Front Cover: Researchers in polymer chemistry, materials science, and surface engineering have come together to organize this special issue to honor the 40-years of remarkable research achievements in functional polymeric materials and interfaces of Professors En-Tang Kang and Koon-Gee Neoh's former team at the National University of Singapore (NUS). More details on the special issue “Functional Polymeric Materials and Interfaces” can be found in the editorial 2500060 by Fujian Xu and Liqun Xu.

Soft actuators, especially those from hydrogels, offer flexibility, responsiveness, and intricate deformations for applications in soft robotics, artificial muscles, and biomedicine. This review covers their material composition and design techniques, such as 3D printing and microfabrication. It explores applications in biomedical, robotics, microfluidics, and energy systems, addressing challenges, advancements, and regulatory aspects.

2D atomic-molecular heterojunctions (2DAMHs) denote a class of advanced materials synthesized through covalent bonding of functional molecules with 2D materials, surpassing conventional heterostructures in bonding strength. This review concisely outlines the electronic characteristics of 2DAMHs and their implications for brainoid applications, further examining the contemporary status and prospective evolution of 2DAMH devices from a materials perspective.

Microgel films based on PNVCL microgel can be rapidly and massively prepared by spin coating on the surface of glass slides, and the resultant temperature-sensitive surface layer is developed for cultivation and detachment of cells.

A novel 2D conjugated polymer PBDTTT-BPQTPA is synthesized via Stille coupling copolymerization. The fabricated Al/PBDTTT-BPQTPA/ITO memristor demonstrates non-volatile, rewritable memory capabilities under high voltage conditions, as well as history-dependent memristive behavior at lower voltages. Remarkably, this polymer-based memristor emulates the learning principles of human neural synapses, not only executing basic Boolean logic operations but also facilitating decimal arithmetic computations.

The solvophilic or solvophobic chains can have a synergistic effect on the stacking structure and morphology of the Azo-BCP assemblies. This provides experimental evidence for the influence of solvophilic chains length on the nucleation phase, and offers new insights into the regulation of the chiroptical properties of the BCP system.

A simple and feasible glycidyl methacrylate-assisted coating strategy is adopted to construct zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) coatings on polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) via the “grafting to” and “grafting from” approaches. The coatings are not affected the transparency, mechanical properties, or biocompatibility of the PETG sheet and significantly improve its lubricating, antifouling, and antiadhesive properties, showing great potential for invisible aligner applications.

Herein, this work provides evidence that left-handed self-assembled chiral nematic CNC films (L-CNC) significantly enhance the adhesion of L929 fibroblasts through integrin pathways. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analysis reveal upregulation of talin and improved assembly of F-actin as key factors promoting cell adhesion on L-CNC films compared to randomly arranged isotropic CNC films (I-CNC).

Because of the increased availability of catalytic sites, BCN nanosheets with boron dopants and nitrogen defects promote intermolecular single electron transfer to the initiator, maintaining radical intermediates at a low concentration for better control of photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization (photo-ATRP) under blue light illumination, outperforming bulk graphitic carbon nitrides (g-C₃N₄), yielding polymers with low dispersity and tailorable molecular weights.

A strong and tough self-healing composite is constructed via in situ growth of zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanocrystals in imidazole-containing polymer networks. In contrast to the pure zinc cation cross-linking system, the composite can exhibit enhanced tensile strength and toughness by 43% and 100%, respectively. It proves that incorporating metal–organic framework (MOF) noncrystals into self-healing polymers is highly promising.

TOC-PLGA NPs as a novel nanoparticle-immune adjuvant with well-controlled particle size and high loading capacity, having synergetic effects of both TOC and PLGA NPs, can promote antigen uptake by RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, they can strongly upregulate the expression of co-stimulatory surface molecules and the secretion of cytokines by these macrophage cells, exhibiting a strong immunostimulatory effect.

The conjugated dimer acceptor DY-TVCl and the non-conjugated dimer acceptor DY-3T are developed, in which the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.01% is achieved for the DY-TVCl-based OSCs, and demonstrates excellent stability. Notable PCE of 15.23% is achieved for DY-TVCl-based flexible devices by blade-coating.

This study introduces a novel self-crosslinking gold-nanoparticles hybrid composite hydrogel bolus, prepared via a one-pot method for radiophotothermal therapy. The hydrogel boasts high mechanical strength, significant antibacterial properties, and precise near-infrared light absorption. It aims to enhance therapy precision and effectiveness, demonstrating good biocompatibility and excellent surface adhesion, offering new possibilities for treatment accuracy.

In this work, the polymer structure of PM6 is reconstructed by introducing simple units of difluoro-substituted thiophene (2FT) or dicyano-substituted thiophene (2CNT), respectively, and the regulation of polymer crystallization characteristics and optimization of active layer morphology is achieved.

Using the redox-active polyaniline covalently modified black phosphorus nanosheets can make the device have both digital and analog memristor performance, and increase the device function on the basis of improving the integrated density of the device.

In this work, the curcumin-loaded nanoparticles (Cur-NPs) are prepared through the self-assembly of PMEMA-b-P(DA-co-HPA), DSPE-PEG, and curcumin in an aqueous solution. Cur-NPs exhibit the ability to suppress chondrocyte ferroptosis by regulating ROS, Fe²⁺, and ACSL4 levels. Additionally, Cur-NPs maintain the anabolic and catabolic balance in IL-1β-treated ATDC5 cells.

In this study, an enzyme-responsive drug delivery system with high drug-loading capacity is developed. The micelles designed in this work show better anti-tumor effects and lower toxicity to normal tissues.

Three dimeric acceptors are designed by linking the terminal groups of small molecular acceptors with flexible spacers, and their performance is found to depend on the length of these flexible chains. Among them, the dimeric acceptors with decyl groups exhibit the best device performance.

In this study, a dual coating of polycatechol/polyamine (PA) and polyimide (PI) is constructed on the surface of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber. The chemical activity, temperature resistance, and tensile strength of the UHMWPE fiber are improved. The PI coatings also demonstrate thermal insulation, acid resistance, and erasability. This modification strategy is efficient, simple, and less damaging.

This study proposes a facile method for preparing flexible conductive composites with large-size segregated structures. The conductive network can be adapted to large deformations during hot press molding and remains compact due to its unique structural design. The composites exhibit outstanding electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance and durability and have promising prospects in EMI shielding.

A fibrous hydrogel with an anisotropic topological structure that mimics the natural extracellular matrix is developed for the treatment of infected wounds. This hydrogel incorporates an innovative intrinsically antibacterial material composed of polyhexamethylene biguanide, O-Vanillin, and Gd³⁺, demonstrating excellent biocompatibility and robust antibacterial activity.