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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2025 | Viewed by 9004

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Dr. Jiangtao Xu

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1. School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 999077, China
2. College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
Interests: flexible electronics; flexible sensors; funtional polymer composites; biomass materials
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Dr. Sihang Zhang

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Guest Editor

School of Food Science and Engineering, Hainan University, No. 58 Renmin Avenue, Haikou, China
Interests: flexible sensor; textiles; funtional polymer composites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Compared to traditional flexible materials, such as metal-based, ceramic-based, and glass-based materials, polymer-based flexible materials have advantages including low density, easy processing, excellent flexibility, and good environmental stability. Over the past few decades, polymer-based flexible materials have received significant attention, due to the rapid development of the electronic industry, medical treatment, health, and other fields. For instance, flexible electronic technology has great potential in reshaping the lifestyle of humans, but the bottleneck of flexible electronic technology is flexible substrates or flexible conductive materials, which can be solved by modifying or doping polymer-based flexible materials. Moreover, it is possible to synthesize new polymer-based flexible materials or modify them for different purposes to endow them with the corresponding functionality.

This Special Issue of Polymers aims to present full research papers, communications, and review articles on the latest advances in the fields of synthesis, characterization, and application of polymer-based flexible materials. Topics that will be covered include, but are not limited to, the synthesis of organic elastomers, conductive polymers, and flexible organic networks; structural characterization; modeling; and applications (i.e., sensor, energy harvesting, energy storage, electromagnetic shielding, and biomedical).

Dr. Jiangtao Xu
Dr. Sihang Zhang
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.

Keywords

polymer-based flexible materials
flexible electronic devices
functional polymer composites
flexible EMI materials
wearable sensors/actuators

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Polymer-Based Flexible Materials in Polymers (13 articles)

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 10071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation of Airflow Organization in Vulcanization Tanks for Waste Tires

by Tianxi Su, Yongzhi Ma, Baolin Wang, Xiaowen Luan, Hui Li and Xuelong Zhang

Polymers 2025, 17(2), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17020232 - 17 Jan 2025

Viewed by 422

Abstract

Currently, in the domestic practice of retreading tires using vulcanization tanks, some tanks exhibit uneven temperature distributions leading to low retreading success rates. To address that, this paper simulated the temperature and velocity fields during the heating process of vulcanization tanks for waste tire retreading. The results indicated that a higher heating power reduces the time required for the vulcanizing agent to reach the vulcanization condition, but it also increases the difference in tire temperature in the tank, with a severely uneven distribution of the temperature field. Subsequently, to improve the uniformity of temperature distribution and enhance the retreading rate of waste tires, this paper proposed two types of orifice plates to adjust the airflow organization. The results show that both the plain orifice plate and the frustum cone orifice plate can enhance the uniformity of the temperature field within the vulcanization tank and reduce the temperature difference between tires. Moreover, at the same heating power, the presence of the orifice plates increases the rate of temperature increase in the tires and the vulcanizing agent compared to the original vulcanization tank, improving the thermal efficiency of the vulcanization tank heater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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17 pages, 3662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Self-Healable, Antimicrobial and Conductive Hydrogels Based on Dynamic Covalent Bonding with Silver Nanoparticles for Flexible Sensor

by Te Qi, Xuefeng Liu, Nan Zheng, Jie Huang, Wenlong Xiang, Yujin Nie, Zanru Guo and Baixue Cai

Polymers 2025, 17(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17010054 - 29 Dec 2024

Viewed by 518

Abstract

Dynamic hydrogels have attracted considerable attention in the application of flexible electronics, as they possess injectable and self-healing abilities. However, it is still a challenge to combine high conductivity and antibacterial properties into dynamic hydrogels. In this work, we fabricated a type of dynamic hydrogel based on acylhydrazone bonds between thermo-responsive copolymer and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized with hydrazide groups. The hybrid hydrogels exhibited sol–gel transition, self-healable, injectable and thermo-responsive abilities. The self-healing efficiency was over 92%. Moreover, the hydrogel displayed antimicrobial properties and high conductivity (6.85 S/m). Notably, the fabricated hydrogel-based sensors exhibited strain and temperature sensing (22.05%/°C) and could detect human motion and speech, and electrocardiographic (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) signals. Overall, this work provides a simple strategy to synthesize AgNPs-based dynamic hydrogels with multi-functions, and the hydrogels may find potential applications in antibacterial wearable electronics, health monitoring and speech recognition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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14 pages, 5132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Residual Stress at the Interface of Epoxy-Resin/Silicon-Wafer Composites During Thermal Aging

by Jianyu Wu, Fangzhou Chen, Jiahao Liu, Rui Chen, Peijiang Liu, Hao Zhao and Zhenbo Zhao

