Multifunctional Materials: Chemical Design, Properties, and Emerging Applications

Aims & Scope

This Collection explores the rapid progress in the chemical development of multifunctional materials that exhibit two or more desired properties, making them suitable for a wide array of applications. It focuses on how innovative chemical design, synthesis, and molecular tuning are unlocking new potentials in material science, bridging fundamental research with real-world performance.

Contributions are welcome across diverse classes of materials—nanomaterials, polymers, hybrid systems, composites, and smart surfaces—with emphasis on structure–property relationships, stimuli-responsiveness, and synergistic functionalities driven by chemistry.

The scope includes materials designed for applications in energy storage and conversion, environmental remediation, sensing, catalysis, biomedical engineering, soft robotics, and advanced manufacturing.

Scientific & Practical Importance

The Collection brings together chemical strategies that enable multifunctionality, such as self-healing, shape-memory, conductivity, magnetism, biocompatibility, and environmental responsiveness, within a single material system. These integrated properties offer smarter, lighter, and more efficient alternatives to traditional mono-functional materials.

Special focus is placed on:

• Functionalization techniques at the molecular or nanoscale

• Sustainable material design

• Interface engineering

• Chemo-responsive architectures

• Emerging synthesis pathways, including green and scalable chemistry

These innovations offer transformative potential for next-generation technologies in sectors like healthcare, electronics, environmental science, and aerospace.

Relevance & Innovation

In a world demanding high-performance and sustainable solutions, multifunctional materials are at the forefront of technological convergence. This Collection highlights how chemistry, as a core enabler, drives the multidimensional performance of materials tailored to complex, real-world needs.

By connecting materials chemistry, nanotechnology, surface science, and application engineering, the Collection serves as a platform for cutting-edge contributions that align with global sustainability and innovation goals.

Keywords:

Multifunctional Materials, Smart Materials, Material Chemistry, Hybrid Systems, Responsive Polymers, Functional Nanomaterials, Energy Materials, Biocompatible Materials, Catalytic Materials, Sustainable Design

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 12 and SDG 13.