction–performance relationships at polymer–water–solid interfaces.
Dr. Gonzalo R. Quezada
Dr. Ricardo Jeldres
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers 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
- polymer–solid interfaces
- polymer–water interactions
- solid–liquid separation
- polymer adsorption
- flocculation and aggregation
- interfacial mechanisms
- aqueous interfaces
- mineral and inorganic surfaces
- biopolymers and synthetic polymers
- molecular simulation
- multiscale modeling
- structure–property relationships
- complex aqueous environments
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