Special Issue on Functional Gels

Introduction:

Gels encompass a large family of functional materials with great potential for practical applications. Over the past decades, the field has shifted its focus from simply preparing gels to engineering robust gels with advanced functionalities. The special issue presents recent breakthroughs in functional gel research, aiming to encourage further innovation and interest in the field.

Topics covered:

• Functional gel design and synthesis with supramolecular assembly
• Luminescent gels for smart display, information encryption, bioimaging etc.
• Conducting gels for flexible electronics, biological electrodes, etc.
• Anisotropic gels for soft actuators/robotics
• Mechanical strengthening and toughening of gels
• Self-healing and shape memory gels

Important Deadlines:

Submission deadline: 1 October 2025

Submission Instructions:

Please read the [Guide for Authors] before submitting. All articles should be [submitted online], please select [VSI: Functional Gels].

Guest Editors:

Wei Lu

Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

Email: luwei@nimte.ac.cn

Ya Nan Ye

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China; School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China.

Email: yeyanan@iat.ustc.edu.cn

Guanghui Ouyang

Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

Email: ouyanggh@iccas.ac.cn