Advances in Multifunctional Materials for the Sustainable Development

Dear Colleagues,

Chemistry research today must be driven by the principle of green chemistry (also called sustainable chemistry), an innovative approach to the synthesis of new chemical substances, materials, or products that seek environmental sustainability in order to make chemistry healthier, safer, and more environmentally friendly, thus favoring socio-economic growth, environmental protection, and optimization of the employed primary resources.

Important advances have been made in this field recently as it is one of the main forces behind the circular economy, driving research on products, materials, processes, and technologies. In this regard, every developed research strategy must consider the minimization or elimination of hazardous reagents, gas emission, primary raw materials employment, and waste prevention towards the use of waste-derived precursors, minimization of energy requirements, design of safer chemicals, and choice of the most suitable “clean” solvent.

As a result, green chemistry has a number of advantages and benefits that not only assist to safeguard the health of our planet and all of us who inhabit it, but it also seeks to strengthen and forge new relationships between academics and industry, enabling businesses to adhere to its principles to be more competitive on the global market. To attain these objectives, an interdisciplinary strategy is required to cover all of the capabilities required, while also considering the potential scale-up of innovative technologies.

This Special Issue is mainly related (but not restricted) to the topic of circular economy and materials, within the Section of Green Materials.

In this regard, we would welcome the submission of papers, reviews, and communications which cover the broadest spectrum of newly greener approaches for the development of greener products, such as polymers, geopolimers, and sol–gel-based materials together with their hybrid and composites that may find application in different sectors, such as blue-growth, construction, cultural heritages, smart and technical fabrics, biomedicine, and environmental sensing and water remediation.

Dr. Maria Rosaria Plutino
Dr. Silvia Sfameni
Guest Editors

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