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Polymers
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Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Advances and Prospects
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Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Advances and Prospects

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 4980

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lei Li

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42104, USA
Interests: organic synthesis; polymer chemistry; fluorescent sensing; stimuli-responsive materials; self-healing polymers
Prof. Dr. Nadia Lotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: polymer design; polymer synthesis and characterization; polymer modification; copolymerization; solid state properties; thermal properties and crystallization kinetics; mechanical characterization; bio-based monomers; bio-based polymers; nano-polymer; nanocomposites; gas barrier behaviour; polymer compostability; biopolymers for engineering tissue; polymeric for controlled drug delivery; biodegradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Stimuli-responsive polymers are materials that can respond to the presence of, or changes in, either internal or external stimuli, such as temperature, environment pH, ionic strength, electromagnetic radiation, electric/magnetic fields, etc. In response to these stimuli, the polymer material would change its properties chemically, physically, and/or mechanically, including but not limited to shape, molecular assembly, and strength/stiffness. It can convert internal and/or external stimuli to a change in its properties that will provoke a response internally. The stimuli can be introduced at a specific time slot and/or desired spatial location, enabling one to precisely control the material property change. Furthermore, by tuning the magnitude of the stimuli, the response extent can be tweaked; thus, a tunable stimuli-responsive platform will be built up. As a more advanced platform than the simple binary switching between two states, these polymer materials are more appealing to introduce dynamic stimuli and explore their potential applications in interdisciplinary fields.

This Special Issue of Polymers will present recent developments in stimuli-responsive polymer materials and their applications in various areas, such as biochemistry with drug delivery and cell manipulation. Authors are encouraged to submit various types of articles (comprehensive reviews or research articles) that focus not only on developing novel stimuli-responsive polymer materials with precise control but also exploring their applications as a tunable platform in interdisciplinary areas.

Dr. Lei Li
Prof. Dr. Nadia Lotti
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.

Keywords

  • stimuli-responsive
  • smart polymers
  • polymer materials
  • precise control
  • tunable platform
  • applications

