Advances in Biomass-Based Gels: Synthesis, Structure, Properties and Applications
A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Processing and Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 22
Special Issue Editors
Interests: phenolic resin; low-temperature fast curing; toughening and reinforcement; biomass-based phenolic resin; synthesis and modification; biomass wood adhesives; biomass-based gel materials
Interests: biomass-based gel materials; structural design; functionalization; advanced wood/bamboo composites; fabrication; application
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Nature is a great reservoir of ideas for scientists worldwide, and at the same time, it is the direct source of a variety of materials with diverse properties, including some of the most popular biomass: cellulose, protein, lignin, starch, chitin and chitosan. It is amazing how from the nature source, we can derive products for later use in a variety of applications ranging from scaffolds for tissue engineering to drug delivery devices, wound patches, wastewater management technology, food packaging and agricultural materials. This results in a great library of biomass-based biopolymers and their composites, which can be used to formulate hydrogels characterized by a set of useful properties. Scientific creativity has no limits, and we all pursue our work to find superior solutions to challenges faced in modern medicine, the environment and the food and cosmetic industry. Understanding the intricacies of gel structures is crucial for achieving desired properties, which is fundamental in advancing this field. The recent advancements in colloid science, combined with emerging trends in nanotechnology, have sparked new ventures in biomass-based gel research, thus presenting exciting opportunities for the domains of foods, energy, the environment, drug and nutraceutical delivery, biomedicine and biomaterials. Depending on the nature of the immobilized liquid phase, there are two general kinds of gels: hydrogels and organogels. Beyond the countless applications of hydrogels and organogels in chemistry, radiochemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, reconstruction and regenerative medicine, cosmetics, the food industry, biotechnology and environmental protection, it is important and necessary to strive for the continuous adjustment and development of methods for the investigation and characterization of such complex systems. Considering that gels can generally be studied and characterized in their swollen (as-prepared) and/or dry (via air-drying or freeze-drying) states, this Special Issue focuses on the advanced in biomass-based gels: their synthesis, structure, properties and applications.
Dr. Jiongjiong Li
Dr. Liuting Mo
Guest Editors
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
- biomass hydrogels and aerogel: synthesis, structure, properties and applications
- cellulose-based hydrogels and aerogels
- chitin/chitosan derivates
- drug delivery/ tissue engineering
- composites and high-performance materials
- water-retention performance
- detection and environmental protection
- application fields of agriculture and medicine
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