Advances in Rubber Composites and Recovered Waste Rubber
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Sustainable Polymer Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Interests: rubbers; rubber composites; reinforcement; carbon-based fillers; magnetic fillers; biopolymer fillers; filler/rubber interactions; surface modification; vulcanization; analysis of cross-link density; network structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rubbers are unique and versatile materials characterized by excellent elasticity and reversible deformation. They are used to manufacture a variety of products used in everyday life as well as in high-tech applications. Real rubber products are complicated composite systems consisting of rubber combined with fillers, softeners, anti-degradants, and curing and processing additives. Fillers are an indispensable part of almost all rubber and latex formulations. They affect the processing characteristics and properties of compounds and composites. Depending on the type of fillers used, they usually improve tensile characteristics, hardness, or abrasion resistance. Besides traditional fillers used in rubber technology, such as carbon black and silica, research has been focused on fillers that impart particular characteristics on composites, such as enhanced thermal, electrical conductivity, magnetic properties, or electromagnetic shielding characteristics. These fillers include carbon-based materials such as graphite, graphene, graphene oxide, graphene nanoplatelets, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanoribbons; as well as inorganic materials like metals, metal oxides, ferrites, and MXenes. With the increasing demand for rubber-based products, waste from rubber is accumulating every year and has become a serious threat to living organisms, causing serious environmental and socio-economic issues. Thus, efficient methods of waste rubber valorization and recycling technologies have been researched and implemented. The current trend is also linked with the utilization of biodegradable or eco-friendly materials. One way to produce greener and more sustainable rubber products is the utilization of untraditional additives or fillers originating from renewable resources, such as starch, cellulose, lignin, corn, sugar cane, rice husk, starch, wood, bamboo, coconut shells, etc., as well as recovered waste rubber, which can be broken down into rubber compounds. The application of naturally derived raw materials or modified waste rubber into rubber compounds paves the way to produce composite materials with higher added value, including those with pronounced ecological and economic aspects. This Special Issue, “Advances in Rubber Composites and Recovered Waste Rubber”, is devoted to all aspects of rubber compounds and composites, smart materials, green and eco-friendly materials, fillers, additives, waste rubber utilization, and recycling technology.
Dr. Jan Kruzelak
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 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
- rubber compounds and composites
- smart materials
- green and eco-friendly materials
- fillers and additives
- waste rubber utilization and recycling technology
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