This book highlights the intelligent functions and applications of soft matter, a type of matter that is ubiquitous and closely related to people's lives. It categorizes soft matter materials into several types, including electro-responsive, magneto-responsive, photo-responsive, thermo-responsive, mechano-responsive soft matter materials. This book reviews the basic physical research on the functional intelligent characteristics of soft matter, as well as the preparation and application research of functional smart materials over the past three decades. A new technology, microfluidic technology, is also introduced as a new fabrication approach and a new application research area of soft matter materials. It aims to provide well-classified and easy-to-find references for researchers deeply involved in this field, while also helping newcomers develop a comprehensive understanding and interest in soft matter functional intelligent materials. The ultimate goal is to enable readers to firmly grasp this emerging field and contribute to the development of functional intelligent materials that lead the frontier of materials science in the future. To enhance readability, this book includes illustrations, tables and application examples.

Mengying Zhang graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2006. In 2011, she received a doctoral degree in nanoscience and nano technology from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). From 2011 to 2012, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Electronic Engineering of HKUST. She joined Shanghai University as a lecturer in 2015 and participated in the curriculum construction of the College of Physics. In 2022, she participated in the fifth National Lecture Competition of Basic College Physics Courses for Young Teachers and won the second prize in the Shanghai division. In 2024, she joined Shenzhen MSU-BIT University as an associate professor. As a Principal Investigator, she supervised the Youth Fund supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Her research mainly focused on functional intelligent soft matter materials and microfluidic techniques.

Jinbo Wu graduated from Shandong University, China, with a bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry in 2005. In 2006 and 2011, he received a Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering and a Doctoral Degree in Nanotechnology from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). From 2011 to 2015, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at HKUST and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. In July 2015, he joined Shanghai University as a professor. He was awarded the Shanghai Pujiang Program in 2016. As a Principal Investigator, he supervised projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, and the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Support Program. He serves as a member of the Electro-rheological and Magneto-rheological Committee of the Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

Weijia Wen is currently the chair professor of the Hong Kong University of Science (HKUST) and Technology and the dean of the Function Hub of HKUST(Guangzhou). He received his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. He is a leading expert in the fields of soft matter, smart materials, wave metamaterials, nanometer biomaterials, advanced functional structural materials, optoelectronic advanced materials, and microfluidic chip design and fabrication. A highly respected researcher with extensive experience, Professor WEN has won a series of awards and has taken up various important academic leadership roles. In 2000, he was awarded the National Outstanding Youth Fund. He served as the chief expert of the Public Welfare projects (Agriculture) in 2013. His research achievements on electrorheological fluids won the second prize of the National Natural Science Award.