Polymers 2025, 17(1), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17010050 - 28 Dec 2024

Viewed by 524

Abstract

During the thermal aging process of epoxy resin, microcracks, interfacial delamination, and warpage are the key factors leading to semiconductor device damage. Here, epoxy-resin specimens (EP-Ss) and epoxy-resin/silicon-wafer composites (EP-SWs) were prepared to analyze the distribution of residual stress (RS) in epoxy resin and its thermal aging process changes. The uniaxial tensile approach and Raman spectroscopy (RAS) showed that the peak shift of aliphatic C-O in EP-Ss was negatively correlated with the external stress, and that the stress correlation coefficient was −2.76 × 10⁻² cm⁻¹/MPa. Then, RAS was used to evaluate the RS distribution of EP-SWs, obtaining a high-resolution stress-distribution image of 50 × 50 pixels and revealing a strong stress concentration at the interface between the epoxy resin and the silicon wafer. Additionally, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and RAS were used to analyze the chemical composition, molecular structure, interfacial microstructure, and RS of the epoxy resin during the thermal aging process. With the increase in the thermal aging time, the epoxy resin underwent secondary curing, the RS at the interface changed from tensile stress to compressive stress, and cracks were formed. The results illuminate the effect of the thermal aging process on the interface-failure mechanism of composite materials, aiding in the reliability evaluation and safety design of semiconductor devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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18 pages, 6443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flexible PAN/P25 Multi-Porous Nanotubular Electrospun Membrane Constructed by a Facile Ethylene Glycol Solvothermal Induction with Excellent Photocatalytic Degradation and Sterilization Performance

by Yiwen Miao, Chenghao Zhang, Ya Sun, Chunlei Wang, Juntao Yan, Sunhua Deng and Ruan Chi

Polymers 2024, 16(24), 3484; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16243484 - 13 Dec 2024

Viewed by 639

Abstract

A series of flexible polyacrylonitrile/TiO₂ (PAN/P25) multi-porous nanotubular membranes were successfully constructed by facile electrospinning combined with an ethylene glycol solvothermal induce strategy. The effects of P25 dosage and solvothermal time on the morphology of samples were systematically investigated, which were characterized in terms of surface morphology, microstructure, specific surface area, thermal analysis, wettability, photoelectrochemical and fluorescence spectra. Rhodamine B (RhB) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were employed as simulated pollutants to evaluate photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial properties of the PAN/P25-3 multi-porous nanotubular membrane. The PAN/P25-3 membrane exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency, with 96.1% degradation of RhB within 120 min under a xenon lamp light source and a photocatalytic inactivation rate of 95.8% for E. coli under 365 nm monochromatic light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of the PAN/P25-3 multi-porous nanotubular membrane for RhB was deduced from the results of 3D-EEM fluorescence and scavenger experiments of reactive species. Additionally, the cyclic photodegradation experiments demonstrated that the PAN/P25-3 membrane maintained excellent stability and photocatalytic performance after multiple degradation cycles, confirming its potential for sustainable wastewater treatment applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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13 pages, 4716 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Facile In Situ Building of Sulfonated SiO₂ Coating on Porous Skeletons of Lithium-Ion Battery Separators

by Lei Ding, Dandan Li, Sihang Zhang, Yuanjie Zhang, Shuyue Zhao, Fanghui Du and Feng Yang

Polymers 2024, 16(18), 2659; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16182659 - 20 Sep 2024

