Call for Papers: AI for Polymer Science and Technology

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing research and development across scientific disciplines. In polymer science and technology, AI-driven approaches are accelerating material discovery, optimizing synthesis and processing, predicting structure-property relationships, and enabling the smart manufacturing of next-generation polymeric materials. To capture and promote these groundbreaking advancements, we are pleased to announce a Special Issue in Polymer Science & Technology dedicated to “AI for Polymer Science and Technology".

We invite contributions of Letters, Articles, Perspectives, Reviews, and Viewpoints on all topics at the intersection of AI and polymers, including (but not limited to):

• AI for Polymer Discovery & Molecular Design: Utilizing machine learning, deep learning, and generative models for the prediction, inverse design, and high-throughput virtual screening of novel monomers, polymers, copolymers, and formulations with targeted properties.
• AI in Polymer Synthesis & Process Engineering: Applications of data science and AI techniques in modeling, controlling, optimizing, and scaling up polymerization processes, reaction kinetics, and manufacturing techniques.
• AI-Powered Characterization & Structure-Property Elucidation: Employing computer vision, neural networks, and data mining to analyze complex characterization data and to establish predictive links between multiscale structure and performance.
• AI for Sustainable and Functional Polymers: Employing intelligent systems to design polymers for sustainability purposes or advanced applications relating to energy, biomedicine, soft robotics, etc.
• AI-Enhanced Computational Methods and Fundamental Physics in Polymer Science: Developing and applying new computational tools, such as machine-leaning-based force fields and neural network potentials, to enable faster and more accurate simulations of polymer systems. This topic also welcomes research using AI to tackle fundamental physical problems, such as phase transitions, glassy dynamics, and chain topology evolution.
• Data Infrastructure, Benchmarks, and Philosophical Perspectives: Development of specialized databases, ontologies, and benchmark challenges for polymeric materials. Contributions offering critical perspectives on how AI is reshaping research methodologies, industrial innovation, and education in polymer science are also encouraged.

Organizing Editors

Prof. Zhaoyan Sun, Guest Editor
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy Sciences, China

Prof. Ying Li, Guest Editor
University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States

Prof. Xuesi Chen, Editor-in-Chief, Polymer Science & Technology
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Submission Information

Submissions are welcome through December 31, 2026.Submissions except Viewpoints will be peer reviewed prior to acceptance to ensure they meet the high scientific publishing standards of Polymer Science & Technology. The peer review process for all papers will be managed by the journal editors to ensure rigor is maintained. If accepted, publications will go online as soon as possible and be published in the next available issue. Publications on this topic will be gathered into a virtual issue and widely promoted as significant contributions to this research area.

Polymer Science & Technology is a fully open access journal; thus, your paper will be available to anyone, at anytime, anywhere in the world. However, APCs will be automatically waived for all articles submitted by December 31, 2027 if they are accepted after peer review.

How to Submit

• Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
• Select the "Journals" tab.
• Choose Polymer Science & Technology.
• Click "Submit."
• Select your manuscript type, and, under "Special Issue Selection," choose “AI for Polymer Science and Technology."

Please see our Author Guidelines for more information on submission requirements.