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Polymer Modification for Soft Matter and Flexible Devices

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 232

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Interests: smart textiles; flexible electronics; e-textiles; wearable sensors; healthcare monitoring
Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Interests: fiber technology; wearable electronics; membrane science; electrochemial devices; fuel cell
College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Interests: fiber surface modification; functional coatings; self-lubricating mechanism; solid lubricating; textile composites; flexible sensors; fibrous actuators

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Polymers highlights current advances in polymer modification methods for soft matter and flexible devices. Targeting researchers in fields ranging from fundamental polymer science to flexible electronics, it covers chemical modifications (e.g., functionalization, crosslinking), physical approaches (e.g., blending, nanocomposites), and structural design innovations (e.g., advanced polymer architectures) that enhance the performance and functionality of soft polymer materials. These modifications improve mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, stretchability, and environmental stability. Such advances expand the capabilities of flexible electronics, wearable sensors, soft robotics, bio-integrated devices, and other flexible or stretchable systems. Emphasis is placed on understanding structure–property relationships and developing processing techniques that enable the scalable, sustainable fabrication of high-performance soft materials. We invite original research articles, short communications, and reviews that contribute to the development of high-performance soft materials for next-generation flexible technologies.

Dr. Liming Chen
Dr. Heng Zhai
Dr. Chuang Zhu
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

  • surface modification
  • polymer interfaces
  • functional coatings
  • soft matter
  • flexible devices

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2743 KiB  
Article
Graphene-Based Textile Sensors for Intelligent Structural Health Monitoring
by Chuang Zhu, Yajie Zhang and Guanliang He
Polymers 2025, 17(11), 1484; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17111484 - 27 May 2025
Viewed by 149
Abstract
This paper presents an approach to address the need for advanced Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems in composite materials across various industries. Leveraging the exceptional mechanical and electrical properties of graphene, this study introduces graphene/polydopamine-based sensors for intelligent SHM. Testing these sensors’ efficiency [...] Read more.
This paper presents an approach to address the need for advanced Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems in composite materials across various industries. Leveraging the exceptional mechanical and electrical properties of graphene, this study introduces graphene/polydopamine-based sensors for intelligent SHM. Testing these sensors’ efficiency through tensile, bending, impact, and compression tests show that different designs are applicable to various conditions. Notably, these sensors respond well to external impact forces, opening new avenues for impact detection in composite panels, an essential aspect of Structural Health Monitoring. This research contributes to developing resilient and cost-effective SHM systems with potential applications in aerospace, automotive, and civil engineering industries, enhancing safety and reducing maintenance costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Modification for Soft Matter and Flexible Devices)
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