Advances in Functional Hydrogels: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Functional hydrogels represent a fast‑evolving class of soft materials that create fertile ground for cross‑disciplinary research spanning materials science, chemistry, engineering and biomedical science. Featuring high water content, customizable micro‑network structures and adjustable performance profiles, these materials can be purpose‑built to meet diverse practical requirements across many sectors. Advances in crosslinking techniques, bioinspired design and nanocomposite modification have greatly expanded the boundaries of hydrogel performance, giving rise to systems with self‑healing capacity, mechanical robustness, stimulus‑sensing capability and multi‑modal functionality. Such progress unlocks new possibilities for biomedical tools, wearable devices, environmental treatment and emerging energy‑related scenarios.

This Special Issue, entitled “Advances in Functional Hydrogels: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications”, welcomes original research, short communications, and review papers covering the design, fabrication, characterization, and multi‑scenario applications of functional hydrogels. Topics include, but are not limited to, responsive and adaptive hydrogels, tough and self-healing hydrogels, bioinspired systems, and hydrogels for sensing, actuation, energy, and environmental applications. It seeks to build an open academic venue to present frontier outcomes and promote knowledge exchange among researchers from different disciplines.

We welcome contributions of new experimental discoveries and insightful viewpoints to push forward the development of next‑generation functional hydrogel materials.

Dr. Jihao Li
Guest Editor

Dr. Lin Lin
Guest Editor Assistant

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.