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Gels
Special Issues
Gel Materials for Green Applications
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Gel Materials for Green Applications

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 3592

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Hwei Voon Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre (NanoCat), Institute of Advances Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Interests: nanocellulose gels; Pickering emulsion gels; bio-based Pickering particles; nanotechnology; renewable materials; hydrogels; biopolymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As SDG 12 urges for the adoption of sustainable consumption and production practices, there has been a growing global emphasis on sustainable lifestyle practices. This has resulted in nations’ concern in choosing green products that are sustainable, renewable, eco-friendly, healthy, and safe for humans and the ecosystem. Generally, Pickering emulsion gel is employed in the product formulation that are liquid-, cream-, and gel-based. Pickering emulsion gels consist of a gel network of oil/water or water/oil system, in which the liquid–liquid interfaces are stabilized by Pickering particles. The Pickering particles, in the form of micro- or nano-sizes, act as carriers at the interface between two immiscible fluids. This role is critical in tailoring the properties of Pickering emulsion gels, including colloidal stability, rheological behavior, texture, controlled release of active compounds, etc. To ensure sustainable and green product formulation, bio-based Pickering particles that promise low toxicity, biocompatible, with eco-friendly aspects, such as bio-based inorganic particles, biopolymer particles, and food-grade particles, are potentially to be selected for preparation of Pickering emulsion gels.

Although the Pickering particles are met with sustainability considerations, there are still challenges and limitations in these relevant fields. These challenges include the complex process of bio-based Pickering particles preparation, the need for innovative surface modification techniques to improve amphiphilic characteristics of particles, and a lack of understanding of the stabilization mechanisms of Pickering emulsion gels. Hence, the aim of the Special Issue on “Renewable Pickering Emulsion Gels: Versatility of Pickering Particles and Green Applications” is to provide potential readers with an overview of recent challenges and development in the fields of renewable Pickering emulsion gels stabilized by bio-based Pickering particle.

Dr. Hwei Voon Lee
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. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2100 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

  • biobased inorganic particles: silica, carbon
  • biopolymer: cellulose, alginate
  • food-grade particles: starch, chitin, whey
  • microstructural properties of Pickering particles
  • properties of emulsion gels
  • surface modification
  • micro- or nano-sizes particles
  • Pickering emulsifier for green formulation and application

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 3056 KiB  
Article
Surface Functionalization of Sugarcane-Bagasse-Derived Cellulose Nanocrystal for Pickering Emulsion Gel: Microstructural Properties and Stability Efficiency
by Shao Hui Teo, Yern Chee Ching, Mochamad Zakki Fahmi and Hwei Voon Lee
Gels 2023, 9(9), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9090734 - 9 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1783
Abstract
An environmentally friendly Pickering stabilizer was developed by upcycling sugarcane bagasse (SCB) into a cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), which was subjected to surface modification by using quaternary ammonium compound to enhance its amphiphilic characteristics. The changes in microstructural properties of modified cellulose nanocrystal (m-CNC), [...] Read more.
An environmentally friendly Pickering stabilizer was developed by upcycling sugarcane bagasse (SCB) into a cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), which was subjected to surface modification by using quaternary ammonium compound to enhance its amphiphilic characteristics. The changes in microstructural properties of modified cellulose nanocrystal (m-CNC), such as surface functional group, thermal stability, surface morphology, elemental composition, and particle size distribution were investigated. Results indicated the success of quaternary ammonium compound grafting with the presence of a trimethyl-alkyl chain on the cellulose structure, while the m-CNC preserves the needle-like nanoparticles in length of ~534 nm and width of ~20 nm. The colloidal profile of m-CNC-stabilized oil–water emulsion gels with different concentrations of m-CNC (1–5 wt%), and oil:water (O:W) ratios (3:7, 5:5, 7:3) were examined. The emulsion gel stability study indicated that the optimal concentration of m-CNC (3 wt%) was able to stabilize all the emulsion gels at different O:W ratios with an emulsion index of >80% for 3 months. It is the minimum concentration of m-CNC to form a robust colloidal network around the small oil droplets, leading to the formation of stable emulsion gels. The emulsion gel with O:W ratio (3:7) with 3 wt% of m-CNC rendered the best m-CNC–oil-droplets dispersion. The m-CNC effectively retained the size of oil droplets (<10 μm for 3 months storage) against coalescence and creaming by creating a steric barrier between the two immiscible phases. Furthermore, the emulsion gel exhibited the highest viscosity and storage modulus which was able to prevent creaming or sedimentation of the emulsion gels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gel Materials for Green Applications)
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Review

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28 pages, 2134 KiB  
Review
Bacterial Cellulose for Scalable and Sustainable Bio-Gels in the Circular Economy
by Giovanni Venturelli, Federica Villa, Mariagioia Petraretti, Giuseppe Guagliano, Marinella Levi and Paola Petrini
Gels 2025, 11(4), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11040262 - 2 Apr 2025
Viewed by 1319
Abstract
Microbial-derived materials are emerging for applications in biomedicine, sensors, food, cosmetics, construction, and fashion. They offer considerable structural properties and process reproducibility compared to other bio-based materials. However, challenges related to efficient and sustainable large-scale production of microbial-derived materials must be addressed to [...] Read more.
Microbial-derived materials are emerging for applications in biomedicine, sensors, food, cosmetics, construction, and fashion. They offer considerable structural properties and process reproducibility compared to other bio-based materials. However, challenges related to efficient and sustainable large-scale production of microbial-derived materials must be addressed to exploit their potential fully. This review analyzes the synergistic contribution of circular, sustainable, and biotechnological approaches to enhance bacterial cellulose (BC) production and fine-tune its physico-chemical properties. BC was chosen as an ideal example due to its mechanical strength and chemical stability, making it promising for industrial applications. The review discusses upcycling strategies that utilize waste for microbial fermentation, simultaneously boosting BC production. Additionally, biotechnology techniques are identified as key to enhance BC yield and tailor its physico-chemical properties. Among the different areas where cellulose-based materials are employed, BC shows promise for mitigating the environmental impact of the garment industry. The review emphasizes that integrating circular and biotechnological approaches could significantly improve large-scale production and enhance the tunability of BC properties. Additionally, these approaches may simultaneously provide environmental benefits, depending on their future progresses. Future advancements should prioritize circular fermentation and biotechnological techniques to expand the potential of BC for sustainable industrial applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gel Materials for Green Applications)
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