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2463 KB  
Article
Development of an SA/XLG Composite Hydrogel Film for Customized Facial Mask Applications
by Su-Mei Huang, Xu-Ling Sun, Chia-Ching Li and Jiunn-Jer Hwang
Polymers 2025, 17(17), 2410; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17172410 - 5 Sep 2025
Viewed by 797
Abstract
This study aims to address the poor extensibility, brittleness, and limited hydration stability of pure sodium alginate (SA) hydrogels, which hinder their use in flexible, skin-adherent applications such as facial masks, by developing bio-based composites incorporating five representative functional additives: xanthan gum, guar [...] Read more.
This study aims to address the poor extensibility, brittleness, and limited hydration stability of pure sodium alginate (SA) hydrogels, which hinder their use in flexible, skin-adherent applications such as facial masks, by developing bio-based composites incorporating five representative functional additives: xanthan gum, guar gum, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), poly(ethylene glycol)-240/hexamethylene diisocyanate copolymer bis-decyl tetradeceth-20 ether (GT-700), and Laponite® XLG. Composite hydrogels were prepared by blending 1.5 wt% SA with 0.3 wt% of each additive in aqueous humectant solution, followed by ionic crosslinking using 3% (w/w) CaCl2 solution. Physicochemical characterization included rotational viscometry, uniaxial tensile testing, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, swelling ratio analysis, and pH measurement. Among them, the SA/XLG composite exhibited the most favorable performance, showing the highest viscosity, shear-thickening behavior, and markedly enhanced extensibility with an elongation at break of 14.8% (compared to 2.5% for neat SA). It also demonstrated a mean swelling ratio of 0.24 g/g and complete dissolution in water within one year. ATR-FTIR confirmed distinct non-covalent interactions between SA and XLG without covalent modification. The hydrogel also demonstrated excellent conformability to complex 3D surfaces, consistent hydration retention under centrifugal stress (+23.6% mass gain), and complete biodegradability in aqueous environments. Although its moderately alkaline pH (8.96) may require buffering for dermatological compatibility, its mechanical resilience and environmental responsiveness support its application as a sustainable, single-use skin-contact material. Notably, the SA/XLG composite hydrogel demonstrated compatibility with personalized fabrication strategies integrating 3D scanning and additive manufacturing, wherein facial topography is digitized and transformed into anatomically matched molds—highlighting its potential for customized cosmetic and biomedical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Advances and Prospects)
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14 pages, 5990 KB  
Article
Distinctive Features of the Buffer Capacity of Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules Formed on MnCO3 Core
by Aleksandr L. Kim, Alexey V. Dubrovskii and Sergey A. Tikhonenko
Polymers 2025, 17(15), 2149; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17152149 - 6 Aug 2025
Viewed by 435
Abstract
The development of layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMCs) with defined buffer capacity (BC) is a key task for creating stable systems in biomedicine and materials science. Manganese carbonate (MnCO3), which shares properties with CaCO3 and the ability to form hollow structures, [...] Read more.
The development of layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMCs) with defined buffer capacity (BC) is a key task for creating stable systems in biomedicine and materials science. Manganese carbonate (MnCO3), which shares properties with CaCO3 and the ability to form hollow structures, represents a promising alternative. However, its interaction with polyelectrolytes and its influence on BC remain insufficiently studied. This research focuses on determining the BC of PMCs templated on MnCO3 cores under varying ionic strength (0.22–3 M NaCl) and temperature (60–90 °C), as well as comparing the results with PMCs templated on CaCO3 and PS cores. It was found that MnCO3-based PMCs (PMCMn) exhibit hybrid behavior between CaCO3- and PS-based PMCs: the BC dynamics of PMCMn and CaCO3-based PMCs (PMCCa) in water are identical. At different ionic strength at pH < 5, the BC of PMCMn and PS-based PMCs (PMCPS) remains unchanged, while at pH > 8.5, the BC of PMCMn increases only at 3 M NaCl. The BC of PMCMn remains stable under heating, whereas the BC of PMCCa and PMCPS decreases. These results confirm that the choice of core material dictates PMC functionality, paving the way for adaptive systems in biosensing and controlled drug delivery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Advances and Prospects)
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33 pages, 10134 KB  
Article
Study on the Microscopic Distribution Pattern of Residual Oil and Exploitation Methods Based on a Digital Pore Network Model
by Xianda Sun, Xudong Qin, Chengwu Xu, Ling Zhao and Huili Zhang
Polymers 2024, 16(23), 3246; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16233246 - 22 Nov 2024
Viewed by 914
Abstract
With the persistent rise in global energy demand, the efficient extraction of petroleum resources has become an urgent and critical issue. Polymer flooding technology, widely employed for enhancing crude oil recovery, still lacks an in-depth understanding of the distribution of residual oil within [...] Read more.
With the persistent rise in global energy demand, the efficient extraction of petroleum resources has become an urgent and critical issue. Polymer flooding technology, widely employed for enhancing crude oil recovery, still lacks an in-depth understanding of the distribution of residual oil within the microscopic pore structure and the associated displacement mechanisms. To address this, a digital pore network model was established based on mercury intrusion experimental data, and pore structure visualization was achieved through 3Dmax software, simulating the oil displacement process under various polymer concentrations, molecular weights, and interfacial tension conditions. The findings reveal that moderately increasing the polymer concentration (from 1000 [mg/L] to 2000 [mg/L]) improves the recovery factor during polymer flooding by approximately 1.45%, effectively emulsifying larger masses of residual oil and reducing the proportion of throats with high oil saturation. However, when the concentration exceeds 2500 [mg/L], the dispersion of residual oil is hindered, and the enhancement in displacement efficiency becomes marginal. Increasing the molecular weight from 12 million to 16 million and subsequently to 24 million elevates the recovery factor by approximately 1.07% and 1.37%, respectively, reducing clustered residual oil while increasing columnar residual oil; high molecular weight polymers exhibit a more significant effect on channels with high oil saturation. Lowering the interfacial tension (from 30 [mN/m] to 0.005 [mN/m]) markedly enhances the binary flooding recovery factor, with the overall recovery reaching 71.72%, effectively reducing the residual oil within pores of high oil saturation. The study concludes that adjusting polymer concentration, molecular weight, and interfacial tension can optimize the microscopic distribution of residual oil, thereby enhancing oil displacement efficiency and providing a scientific foundation for further improving oilfield recovery and achieving efficient reservoir development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Advances and Prospects)
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15 pages, 4465 KB  
Article
Magnetic Silver Nanoparticles Stabilized by Superhydrophilic Polymer Brushes with Exceptional Kinetics and Catalysis
by Asghar Dolatkhah, Chandni Dewani, Masoud Kazem-Rostami and Lee D. Wilson
Polymers 2024, 16(17), 2500; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16172500 - 2 Sep 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1909
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive catalysts with exceptional kinetics and complete recoverability for efficient recyclability are essential in, for example, converting pollutants and hazardous organic compounds into less harmful chemicals. Here, we used a novel approach to stabilize silver nanoparticles (NPs) through magneto/hydro-responsive anionic polymer brushes that [...] Read more.
Stimuli-responsive catalysts with exceptional kinetics and complete recoverability for efficient recyclability are essential in, for example, converting pollutants and hazardous organic compounds into less harmful chemicals. Here, we used a novel approach to stabilize silver nanoparticles (NPs) through magneto/hydro-responsive anionic polymer brushes that consist of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) moieties at the amine functional groups of chitosan. Two types of responsive catalyst systems with variable silver loading (wt.%) of high and low (PAAgCHI/Fe3O4/Ag (H, L)) were prepared. The catalytic activity was evaluated by monitoring the reduction of organic dye compounds, 4-nitrophenol and methyl orange in the presence of NaBH4. The high dispersity and hydrophilic nature of the catalyst provided exceptional kinetics for dye reduction that surpassed previously reported nanocatalysts for organic dye reduction. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements were carried out to study the colloidal stability of the nanocatalysts. The hybrid materials not only showed enhanced colloidal stability due to electrostatic repulsion among adjacent polymer brushes but also offered more rapid kinetics when compared with as-prepared Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs), which results from super-hydrophilicity and easy accumulation/diffusion of dye species within polymer brushes. Such remarkable kinetics, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost and facile magnetic recoverability of the Ag nanocatalysts reported here contribute to their ranking among the top catalyst systems reported in the literature. It was observed that the apparent catalytic rate constant for the reduction of methyl orange dye was enhanced, PAAgCHI/Fe3O4/Ag (H) ca. 35-fold and PAAgCHI/Fe3O4/Ag (L) ca. 23-fold, when compared against the as prepared AgNPs. Finally, the regeneration and recyclability of the nanocatalyst systems were studied over 15 consecutive cycles. It was demonstrated that the nanomaterials display excellent recyclability without a notable loss in catalytic activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Polymers: Advances and Prospects)
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