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Polymers
Special Issues
Smart Polymers and Composites: Multifunctionality and Recyclability
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Smart Polymers and Composites: Multifunctionality and Recyclability

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 3009

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Silvia González Prolongo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Materials Science and Engineering Area, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Madrid, Spain
Interests: polymers; composites; recyclable; sustainable; smart polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Antonio Vázquez-López

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
IMDEA Materials Institute, Madrid, Spain
Interests: smart functional materials, such as triboelectric, piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and shape-memory polymer nanocomposites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the quest for advanced functional materials, polymers and derived composites are one of the main candidates due to their excellent properties and processability. Polymer-based materials have novel functionalities and are sometimes called “smart polymers”, such as shape memory, self-healing, piezoelectric, triboelectric, or bioactive polymers. Recently, interest in “sustainable” polymeric materials that are recyclable, biodegradable, and come from renewable sources has increased due to their lower environmental impact and eco-friendliness. Combining smart and sustainable polymers and composites will be the focus in the future.

In this Special Issue, we welcome research articles and reviews focused on, but not limited to, thermosets, thermoplastics, and composites with advanced functionalities and/or sustainability/reusability. The aim is to provide the state-of-the art and new advances in “smart” and “sustainable” polymer-based materials, emphasizing the relevance of these materials.

Prof. Dr. Silvia González Prolongo
Dr. Antonio Vázquez-López
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 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. 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.

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3657 KiB  
Article
Shaping in the Third Direction: Colloidal Photonic Crystals with Quadratic Surfaces Self-Assembled by Hanging-Drop Method
by Ion Sandu, Iulia Antohe, Claudiu Teodor Fleaca, Florian Dumitrache, Iuliana Urzica and Marius Dumitru
Polymers 2024, 16(13), 1931; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131931 - 6 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1221
Abstract
High-quality, 3D-shaped, SiO2 colloidal photonic crystals (ellipsoids, hyperboloids, and others) were fabricated by self-assembly. They possess a quadratic surface and are wide-angle-independent, direction-dependent, diffractive reflection crystals. Their size varies between 1 and 5 mm and can be achieved as mechanical-resistant, free-standing, thick [...] Read more.
High-quality, 3D-shaped, SiO2 colloidal photonic crystals (ellipsoids, hyperboloids, and others) were fabricated by self-assembly. They possess a quadratic surface and are wide-angle-independent, direction-dependent, diffractive reflection crystals. Their size varies between 1 and 5 mm and can be achieved as mechanical-resistant, free-standing, thick (hundreds of ordered layers) objects. High-quality, 3D-shaped, polystyrene inverse-opal photonic superstructures (highly similar to diatom frustules) were synthesized by using an inside infiltration method as wide-angle-independent, reflective diffraction objects. They possess multiple reflection bands given by their special architecture (a torus on the top of an ellipsoid) and by their different sized holes (384 nm and 264 nm). Our hanging-drop self-assembly approach uses setups which deform the shape of an ordinary spherical drop; thus, the colloidal self-assembly takes place on a non-axisymmetric liquid/air interface. The deformed drop surface is a kind of topological interface which changes its shape in time, remaining as a quality template for the self-assembly process. Three-dimensional-shaped colloidal photonic crystals might be used as devices for future spectrophotometers, aspheric or freeform diffracting mirrors, or metasurfaces for experiments regarding space-time curvature analogy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Polymers and Composites: Multifunctionality and Recyclability)
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21 pages, 4139 KiB  
Article
Ultrasonication Influence on the Morphological Characteristics of Graphene Nanoplatelet Nanocomposites and Their Electrical and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Behavior
by Ignacio Collado, Alberto Jiménez-Suárez, Antonio Vázquez-López, Gilberto del Rosario and Silvia G. Prolongo
Polymers 2024, 16(8), 1068; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16081068 - 11 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1113
Abstract
Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)/epoxy composites have been fabricated via gravity molding. The electrical and thermal properties of the composites have been studied with variable GNP type (C300, C500, and C750, whose surface areas are ~300, 500, and 750 m2/g, respectively), GNP loading [...] Read more.
Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)/epoxy composites have been fabricated via gravity molding. The electrical and thermal properties of the composites have been studied with variable GNP type (C300, C500, and C750, whose surface areas are ~300, 500, and 750 m2/g, respectively), GNP loading (5, 10, 12, and 15 wt.%), and dispersion time via ultrasonication (0, 30, 60, and 120 min). By increasing the time of sonication of the GNP into the epoxy matrix, the electrical conductivity decreases, which is an effect of GNP fragmentation. The best results were observed with 10–12% loading and a higher surface area (C750), as they provide higher electrical conductivity, thereby preserving thermal conductivity. The influence of sonication over electrical conductivity was further analyzed via the study of the composite morphology by means of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD), providing information about the aspect ratio of GNPs. Moreover, electromagnetic shielding (EMI) has been studied up to 4 GHz. Composites with C750 and 120 min ultrasonication show the best performance in EMI shielding, influenced by their higher electrical conductivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Polymers and Composites: Multifunctionality and Recyclability)
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