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Sustainable Polymers: From Synthesis to Functional Properties
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Sustainable Polymers: From Synthesis to Functional Properties

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2021) | Viewed by 7937

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Matteo Gigli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venezia-Mestre, Italy
Interests: biodegradable and bio-based polymers; thermoplastic elastomers; biodegradation; tissue engineering; packaging, green energy storage, ion-exchange membranes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plastics, due to their light weight, low cost, and suitable physic/mechanical features, represent the best material for a wide plethora of applications, such as packaging, automotive, electronics, and so on. However, their massive use, coupled with their resistance to biological attack, has led to the well-known environmental pollution and bioaccumulation problems that affect our planet today.

The development of greener polymeric systems is therefore needed not only for disposable applications, but also to obtain bioplastics capable of outperforming traditional fossil-based materials, thus supporting the transition towards a more sustainable future.

This Special Issue aims at covering different aspects of this research field to provide a useful insight into the latest developments and future trends. Main topics include but are not limited to:

  • Innovative synthetic approaches towards sustainable polymers;
  • Synthesis or post-functionalization of biopolymers both of natural and synthetic origin;
  • Preparation of bio(nano)composites;
  • Physic/mechanical characterization of biopolymers and biocomposites;
  • Environmental applications, such as (food) packaging or mulching films;
  • Sustainable polymers in personal and home care formulations;
  • End-of-life evaluation, including composting, soil burial, and enzymatic hydrolysis tests;
  • Life Cycle Analysis.

Authors are welcomed to submit their original work in the form of full papers, communications or up-to-date reviews.

Dr. Matteo Gigli
Guest Editor

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. Materials 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 2600 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.

Keywords

  • Synthesis and characterization of biopolymers
  • Structure/property relationships
  • Eco-friendly materials
  • Biodegradability
  • Life cycle assessment, carbon footprint
  • Sustainable (food) packaging
  • Biocomposites, bionanocomposites

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2282 KiB  
Article
Simple Strategies to Modulate the pH-Responsiveness of Lignosulfonate-Based Delivery Systems
by Massimo Sgarzi, Matteo Gigli, Charlotte Giuriato and Claudia Crestini
Materials 2022, 15(5), 1857; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051857 - 02 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2081
Abstract
The extensive use of non-degradable microplastics in a wide plethora of daily life products is causing serious pollution problems. More ecofriendly solutions are therefore urgently needed. In this context, the use of lignin, a largely available aromatic polymer, may represent a viable option. [...] Read more.
The extensive use of non-degradable microplastics in a wide plethora of daily life products is causing serious pollution problems. More ecofriendly solutions are therefore urgently needed. In this context, the use of lignin, a largely available aromatic polymer, may represent a viable option. Due to the self-assembly ability of its molecules, lignin is in fact an ideal matrix for the fabrication of nanostructures. In this study, lignosulfonate microcapsules containing a limonene core were prepared and characterized in terms of their dimensions and of the physicochemical characteristics of the capsule-forming lignosulfonate molecules. The main purpose is to elucidate the key properties governing the pH-responsive behavior of the capsules to be able to achieve better control over the release kinetics of the entrapped compound(s). The results demonstrate that both the molecular weight and the concentration of sulfonate groups are the most important factors in this respect. Based on these findings, two strategies were followed to further tailor the capsules’ behavior: (i) fractionation of the starting lignosulfonate by solvent extraction and (ii) introduction of a specific additive in the formulation. The first approach permitted to fabricate highly resistant capsules both in acidic, as well as in alkaline conditions, while in the second case the chemical structure of the additive, the diester diveratryl sebacate, allowed for fast kinetics of release, as values above 70% were reached after 24 h of incubation at pH 4 and pH 12. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Polymers: From Synthesis to Functional Properties)
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9 pages, 1099 KiB  
Communication
Thermal Upgrade of Enzymatically Synthesized Aliphatic and Aromatic Oligoesters
by James W. Comerford, Fergal P. Byrne, Simone Weinberger, Thomas J. Farmer, Georg M. Guebitz, Lucia Gardossi and Alessandro Pellis
Materials 2020, 13(2), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13020368 - 13 Jan 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2926
Abstract
The enzymatic synthesis of polyesters in solventless systems is an environmentally friendly and sustainable method for synthetizing bio-derived materials. Despite the greenness of the technique, in most cases only short oligoesters are obtained, with limited practical applications or requiring further chemical processing for [...] Read more.
The enzymatic synthesis of polyesters in solventless systems is an environmentally friendly and sustainable method for synthetizing bio-derived materials. Despite the greenness of the technique, in most cases only short oligoesters are obtained, with limited practical applications or requiring further chemical processing for their elongation. In this work, we present a catalyst-free thermal upgrade of enzymatically synthesized oligoesters. Different aliphatic and aromatic oligoesters were synthesized using immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (iCaLB) as the catalyst (70 °C, 24 h) yielding poly(1,4-butylene adipate) (PBA, Mw = 2200), poly(1,4-butylene isophthalate) (PBI, Mw = 1000), poly(1,4-butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF, Mw = 600), and poly(1,4-butylene 2,4-pyridinedicarboxylate) (PBP, Mw = 1000). These polyesters were successfully thermally treated to obtain an increase in Mw of 8.5, 2.6, 3.3, and 2.7 folds, respectively. This investigation focused on the most successful upgrade, poly(1,4-butylene adipate), then discussed the possible effect of di-ester monomers as compared to di-acids in the thermally driven polycondensation. The herein-described two-step synthesis method represents a practical and cost-effective way to synthesize higher-molecular-weight polymers without the use of toxic metal catalysts such as titanium(IV) tert-butoxide, tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate, and in particular, antimony(IV) oxide. At the same time, the method allows for the extension of the number of reuses of the biocatalyst by preventing its exposure to extreme denaturating conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Polymers: From Synthesis to Functional Properties)
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Review

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20 pages, 2975 KiB  
Review
The Use of Thermal Techniques in the Characterization of Bio-Sourced Polymers
by Ignazio Blanco and Valentina Siracusa
Materials 2021, 14(7), 1686; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071686 - 30 Mar 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2388
Abstract
The public pressure about the problems derived from the environmental issues increasingly pushes the research areas, of both industrial and academic sectors, to design material architectures with more and more foundations and reinforcements derived from renewable sources. In these efforts, researchers make extensive [...] Read more.
The public pressure about the problems derived from the environmental issues increasingly pushes the research areas, of both industrial and academic sectors, to design material architectures with more and more foundations and reinforcements derived from renewable sources. In these efforts, researchers make extensive and profound use of thermal analysis. Among the different techniques available, thermal analysis offers, in addition to high accuracy in the measurement, smartness of execution, allowing to obtain with a very limited quantity of material precious information regarding the property–structure correlation, essential not only in the production process, but overall, in the design one. Thus, techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential thermal analysis (DTA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were, are, and will be used in this transition from fossil feedstock to renewable ones, and in the development on new manufacturing processes such as those of additive manufacturing (AM). In this review, we report the state of the art of the last two years, as regards the use of thermal techniques in biopolymer design, polymer recycling, and the preparation of recyclable polymers as well as potential tools for biopolymer design in AM. For each study, we highlight how the most known thermal parameters, namely glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tf), crystallization temperature (Tc) and percentage (%c), initial decomposition temperature (Ti), temperature at maximum mass loss rate (Tm), and tan δ, helped the researchers in understanding the characteristics of the investigated materials and the right way to the best design and preparation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Polymers: From Synthesis to Functional Properties)
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