Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.0
4.7
Journals
Polymers
Special Issues
Advances in Functional Polymer Films
polymers-logo
Submit to Polymers Review for Polymers Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Advances in Functional Polymer Films

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2024) | Viewed by 8327

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marcella Salvatore

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Physics "Ettore Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 80126, Naples, Italy
2. CEntro Servizi Metrologici e tecnologici Avanzati (CeSMA), University of Naples Federico II, Corso Nicolangelo Protopisani 71, Naples, Italy
Interests: polymeric materilas; azopolymers; thin films; light structuring; optics
Dr. Stefano Luigi Oscurato

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics "Ettore Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Interests: photonics; optics; holography; microscopy; photolithography; azomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

This Special Issue is devoted to collecting recent research on and developments in functional polymer films. In general, functional materials are advanced and engineered materials designed and synthesized for some specific function with adequate morphology and tailored properties. Bottom-up and top-down methodologies for the production of this group of polymers are extensively studied and constantly evolving, owing the high interest in macromolecules and their wide diffusion. This Special Issue is intended to provide a collection of the latest manufacturing methods of functional polymer films and their modelling and characterization. We believe that this will be very useful for the scientific community due to the huge number of application fields in which functional polymer films can be used such as electronics, the manufacture of ultra-thin optical devices, and biomedicine, among others. 

Dr. Marcella Salvatore
Dr. Stefano Luigi Oscurato
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

  • polymer-based films
  • bio-based polymeric films
  • theory and simulation
  • design, synthesis, and analysis
  • polymer characterization methods

