Biodegradable Materials: Prospects

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2023) | Viewed by 7733

Special Issue Editor

Department of Polymers and Composite Materials, Semenov Federal Research Center for Physical Chemistry Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia
Interests: biodegradable polymers; cellulose; chitin; chitosan; starch; poly(lactic acid); LDPE; biodegradability; mechanical properties; mixing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, interest in biodegradable and eco-friendly materials has grown exponentially due to the acute situation associated with environmental pollution and the depletion of oil reserves. Many leading scientific groups around the world have directed their research to the creation of biodegradable and biobased materials that could be widely used not only in the packaging industry but also in agriculture, medicine, etc. Such initiatives of the scientific community are also supported by many countries at the legislative level.

The purpose of this Special Issue is the presentation of existing state-of-the-art approaches to the creation of biodegradable materials of various compositions using both natural polymers and synthetic ones as well as with inorganic additives, and a comprehensive study of their properties using modern methods, along with a description of the prospects for the use of such materials in this or other fields.

Dr. Kristine V. Aleksanyan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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

  • biodegradability
  • synthetic polymer
  • natural polymers
  • polysaccharides
  • polyesters
  • biobased polymers
  • mechanical and thermal properties
  • inorganic additives
  • morphology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3091 KiB  
Article
Biodegradable Green Composites: Effects of Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) Treatment on Thermal, Mechanical, and Morphological Behavior of Butea Parviflora (BP) Fibers
by M. Abisha, R. Krishna Priya, Krishna Prakash Arunachalam, Siva Avudaiappan, Erick I. Saavedra Flores and Pablo Fernando Parra
Polymers 2023, 15(9), 2197; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15092197 - 05 May 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2058
Abstract
This study emphasizes the importance of utilizing biodegradable material Butea parviflora (BP) fiber for sustainable solutions. BP fiber offers numerous ecological benefits, such as being lightweight, biodegradable, and affordable to recycle. The study examines the effects of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) treatment [...] Read more.
This study emphasizes the importance of utilizing biodegradable material Butea parviflora (BP) fiber for sustainable solutions. BP fiber offers numerous ecological benefits, such as being lightweight, biodegradable, and affordable to recycle. The study examines the effects of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) treatment on BP fiber and analyzes its physical and chemical behavior using various methods, including X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, tensile testing, thermogravimetric analysis, thermal conductivity, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis. The results demonstrate that BP fiber possesses low density (1.40 g/cc) and high cellulose content (59.4%), which fosters compatibility between the matrix and resin. XRD analysis indicates a high crystallinity index (83.47%) and crystallite size (6.4 nm), showcasing exceptional crystalline behavior. Treated fibers exhibit improved tensile strength (198 MPa) and Young’s modulus (4.40 GPa) compared to untreated fibers (tensile strength—92 MPa, tensile modulus—2.16 GPa). The Tg-DTA thermograms reveal the fiber’s thermal resistance up to 240 °C with a kinetic activation energy between 62.80–63.46 KJ/mol. Additionally, the lowered thermal conductivity (K) from Lee’s disc experiment suggests that BP fiber could be used in insulation applications. SEM photographic results display effective surface roughness for composite making, and FTIR studies reveal vibrational variations of cellulosic functional groups, which correlates with increased cellulosic behavior. Overall, the study affirms the potential of BP fiber as a reinforcing material for composite-making while emphasizing the importance of utilizing biodegradable materials for sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Materials: Prospects)
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Review

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19 pages, 705 KiB  
Review
Polysaccharides for Biodegradable Packaging Materials: Past, Present, and Future (Brief Review)
by Kristine V. Aleksanyan
Polymers 2023, 15(2), 451; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020451 - 15 Jan 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4811
Abstract
The ecological problems emerging due to accumulation of non-biodegradable plastics are becoming more and more urgent. This problem can be solved by the development of biodegradable materials which will replace the non-biodegradable ones. Among numerous approaches in this field, there is one proposing [...] Read more.
The ecological problems emerging due to accumulation of non-biodegradable plastics are becoming more and more urgent. This problem can be solved by the development of biodegradable materials which will replace the non-biodegradable ones. Among numerous approaches in this field, there is one proposing the use of polysaccharide-based materials. These polymers are biodegradable, non-toxic, and obtained from renewable resources. This review opens discussion about the application of polysaccharides for the creation of biodegradable packaging materials. There are numerous investigations developing new formulations using cross-linking of polymers, mixing with inorganic (metals, metal oxides, clays) and organic (dyes, essential oils, extracts) compounds. The main emphasis in the present work is made on development of the polymer blends consisting of cellulose, starch, chitin, chitosan, pectin, alginate, carrageenan with some synthetic polymers, polymers of natural origin, and essential oils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable Materials: Prospects)
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