polymers-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Smart Polymers for Stimuli-Responsive Devices

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 747

Special Issue Editor

Institute of Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: liquid crystals; polymer; light-responsive and multi-stimuli-responsive smart materials and devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart materials have attracted intensive attention due to their fancy properties and wide applications. Among them, smart polymers develop rapidly both in industry and academic research. There are a lot of smart polymers or polymer composites such as self-healing polymers, liquid crystal dimming films, stimuli-responsive hydrogels, liquid crysltal elastomers, and so on. They have promising applications in smart windows, wearable/implantable devices, soft robotics, sensors, anti-counterfeit labels and so on. In this Special Issue, we aim to unearth the new advances in smart polymers and polymer composites. Any breakthrough on the material or application of smart polymer is welcome. The synergistic coupling of polymers with nanomaterials can spark new ideas about functionality and performance enhancement. Thus, we seek to spotlight discoveries that encompass a wide spectrum of topics and research articles or reviews concerning the topic are both welcome.

Dr. Cheng Zou
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

  • smart materials
  • polymer composites
  • self-healing polymers
  • liquid crystal
  • stimuli-responsive hydrogels
  • elastomers

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 policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 10159 KiB  
Article
Electrically Driven Liquid Crystal Elastomer Self-Oscillators via Rheostat Feedback Mechanism
by Kai Li, Zuhao Li and Lin Zhou
Polymers 2025, 17(5), 617; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17050617 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 532
Abstract
The reliance of feedback mechanisms in conventional light-fueled self-oscillating systems on spatially distributed light and intricately designed structures impedes their application and development in micro-robots, miniature actuators, and other small-scale devices. This paper presents a straightforward rheostat feedback mechanism to create an electrically [...] Read more.
The reliance of feedback mechanisms in conventional light-fueled self-oscillating systems on spatially distributed light and intricately designed structures impedes their application and development in micro-robots, miniature actuators, and other small-scale devices. This paper presents a straightforward rheostat feedback mechanism to create an electrically driven liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) self-oscillator which comprises an LCE fiber, a rheostat, a spring, and a mass. Based on the electrothermally responsive LCE model, we first derive the governing equation for the system’s dynamics and subsequently formulate the asymptotic equation. Numerical calculations reveal two motion phases, i.e., static and self-oscillating, and elucidate the mechanism behind self-oscillation. By employing the multi-scale method, we identify the Hopf bifurcation and establish the analytical solutions for amplitude and frequency. The influence of various system parameters on the amplitude and frequency of self-oscillation was analyzed, with numerical solutions being validated against analytical results to ensure consistency. The proposed rheostat feedback mechanism can be extended to cases with rheostats that have more general resistance properties and offers advantages such as simple design, adjustable dimensions, and rapid operation. The findings are expected to inspire broader design concepts for applications in soft robotics, sensors, and adaptive structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Polymers for Stimuli-Responsive Devices)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop