Dear Colleagues,

Polymer-based solid materials represent one of the largest material group used in engineering practice. Despite the intense research in this field permeating most industries, these materials still have great potential for the future. The possibilities of combining well-studied basic polymers, newly synthesised polymers and a large variety of additives are almost endless, and the way is still open for new significant discoveries in this area of material science. Increasingly, composite materials containing fibre structures and particulate fillers in the base polymer or continuous polymer layers are being used instead of standard polymers. The fibrous structures and the particulate fillers can be oriented in different ways in the polymer materials. In general, processing technology and certain additives can control the spatial orientation of the polymer chains and their morphology. The use of additives in a broader sense should lead to improved ability to withstand weathering, chemical attacks, and some emergency conditions, including fire accidents. In most technological processes, additives, combinations and layering of materials lead to changes in the properties that define the usability of the polymer-based materials being prepared. Mechanical properties are crucial for most applications in engineering practice, as most polymer-based materials are used at least in part for structural, load-bearing (substrate) and cladding applications. Other vital properties often vary according to the specific application; for example, dielectric properties are critical in electrical engineering, specifically for electrical insulating materials. Achieving the best possible mechanical, dielectric, and possibly other monitored properties simultaneously is very complicated. Many promising materials with excellent mechanical properties are unusable in electrical engineering due to their poor dielectric properties. Thus, it is always necessary to consider the design of new material as an interdisciplinary problem and assume that with the improvement of some material characteristic by a particular treatment, another material characteristic is likely to deteriorate. It is only a question of to what extent, and it is a further challenge to achieve a multi-step optimisation of materials to a material meeting all requirements.

This special issue should provide a space for presenting research focused on new polymer-based materials where the optimisation of mechanical and dielectric properties is addressed. The aim of the special issue should be to provide information on ways to realise promising materials realistically usable in specific applications, primarily in electrical engineering. However, electrical engineering is not strictly given as long as the evaluation of dielectric properties for other applications, for example, in medicine and biology, will be justified. Inherent in developing new materials is the issue of measurement and evaluation of measured data. Thus, the focus of the presented papers may be to give a suitable methodology for measuring mechanical and dielectric properties, to evaluate the possible limitations of the measurements, and the necessity to introduce specific statistical tools to achieve relevant results that tell about the applicability of the proposed materials for a given application. In evaluating mechanical and dielectric properties, it is also possible to address the degradation of materials, which affects the mechanical and dielectric properties. The effects of prolonged exposure to elevated temperature, solar radiation, radiation, increased humidity, etc., on the properties, should be considered in specific applications.

All types of papers defined in the MDPI General Guidelines for Publication in Journals (Article Types) are eligible for publication in this special issue, with preference given to comprehensive articles in the standard Article format (including an Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions, with a suggested minimum word count of 4000 words). A review-style article (minimum word count of 4000 words) on the testing and evaluation of solid polymer-based materials' mechanical and dielectric properties may be included at the beginning of the special issue. Suppose the presented topic is very topical and inspiring for the given area of interest, e.g., in terms of modern approaches to the implementation and evaluation of mechanical and dielectric analysis results. In that case, the editors can be approached with shorter Communication-style articles.

Prof. Dr. Radek Polanský
Dr. Petr Kadlec
Guest Editors

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. Polymers 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 2700 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.

• polymer-based materials
• polymer composites
• additives
• mechanical properties
• dielectric properties
• resistivity
• dielectric strength
• polarization evaluation
• dielectric losses
• measuring methods