Sustainable 3D/4D Printing Systems, Materials, and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Among advances in technologies and applications concerning additive manufacturing (AM), one of the most extraordinary reported developments so far is four-dimensional (4D) printing, in which three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is combined with smart materials (SMs) to produce structures that change shape or functionality over time in response to external stimuli, such as temperature, electricity, humidity, solvents, pH, or light. 4D printing is expected to play a crucial role in future designs due to its obvious advantage of creating engineered and natural systems that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. For instance, 4D printing may allow scientists to develop biosensors, microfluidics, energy harvesters, smart solar panels and wind turbines, and energy conversion devices with efficient reusing of materials, waste management, and energy consumption towards more sustainability.

This special invites manuscripts that provide a global overview of how AM, particularly 4D printing, has a significant impact on the environment and sustainability, while also increasing both industrial and commercial benefits to society.

Dr. Ali Zolfagharian

Dr. Mahdi Bodaghi

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability 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.