Micro- and Nano-Fabrication Approaches for Polymers

Dear Colleagues,

Techniques to process polymers at micro- and nano-scale have a great impact on a wide variety of sectors, including electronic, food, energy, pharmaceutical and biomedical industry. The main advantage of using micro- and nano-structured materials, instead of their macroscale counterparts, is their high exposed surface area, which enhances the interaction with the surrounding environment and hence make them more efficient. Manipulation of polymer structures on the micro- and nano- scale allows for tailoring of material properties for advanced applications.
This Special Issue focuses on new advances on micro- and nano-fabrication technologies for natural and synthetic polymers. Topics of interest are, but not limited to: (i) Lithographic procedures to structure surfaces for guiding cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation; (ii) Patterning methods to mimic the complex hierarchical architecture of natural systems and achieve self-cleaning, water/oil repellent, anti-icing, antifouling/antibacterial surfaces; (iii) Fabrication approaches for miniaturised optoelectronic and energy devices, wearable electronics, lab-on-chip systems and biosensors; (iv) Electrospinning and electrospraying of fibrous membranes to be applied in filtration and thermal insulation, sensors, scaffolds for tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, protective clothing, conducting and energy storage devices; (v) Chemical and physical methods to produce nano- and micro-particles, nanowires, nanotubes, quantum dots, etc. for cosmetics, food science, batteries, paints, inks, biotechnology, optoelectronics, composites;  (vi) Porous polymers, with controlled porosity on the nano- or micro-scale, i.e. micro-, meso- or macro-pores, for gas sorption, separation, water treatment, catalysis, energy and biomedical applications; (vii) Self-assembly of polymers to fabricate nano- or micro-particles, including hierarchical organisation of polymer structure.

Dr. Elisa Mele
Dr. Fiona Hatton
Guest Editors

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