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Polymers
Special Issues
Novel Soft Matters for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications
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Novel Soft Matters for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 2819

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gehong Su

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Xin Kang Road, Yucheng District, Ya’an 625014, China
Interests: polymer; hydrogel; elastomer; sensors; flexible electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yulin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of New Energy Materials and Chemistry, Leshan Normal University, Leshan 614000, China
Interests: polymer; supramolecular materials; stimulus-responsive hydrogel; recyclable materials; flexible sensors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to their good conductive sensing properties, self-healing/recyclability, biocompatibility and mechanical properties similar to biological tissues such as skin and muscle, soft matters like hydrogels and elastomers have provided great breakthroughs in recent years in the application of flexible sensors, wearable devices, biomedicine, etc. However, many challenges remain to be solved—for example, designing hydrogels with both high strength and self-healing properties; enriching the versatility of hydrogels/elastomers; tailoring the mechanical properties and functionality of hydrogels/elastomers to the application, etc. The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the need for rational structural design and synthetic innovation to improve the comprehensive performance of hydrogels and elastomers and to explore applications in flexible electronics and biomedicine.

Dr. Gehong Su
Dr. Yulin 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

  • soft matters
  • flexible electronics
  • biomedical applications

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3712 KiB  
Article
Multi-Physically Cross-Linked Hydrogels for Flexible Sensors with High Strength and Self-Healing Properties
by Yulin Zhang, Shiyu Wang, Yi Tian, Long Chen, Yuhan Du, Gehong Su and Yu Hu
Polymers 2023, 15(18), 3748; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15183748 - 13 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1209
Abstract
Excellent mechanical properties and self-healing properties are very important for the practical application of hydrogel flexible sensors. In this study, acrylic acid and stearyl methyl acrylate were selected as monomers to synthesize hydrophobic association hydrogels, and multi-physically cross-linked hydrogels were synthesized by adding [...] Read more.
Excellent mechanical properties and self-healing properties are very important for the practical application of hydrogel flexible sensors. In this study, acrylic acid and stearyl methyl acrylate were selected as monomers to synthesize hydrophobic association hydrogels, and multi-physically cross-linked hydrogels were synthesized by adding ferric chloride and polyvinyl alcohol to introduce ion interaction and a hydrogen bond cross-linking network. The hydrogels were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM, and the mechanical properties and self-healing properties were tested using a universal testing machine. It was confirmed that the strength of the hydrogel was significantly improved with the addition of ferric chloride and polyvinyl alcohol, and the hydrogel still showed good self-healing properties. Further testing of its application as a conductive sensor has demonstrated sensitive and stable motion sensing capabilities. This provides an important reference for high-performance hydrogel sensors with both high strength and self-healing properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Soft Matters for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications)
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18 pages, 6273 KiB  
Article
Controlling Shear Rate for Designable Thermal Conductivity in Direct Ink Printing of Polydimethylsiloxane/Boron Nitride Composites
by Bing Xiao, Xinmei Zheng, Yang Zhao, Bingxue Huang, Pan He, Biyou Peng and Gang Chen
Polymers 2023, 15(16), 3489; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15163489 - 21 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1029
Abstract
Efficient heat dissipation is vital for advancing device integration and high-frequency performance. Three-dimensional printing, famous for its convenience and structural controllability, facilitates complex parts with high thermal conductivity. Despite this, few studies have considered the influence of shear rate on the thermal conductivity [...] Read more.
Efficient heat dissipation is vital for advancing device integration and high-frequency performance. Three-dimensional printing, famous for its convenience and structural controllability, facilitates complex parts with high thermal conductivity. Despite this, few studies have considered the influence of shear rate on the thermal conductivity of printed parts. Herein, polydimethylsiloxane/boron nitride (PDMS/BN) composites were prepared and printed by direct ink writing (DIW). In order to ensure the smooth extrusion of the printing process and the structural stability of the part, a system with 40 wt% BN was selected according to the rheological properties. In addition, the effect of printing speed on the morphology of BN particles during 3D printing was studied by XRD, SEM observation, as well as ANSYS Polyflow simulation. The results demonstrated that increasing the printing speed from 10 mm/s to 120 mm/s altered the orientation angle of BN particles from 78.3° to 35.7°, promoting their alignment along the printing direction due to the high shear rate experienced. The resulting printed parts accordingly exhibited an impressive thermal conductivity of 0.849 W∙m−1∙K−1, higher than the 0.454 W∙m−1∙K−1 of the control sample. This study provides valuable insights and an important reference for future developments in the fabrication of thermal management devices with customizable thermal conductivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Soft Matters for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications)
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