Viewed by 1022

Abstract

Polyolefin separators with worse porous structures and compatibilities mismatch the internal environment and deteriorate lithium-ion battery (LIB) combination properties. In this study, a sulfonated SiO₂ (SSD) composited polypropylene separator (PP@SSD) is prepared to homogenize pore sizes and in situ-built SSD coatings on porous skeletons. Imported SSD uniformizes pore sizes owing to centralized interface distributions within casting films. Meanwhile, abundant cavitations enable the in situ SSD coating to facilely fix onto porous skeleton surfaces during separator fabrications, which feature simple techniques, low cost, environmental friendliness, and the capability for continuous fabrications. A sturdy SSD coating on the porous skeleton confines thermal shrinkages and offers a superior safety guarantee for LIBs. The abundant sulfonic acid groups of SSD endow PP@SSD with excellent electrolyte affinity, which lowers Li⁺ transfer barriers and optimizes interfacial compatibility. Therefore, assembled LIBs give the optimal C-rate capacity and cycling stability, holding a capacity retention of 82.7% after the 400th cycle at 0.5 C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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16 pages, 17404 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization and Performance Evaluation of Liquid Biodegradable Mulch Films and Its Effects on Peanut Cultivation

by Jie Shi, Shaoli Wang, Zhongxue Yang, Baoyan Li, Ruijue Chen, Fanzhi Bu, Binghui Luan, Baoyou Liu and Peiqiang Li

Polymers 2024, 16(17), 2487; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16172487 - 31 Aug 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1229

Abstract

With the development of material science and increasing awareness of ecological environmental protection, liquid biodegradable mulch films (LBDMs) have garnered significant public interest. In this research, new LBDMs were developed using hydrophobically modified polymer materials, surfactants, and photosensitive catalysts. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed good material compatibility. LBDMs exhibited excellent wettability and degradability, effectively covering soil surfaces and enhancing soil moisture conservation, with a degradation rate of 76.09% after 80 days of burial. The field performance experiment was conducted over two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022, to assess differences in soil temperature and moisture, peanut agronomic traits, pod traits, and yield under four treatments: non-mulching (CK), LBDMs, clear polyethylene mulch films (CPEMs), and black polyethylene mulch films (BPEMs). LBDMs increased soil temperature by 0.56 °C and soil moisture by 19.25%, accelerated the seedling stage by 4-to-6 days, and improved the average emergence rate by 15.91%. Furthermore, LBDMs significantly promoted peanut growth, and it increased yield by 14.34% compared to CK. LBDMs performed comparably to the two types of PE films in maintaining soil conditions and different crop phenotype traits, including plant height, branch number, yield, and quality, and they even outperformed PE films in productivity per plant and 100-kernel weight. These findings suggest that LBDMs are a promising eco-friendly alternative to traditional PE films. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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17 pages, 2636 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Sensitive and Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensors Combined with Porous Structure and Hole Array Using Sacrificial Templates and Laser Ablation

by Yibin Zhao, Jingyu Zhou, Chenkai Jiang, Tianlong Xu, Kaixin Li, Dawei Zhang and Bin Sheng

Polymers 2024, 16(16), 2369; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16162369 - 21 Aug 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1634

Abstract

Flexible, wearable pressure sensors offer numerous benefits, including superior sensing capabilities, a lightweight and compact design, and exceptional conformal properties, making them highly sought after in various applications including medical monitoring, human–computer interactions, and electronic skins. Because of their excellent characteristics, such as simple fabrication, low power consumption, and short response time, capacitive pressure sensors have received widespread attention. As a flexible polymer material, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is widely used in the preparation of dielectric layers for capacitive pressure sensors. The Young’s modulus of the flexible polymer can be effectively decreased through the synergistic application of sacrificial template and laser ablation techniques, thereby improving the functionality of capacitive pressure sensors. In this study, a novel sensor was introduced. Its dielectric layer was developed through a series of processes, including the use of a sacrificial template method using NaCl microparticles and subsequent CO₂ laser ablation. This porous PDMS dielectric layer, featuring an array of holes, was then sandwiched between two flexible electrodes to create a capacitive pressure sensor. The sensor demonstrates a sensitivity of 0.694 kPa⁻¹ within the pressure range of 0–1 kPa and can effectively detect pressures ranging from 3 Pa to 200 kPa. The sensor demonstrates stability for up to 500 cycles, with a rapid response time of 96 ms and a recovery time of 118 ms, coupled with a low hysteresis of 6.8%. Furthermore, our testing indicates that the sensor possesses limitless potential for use in detecting human physiological activities and delivering signals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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15 pages, 3769 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flexible Positive Temperature Coefficient Composites (PVAc/EVA/GP-CNF) with Room Temperature Curie Point

by Chao Du, Yangyang Zhang, Jiangmin Lin, Guotao Fan, Can Zhou and Yan Yu

Polymers 2024, 16(14), 2028; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16142028 - 16 Jul 2024

