Applications for functional soft materials possessing desirable hierarchical structures and engineered properties have been expanding significantly with the development of nanotechnology and the increasing need to address energy and healthcare-related issues. Perfected in macromolecular self-assembling systems have offered numerous opportunities for creating conceivable advanced materials with tunable nanostructures. The collaborations among researchers from diverse fields have accelerated the innovative design of self-assembling polymeric materials for specific purposes. This special issue will summarize the recent advance in polymeric soft matters with different hierarchical structures, including hydrogels and films, and discuss their applications. All manuscripts will be contributed by extraordinary scholars in frontier research of functional polymeric materials in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

We hope this issue will provide comprehensive and timely information for the progress of polymers-based nanotechnology with diverse applications. We invite researchers to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will stimulate further development of this research field.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Fabrication, property, and applications of hierarchical structured polymeric materials, including hydrogels and films
• Functional films such as micrometer-thick films, self-healing coatings, and antifouling materials
• Stimuli-responsive self-assembling polymeric materials