Development of Smart Materials for Chemical Sensing

Dear Colleagues,

Chemical sensing deals with various factors, including the precise detection of analyte concentrations, which is important in various processes in industry, health and environmental safety. Recent chemical sensing research puts a special focus on the behaviour of the sensing material. Methods of material growth, the affordability of precursors, material properties, sensitivity, selectivity, stability, and the fabrication of affordable and portable sensing devices are some important considerations.

This Special Issue focuses on the latest advances in the development of smart materials for application in chemical sensing. A comprehensive assessment and demonstration of material development processes as a key factor in the production of high-quality chemical sensors will be an advantage. Different material processing techniques and state-of-the-art characterization to showcase the art of material fabrication will be considered. Top-down and bottom-up approaches with different phases of resource materials and other green and smart procedures for material growth or deposition will be considered. Detailed discussions of material growth mechanisms remain a critical issue in the understanding and control of material growth processes. Further, a consideration of sustainable processes aligned with the UN 2030 agenda is encouraged. The application of smart materials in chemical sensing promotes several sustainable development goals, including good health and well-being, innovation, climate action and several more related to environmental remediation. A demonstration of the use of smart materials in chemical sensing and a discussion on how these sensors are commercially relevant is encouraged. Sensors for health diagnostics, heavy metal ion detection and air quality monitoring will all be considered in this Special Issue. Original and review articles on fundamental scientific research and chemical sensing technological applications are welcome.

Contributions are invited from researchers, academics, the industry and independent bodies working in the specified areas.

Dr. Ella Linganiso-Dziike
Dr. Siziwe Sylvia Gqoba
Dr. Katekani Shingange
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 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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes 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 2400 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.