Viewed by 1071

Abstract

Polymeric positive temperature coefficient (PTC) materials with low switching temperature points are crucial for numerous electronic devices, which typically function within the room temperature range (0–40 °C). Ideal polymeric PTC materials for flexible electronic thermal control should possess a room-temperature switching temperature, low room-temperature resistivity, exceptional mechanical flexibility, and adaptive thermal control properties. In this study, a novel PTC material with a room-temperature switching temperature and superb mechanical properties has been designed. A blend of a semi-crystalline polymer EVA with a low melting temperature (Tm) and an amorphous polymer (PVAc) with a low glass transition temperature (Tg) was prepared. Low-cost graphite was chosen as the conductive filler, while CNF was incorporated as a hybrid filler to enhance the material’s heating stability. PVAc0.4/EVA0.6/GP-3wt.% CNF exhibited the lowest room temperature resistivity, and its PTC strength (1.1) was comparable to that without CNF addition, with a Curie temperature of 29.4 °C. Room temperature Joule heating tests revealed that PVAc0.4/EVA0.6/GP-3wt.% CNF achieved an equilibrium temperature of approximately 42 °C at 25 V, with a heating power of 3.04 W and a power density of 3.04 W/cm². The Young’s modulus of PVAc0.4/EVA0.6/GP-3wt.% CNF was 9.24 MPa, and the toughness value was 1.68 MJ/m³, indicating that the elasticity and toughness of the composites were enhanced after mixing the fillers, and the mechanical properties of the composites were improved by blending graphite with CNF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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18 pages, 6613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimized Design of Material Preparation for Cotton Linters-Based Carbon Black Dispersion Stabilizers Based on Response Surface Methodology

by Xiongfei An, Xupeng Yang, Canming Hu and Chengli Ding

Polymers 2024, 16(14), 1964; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16141964 - 9 Jul 2024

Viewed by 1102

Abstract

Carbon black particles possess dimensions on the nanometer or sub-nanometer scale. When utilized, these particles have a tendency to aggregate, which compromises their stability under storage conditions. To address this issue, a dispersant was prepared using cotton short fibers as raw materials through etherification and graft polymerization with acrylamide (AM) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) as raw materials. The dispersant was then used to disperse carbon black to test its dispersing performance. A response surface optimization test was utilized to ascertain the influence of AMPS monomer mass, AM monomer mass, and potassium persulfate (KPS) initiator mass on the dispersibility of carbon black during dispersant preparation, and a set of optimal preparation conditions were obtained. The dispersion stability of carbon black in water was assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis (EA), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), zeta potential analysis, high magnification scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements. Results revealed that the optimum mass ratio of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to AMPS to AM was 1:0.69:1.67, with the KPS initiator comprising 1.56% of the total monomer mass. By incorporating the dispersant at a concentration of 37.50%, the particle size of carbon black particles was observed to decrease from 5.350 μm to 0.255 μm, and no agglomeration of carbon black particles occurred even after 3 weeks of storage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Materials, 2nd Edition)

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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Flexible positive temperature coefficient composites (PVAc/EVA/GP-CNF) with room temperature Curie Point
Authors: Chao Du; Yangyang Zhang; Jiangmin Lin; Guotao Fan; Can Zhou; Yan Yu
Affiliation: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Abstract: Polymeric PTC (positive temperature coefficient) materials with low switching temperature points are important for many electronic devices, which typically operate in the room temperature range (0-40°C). Ideal polymer PTC materials for flexible electronic thermal control should also include room temperature switching temperature, low room-temperature resistivity, good mechanical flexibility and adaptive thermal control properties. In this work, a new PTC material with room -temperature switching temperature and excellent mechanical properties is designed. A semi-crystalline polymer EVA with low melting temperature (Tm) and an amorphous polymer (PVAc) with low glass transition temperature (Tg) were blended and prepared. Low-cost graphite was selected as the conductive filler, while CNF was added as the hybrid filler to enhance the heating stability of the material. The PTC material has low switching temperature point (

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