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Advances in Functional Soft Materials
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Advances in Functional Soft Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 11603

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hyung-Jun Koo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 139-743, Republic of Korea
Interests: polymers; hydrogels; liquid metals; sensors; solar cells; capacitors; colloid assembly
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soft materials are a condensed matter that can be deformed or reshaped, generally at room temperature. The range of soft materials is very broad. Some of the most important examples include polymers, gels, elastomers, colloids, liquid metals, and biomaterials, such as proteins and cells. Compared with hard materials, soft materials can have advantageous properties in terms of flexibility, moldability, processability, cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility, etc. Soft materials have actively been adopted to numerous applications, ranging from cosmetics, food products, and packaging materials to energy devices, robotics, and biomedical applications. As interest in wearable/biocompatible devices increases, soft materials are attracting more and more attention. Recently, many efforts have been made to develop functional soft materials with a wide variety of functionalities, for example, stretchability, biodegradability, self-healing properties, stimuli-responsiveness, and so on.

In this Special Issue, recent trends and developments in technologies related to functional soft materials will be highlighted and discussed. This Special Issue will cover, but will not be limited to, the following topics:

- Synthesis and characterization of soft materials with new functionality;
- Electronic devices;
- Sensors;
- Soft robotics;
- Energy devices;
- Biomedical applications

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special issue. Communications, full papers, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Hyung-Jun Koo
Guest Editor

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. Materials 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 2600 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

  • synthesis and characterization of soft materials with new functionality
  • electronic devices
  • sensors
  • soft robotics
  • energy devices
  • biomedical applications