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 2902 KiB  
Article
High Energy Density in All-Organic Polyimide-Based Composite Film by Doping of Polyvinylidene Fluoride-Based Relaxor Ferroelectrics
by Chengwei Wang, Yue Shen, Xiaodan Cao, Xin Zheng and Kailiang Ren
Polymers 2024, 16(8), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16081138 - 18 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 929
Abstract
Recently, due to the advantages of superior compatibility, fewer interface defects, and a high electric breakdown field, all-organic dielectric composites have attracted significant research interest. In this investigation, we produced all-organic P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer/PI (terp/PI) composite films by incorporating a small amount of terpolymer [...] Read more.
Recently, due to the advantages of superior compatibility, fewer interface defects, and a high electric breakdown field, all-organic dielectric composites have attracted significant research interest. In this investigation, we produced all-organic P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer/PI (terp/PI) composite films by incorporating a small amount of terpolymer into PI substrates for high energy density capacitor applications. The resulting terp/PI-5 (5% terpolymer) composite films exhibit a permittivity of 3.81 at 1 kHz, which is 18.7% greater than that of pristine PI (3.21). Furthermore, the terp/PI-5 film exhibited the highest energy density (9.67 J/cm3) and a relatively high charge–discharge efficiency (84.7%) among the terp/PI composite films. The energy density of the terp/PI-5 film was increased by 59.8% compared to that of the pristine PI film. The TSDC results and band structure analysis revealed the presence of deeper traps in the terp/PI composites, contributing to the suppression of leakage current and improved charge–discharge efficiency. Furthermore, durability tests confirm the stability of the composite films under extended high-temperature exposure and cycling, establishing their viability for practical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 23554 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Characterization of PHBV/PCL-Diol Blend Films
by Tamara Erceg, Sanja Rackov, Pal Terek and Branka Pilić
Polymers 2023, 15(24), 4694; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15244694 - 13 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1497
Abstract
Biodegradable thin films based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and poly(caprolactone diol) (PCL-diol) blend were developed using the solution casting method. PHBV is biodegradable, biocompatible, and produced naturally by bacterial activity, but its use is restricted by high crystallinity and low resistance to thermal degradation [...] Read more.
Biodegradable thin films based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and poly(caprolactone diol) (PCL-diol) blend were developed using the solution casting method. PHBV is biodegradable, biocompatible, and produced naturally by bacterial activity, but its use is restricted by high crystallinity and low resistance to thermal degradation with melting temperatures close to degradation thus narrowing the processing window. Solution casting was chosen as a cost-effective method reducing energy consumption and avoiding thermal degradation during processing. The increase in PCL-diol in blend composition (40–60 wt%) enhances the film-forming ability of PHBV and the wettability along with the decrease in the roughness of the resulting materials as revealed by contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Optimal composition in terms of filmogenity and surface structure has been achieved by the addition of PCL-diol in the amount of 60 wt%. FTIR confirmed the expected chemical structures with no evidence of chemical interactions between the two polymers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 4398 KiB  
Article
Polysaccharide/Carbon Quantum Dots Composite Film on Model Colloidal Particles—An Electro-Optical Study
by Viktoria Milkova
Polymers 2023, 15(18), 3766; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15183766 - 14 Sep 2023
Viewed by 914
Abstract
Negatively charged carbon dots (Cdots) were successfully impregnated into chitosan/alginate film formed on model colloidal particles as a result of the attractive interactions with the chitosan molecules. The electrical properties of the produced films were studied by electrokinetic spectroscopy. In this study, the [...] Read more.
Negatively charged carbon dots (Cdots) were successfully impregnated into chitosan/alginate film formed on model colloidal particles as a result of the attractive interactions with the chitosan molecules. The electrical properties of the produced films were studied by electrokinetic spectroscopy. In this study, the electric light scattering method was applied for first the time for the investigation of suspensions of carbon-based structures. The electro-optical behavior for the suspension of polymer-coated particles showed that the electric polarizability of the particle-covered layer from alginate was significantly higher compared to that of the layer from chitosan due to the higher charge density of alginate. The presence of a low concentration of Cdots in the film results in partial charge screening. It was confirmed that the polarizability of counterions with lower mobility along the adsorbed polyion chains was responsible for the registered electro-optical effect from the suspension of polymer-coated particles and that the participation of diffuse H+ counterions of Cdots in the creation of the electro-optical effect was negligible. The observed oscillation behavior in the evolution of the film thickness was interpreted through the participation of compensatory effects due to the additional adsorption/desorption of polyelectrolyte complexes from the film surface. The concentration of Cdots in the film was determined, and the loaded amount was ca. 6.6 µg/mL per layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2081 KiB  
Article
Diffractive Refractometer Based on Scalar Theory
by Marcella Salvatore, Francesco Reda, Fabio Borbone, I Komang Januariyasa, Pasqualino Maddalena and Stefano Luigi Oscurato
Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1605; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15071605 - 23 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1728
Abstract
The measurement of the refractive index typically requires the use of optical ellipsometry which, although potentially very accurate, is extremely sensitive to the structural properties of the sample and its theoretical modeling, and typically requires specialized expertise to obtain reliable output data. Here, [...] Read more.
The measurement of the refractive index typically requires the use of optical ellipsometry which, although potentially very accurate, is extremely sensitive to the structural properties of the sample and its theoretical modeling, and typically requires specialized expertise to obtain reliable output data. Here, we propose a simple diffractive method for the measurement of the refractive index of homogenous solid thin films, which requires only the structuring of the surface of the material to be measured with the profile of a diffraction grating. The refractive index of an exemplary soft-moldable material is successfully estimated over a wide wavelength range by simply incorporating the measured topography and diffraction efficiency of the grating into a convenient scalar theory-based diffraction model. Without the need for specialized expertise and equipment, the method can serve as a simple and widely accessible optical characterization of materials useful in material science and photonics applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 1837 KiB  
Article
Viscoplastic Modeling of Surface Relief Grating Growth on Isotropic and Preoriented Azopolymer Films
by Nina Tverdokhleb, Sarah Loebner, Bharti Yadav, Svetlana Santer and Marina Saphiannikova
Polymers 2023, 15(2), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020463 - 16 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1994
Abstract
We report on solving of two intriguing issues concerning the inscription of surface relief gratings within azopolymer thin films under irradiation with SS, PP and RL interference patterns. For this, we utilize the orientation approach and viscoplastic modeling in combination with experimental results, [...] Read more.
We report on solving of two intriguing issues concerning the inscription of surface relief gratings within azopolymer thin films under irradiation with SS, PP and RL interference patterns. For this, we utilize the orientation approach and viscoplastic modeling in combination with experimental results, where the change in surface topography is acquired in situ during irradiation with modulated light. First, the initial orientation state of polymer backbones is proved to be responsible for the contradictory experimental reports on the efficiency of the SS interference pattern. Different orientation states can influence not only the phase of SS grating but also its height, which is experimentally confirmed by using special pretreatments. Second, the faster growth of gratings inscribed by the RL interference pattern is shown to be promoted by a weak photosoftening effect. Overall, the modeled results are in good agreement with the order of relative growth efficiency: RL–PP–SS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop