Polymer-Based Materials and Devices from Low-Cost Sources: Methods and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Because of growing environmental concerns, polymer-based material production predicated on renewable raw materials has been investigated for the last few decades. Nevertheless, only developed countries can afford renewable raw materials and renewable energy generation. Therefore, plenty of efforts have been dedicated to the synthesis of high-tech polymer-based materials from natural or human-generated low-cost/low impact precursors, such as logging and agricultural residues, recycled plastics and metals, fly ashes, mining tailings, harmful or low-value industrial by-products, biowaste, etc.

The present Special Issue is devoted to the synthesis of organic and inorganic polymer-based materials (i.e., bulk materials, composites, latexes, thin and thick films, membranes) from “low-end” sources. Furthermore, special attention will be given to inexpensive biogenic and biomimetic synthetic approaches. In addition, fabrication techniques and materials combinations aiming at reducing the cost of existing polymer-based devices will also be covered. Devices (and applications) include but are not limited to the following:

• Energy storage and generation devices (batteries, solar and fuel cells, supercapacitors, etc.);
• Flexible electronics (thin film transistors, sensors and actuators, displays, etc.);
• Environmental remediation (sensing, removal or degradation of contaminants and pollutants);
• Biosensing and biomedical devices;
• Materials for structural applications.

Dr. Simone Quaranta
Dr. Carmen Cavallo
Dr. Patrizia Savi
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.

• low-cost raw materials
• waste recycling
• inexpensive processing
• polymer-based materials
• biogenic and biomimetic synthesis
• composite materials
• flexible electronics
• energy materials
• environmental remediation
• biomedical devices