Dear Colleagues,

Multifunctional nanocomposite materials can be fabricated by combining a range of nanoscale reinforcement materials with a polymer matrix. With proper consideration of the performance requirements of a given application, it is possible to design a composite with a range of functionality necessary for successful operation. Traditional fillers are added to polymers to reduce costs, improve processing behavior, or modify the properties of the final product. Nanofillers might be the answer to the requirements of modern polymer materials. In comparison to traditional fillers, at much lower loading they can significantly improve or adjust the different properties of the polymer matrix into which they are incorporated (e.g., electrical, mechanical, thermal, optical, fire-retardant), sometimes in synergy with conventional fillers.

Carbon nanostructures such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and graphene derivatives have attracted a great deal of attention in the last three decades. Their outstanding mechanical, electrical, thermal, and optical properties, as well as their large aspect ratios and higher specific surface area make them very attractive as ideal nanofillers, which can contribute to the development of composites with improved mechanical and special properties (e.g., electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, magnetic permeability, barrier properties). The synergistic effect of nanofiller hybrids including graphene nanoplatelets and carbon nanotubes, metal or metal-oxide nanoparticles anchored on a graphene surface in a hybrid can be also applied to obtain functional polymer nanocomposites.

This Special Issue aims to attract high-quality research and/or review articles that will help us to further understand the properties of polymer-based multifunctional nanocomposites containing carbon nanostructures or their hybrids.

Dr. Anna Szymczyk
Dr. Sandra Paszkiewicz
Guest Editors

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• multifunctional polymer nanocomposites
• smart materials
• carbon nanostructures
• hybrid carbon nanostructures
• thermal conductivity
• electrical conductivity
• barrier properties
• magnetic properties