Smart and Sustainable Hydrogels for Environmental Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels have emerged as a promising class of biomaterials with the ability to address pressing environmental challenges through sustainable and innovative approaches. Their three-dimensional polymeric networks enable high water retention, tunable mechanical strength, and chemical versatility, which can be precisely tailored through rational design and synthesis. These features make hydrogels particularly suitable for environmental remediation, water purification, controlled nutrient release in agriculture, and the development of eco-friendly construction materials.

This Special Issue aims to gather recent advances and insights into the design, synthesis, characterization, and environmental applications of smart and sustainable hydrogels. Topics of interest include the fabrication of biopolymer-based hydrogels, stimuli-responsive and recyclable systems, adsorption and catalytic processes for pollutant removal, and the integration of hydrogels in sustainable technologies. Studies addressing structure–property relationships, modeling of hydrogel behavior, and performance optimization under environmental conditions are also encouraged.

By combining contributions from materials science, chemistry, biotechnology, and environmental engineering, this Special Issue seeks to highlight the role of hydrogels as functional and sustainable materials capable of contributing to cleaner technologies and a circular bioeconomy.

Prof. Dr. Rolando Chamy
Guest Editor

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