Surfaces or interfaces play essential role in achieving the performance of materials, including both the mechanical and physical/chemical properties. The interfaces dominate the behaviors of many types of materials ranging from traditional condensed matter to the soft condensed matter, such as nanoparticles, thin solid films, colloids, foams, and electrorheological fluids. The appropriate design of artificial surface structure can be utilized to manipulate the electromagnetic waves or sound waves. The surfaces/interfaces can be obtained via different approaches, from self-assembly to completely artificial design. Despite that the fact that the topic has a long history of research, it still remains as a challenge to all of us to get full understanding on the formation mechanisms and the functionalities of these interfaces, because of the coupling between surfaces/interfaces with external fields and the complexity of multiscale interactions.

In order to gather the current state of research, both theoretical and experimental, in this intriguing area, the journal Advances in Condensed Matter Physics is in the process of preparing a special issue on self-assembled and artificial surfaces/interfaces: from soft matter to metamaterials. It will focus on the designing and formation of both self-assembled and artificially fabricated surfaces/interfaces, ranging from solid to soft condensed matter. Questions as to how these interfaces respond to external field stimuli and why the special functions emerge with the presence of these interfaces will be highlighted.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Artificial metamaterials and metasurfaces, including electromagnetic metamaterials/metasurfaces and acoustic metamaterials/metasurfaces
• Intelligent soft matter, including and luminescence materials
• Quasi-static and dynamic mechanical behavior of materials and ceramic materials
• Interactions between soft matter and external fields, including acoustic levitation and electric/magnetic stimulus
• Pattern formation from evaporation mediated to external field directed assembly, evaporation of colloidal drops, and assembly of micro/nanoparticles
• Wetting/drying behavior on novel textured surface