Advances in Rubber Composites

Dear Colleagues,

The rubber industry is facing challenges in order to meet criteria of sustainable development. Among the different strategies seeking possible economically attractive and eco-friendly materials, the use of natural fibers as potential fillers in rubber composites appears as a reasonable option. Self-healing rubber composites are an interesting alternative to the damage-and-discard cycle; up-graded reused or self-repaired rubber composites, with the recovery of more than one functionality, are in the front line of research. Moreover, rubber composites specifically designed with multifunctionalities and which perform well under extreme environmental conditions, such as those present in the gas and oil industry or in the aerospace industry, are considered as a niche of development and progress too.

This Special Issue is oriented toward all advanced rubber composites that, on one hand, harmonize with sustainability and circular economy principles and, on the other hand, have improved performance. Authors are encouraged to present new rubber composites that are economically and environmentally convenient with good overall performance and with self-repair ability. Thermally and electrically conductive rubber composites used as sensors or actuators will also be considered. Chemically and ice-resistant rubber composites would be of interest for this Issue too.

Research articles, review articles, perspectives, as well as communications and letters are all invited. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts will be refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts are available on the journal’s website.

Dr. Marianella Hernández Santana
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 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-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.