Electroactive Polymer Films

Dear Colleagues,

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are soft materials and smart structures possessing unique electric multi-functionalities and mechanical flexibility. They are significant in response to external electrical fields or voltages, via charge polarization or conduction processes, and visa versa. Interesting electroactive properties that are related to charge transfer and storage, as well as structural and phase transition, indicate novel media for information or energy conversion and storage science and technology. Recently, EAPs have shown promise in enbaling many new practical applications, such as key materials and components integrated in flexible electronics for information, energy, medical, healthcare, entertainment, security and defense science and technology, potentially fostering the growth and success of science and research areas enabled by this new class of electroactive intelligence.

There are opportunities and challenges of cost-effective electroactive polymer films (EAPFs) with high performance and reliability are required for the desirable and realistic applications of flexible electronics. Therefore, 1) understanding the basic electrophysical, electrochemical or electrophysiological fundamentals behind novel phenomena, and the relationships between structures and properties of EAPFs, are important in realizing their electronic, dielectric, optical, magnetic, thermal, mechanical, and chemical problems management avenues for longer lifetime, environmental sustainability, self healing and safety; and their electromechanical, electrocaloric, electrophotonic, electromagnetic, electrochemical multi-field coupling problems and behavior analysis, and charge or energy-related modulation for higher energy and power density, efficiency and response speed;  and 2) developing an increasingly scientific and technological future for EAPFs is also critical in the fostering of EAPF-based scalable multiscale science, technology and applications, including multiscale design and synthesis, advanced fabrication processes and manufacturing techniques for desirable EAPFs.

Topics with a primary focus on electroactive polymer films: 1) advanced materials sciences of EAPFs, including theoretical simulation and calculation, multiscale design and synthesis, structures and properties of EAPFs, electroactive polymer and carbon-based composites and hybrid films; and 2) advanced materials and devices fabrication and manufacturing processes technologies of EAPFs, including thin film deposition, coatings, printing, and their multiscale architectures of EAPFs, electroactive polymer and carbon-based composites hybrid films, as well as 3) EAPF-based devices, thin-film device processes and physics, and various applications for sensors and actuators, smart skins and artificial muscles, energy harvesting and storage devices, electronic or optoelectronic information devices potential for flexible, printable and wearable electronics.

In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• New phenomena, fundamentals, mechanisms, theoretical simulation and calculation
• Novel design and synthesis
• Mirco- and nano scale and molecular hybrid materials
• Bio-derived soft materials
• Novel materials and structures for advanced fabrication processes
• Advanced fabrication techniques
• Novel sensors and actuators
• Energy harvesting, conversion and storage devices
• Flexible thin-film electronic and optoelectronic devices
• Packaging or encapsulation materials, novel integration and applications
• Other emerging concepts and technologies.

Prof. Dr. Cheng Huang
Prof. Dr. Qiming Zhang
Guest Editors

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• Electroactive polymers
• Polymeric composites
• Polymer films and coatings
• Smart materials and structures
• Modeling and simulation
• Materials design and synthesis
• Fabrication processes
• Energy harvesting and storage
• Electronics and optoelectronics
• Flexible electronics