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 2410 KiB  
Article
Effect of Surrounding Solvents on Interfacial Behavior of Gallium-Based Liquid Metal Droplets
by Ji-Hye Kim, Ye-Jin Park, Sooyoung Kim, Ju-Hee So and Hyung-Jun Koo
Materials 2022, 15(3), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15030706 - 18 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2657
Abstract
Gallium-based liquid metal (GaLM) alloys have been extensively used in applications ranging from electronics to drug delivery systems. To broaden the understanding and applications of GaLMs, this paper discusses the interfacial behavior of eutectic gallium-indium liquid metal (EGaIn) droplets in various solvents. No [...] Read more.
Gallium-based liquid metal (GaLM) alloys have been extensively used in applications ranging from electronics to drug delivery systems. To broaden the understanding and applications of GaLMs, this paper discusses the interfacial behavior of eutectic gallium-indium liquid metal (EGaIn) droplets in various solvents. No significant difference in contact angles of EGaIn is observed regardless of the solvent types. However, the presence or absence of a conical tip on EGaIn droplets after dispensing could indirectly support that the interfacial energy of EGaIn is relatively low in non-polar solvents. Furthermore, in the impact experiments, the EGaIn droplet bounces off in the polar solvents of water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), whereas it spreads and adheres to the substrate in the non-polar solvents of hexane and benzene. Based on the dimensionless We number, it can be stated that the different impact behavior depending on the solvent types is closely related to the interfacial energy of EGaIn in each solvent. Finally, the contact angles and shapes of EGaIn droplets in aqueous buffer solutions with different pH values (4, 7, and 10) are compared. In the pH 10 buffer solution, the EGaIn droplet forms a spherical shape without the conical tip, representing the high surface energy. This is associated with the dissolution of the “interfacial energy-reducing” surface layer on EGaIn, which is supported by the enhanced concentration of gallium ion released from EGaIn in the buffer solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Soft Materials)
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10 pages, 2943 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Hierarchical Porous Carbons Derived from Betelnut Shells for Supercapacitor Electrodes
by Arjunan Ariharan and Sung-Kon Kim
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7793; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247793 - 16 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1986
Abstract
Electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems are attracting research attention as an alternative to fossil fuels. Advances in the design and composition of energy storage materials are particularly significant. Biomass waste-derived porous carbons are particularly suitable for use in EES systems as they are [...] Read more.
Electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems are attracting research attention as an alternative to fossil fuels. Advances in the design and composition of energy storage materials are particularly significant. Biomass waste-derived porous carbons are particularly suitable for use in EES systems as they are capable of tuning pore networks from hierarchical porous structures with high specific surface areas. These materials are also more sustainable and environmentally friendly and less toxic and corrosive than other energy storage materials. In this study, we report the creation of a three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon material derived from betelnut shells. The synthesized three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous carbon electrode showed a specific capacitance of 290 F g−1 using 1 M KOH as an electrolyte at a current density of 1 A g−1 in three-electrode systems. Moreover, it offered a high charge/discharge stability of 94% over 5000 charge–discharge cycles at a current density of 5 A g−1. Two-electrode symmetric systems show a specific capacitance of 148 F g−1, good cyclic stability of 90. 8% for 5000 charge-discharge cycles, and high energy density of 41 Wh Kg−1 at the power density of 483 W Kg−1 in aqueous electrolyte. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Soft Materials)
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10 pages, 1819 KiB  
Article
Eco-Friendly Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Water-Electrolytes and Chlorophyll
by Ji-Hye Kim, Sung-Yoon Park, Dong-Hyuk Lim, So-Young Lim, Jonghoon Choi and Hyung-Jun Koo
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2150; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092150 - 23 Apr 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2810
Abstract
Organic solvents used for electrolytes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are generally not only toxic and explosive but also prone to leakage due to volatility and low surface tension. The representative dyes of DSSCs are ruthenium-complex molecules, which are expensive and require a [...] Read more.
Organic solvents used for electrolytes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are generally not only toxic and explosive but also prone to leakage due to volatility and low surface tension. The representative dyes of DSSCs are ruthenium-complex molecules, which are expensive and require a complicated synthesis process. In this paper, the eco-friendly DSSCs were presented based on water-based electrolytes and a commercially available organic dye. The effect of aging time after the device fabrication and the electrolyte composition on the photovoltaic performance of the eco-friendly DSSCs were investigated. Plasma treatment of TiO2 was adopted to improve the dye adsorption as well as the wettability of the water-based electrolytes on TiO2. It turned out that the plasma treatment was an effective way of improving the photovoltaic performance of the eco-friendly DSSCs by increasing the efficiency by 3.4 times. For more eco-friendly DSSCs, the organic-synthetic dye was replaced by chlorophyll extracted from spinach. With the plasma treatment, the efficiency of the eco-friendly DSSCs based on water-electrolytes and chlorophyll was comparable to those of the previously reported chlorophyll-based DSSCs with non-aqueous electrolytes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Soft Materials)
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9 pages, 2038 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Porous Carbon Nanofibers with Tailored Porosity for Electrochemical Capacitor Electrodes
by Jisu Kim, Youn-Ji Heo, Jin-Yong Hong and Sung-Kon Kim
Materials 2020, 13(3), 729; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030729 - 5 Feb 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3077
Abstract
Porous carbon electrodes that accumulate charges at the electrode/electrolyte interface have been extensively investigated for use as electrochemical capacitor (EC) electrodes because of their great attributes for driving high-performance energy storage. Here, we report porous carbon nanofibers (p-CNFs) for EC electrodes made by [...] Read more.
Porous carbon electrodes that accumulate charges at the electrode/electrolyte interface have been extensively investigated for use as electrochemical capacitor (EC) electrodes because of their great attributes for driving high-performance energy storage. Here, we report porous carbon nanofibers (p-CNFs) for EC electrodes made by the formation of a composite of monodisperse silica nanoparticles and polyacrylonitrile (PAN), oxidation/carbonization of the composite, and then silica etching. The pore features are controlled by changing the weight ratio of PAN to silica nanoparticles. The electrochemical performances of p-CNF as an electrode are estimated by measuring cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge. Particularly, the p-CNF electrode shows exceptional areal capacitance (13 mF cm−2 at a current of 0.5 mA cm−2), good rate-retention capability (~98% retention of low-current capacitance), and long-term cycle stability for at least 5000 charge/discharge cycles. Based on the results, we believe that this electrode has potential for use as high-performance EC electrodes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Soft Materials)
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