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Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy
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Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2026 | Viewed by 1905

Editors

Dr. Xiao Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: phase change and rheology of cement-based materials; environmental material design; digital construction technology; underwater repair materials
Dr. Hao Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Guangzhou Road No. 223, Nanjing, China
Interests: sustainable cement-based materials; life cycle assessment (LCA); cement chemistry; underwater ecological materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research, development, and evaluation of novel ecological and sustainable materials are essential to tackle climate change, mitigate environmental pollution, and foster a circular economy. This Special Issue focuses on sustainable ecological materials, showcasing cutting-edge research and technologies that underpin the transition to a circular low-carbon economy. Key topics include the design of innovative low-carbon materials, sustainable material processing and recycling, environmental impact assessments of material systems, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, and life cycle assessment (LCA) frameworks. We welcome submissions that present original, evidence-based strategies for reducing the ecological footprint of materials through approaches such as advanced manufacturing, high-efficiency recycling, eco-functional material innovations, and the integration of sustainability principles in material design and application.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Innovative Low-Carbon Ecological Materials;
  • Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy;
  • Environmental Impact Assessment and Carbon Management in Material Life Cycles;
  • Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Technologies in Material Production;
  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Sustainability Evaluation of Advanced Materials;
  • Circular Economy-Oriented Eco-Innovative Material Development.

Dr. Xiao Sun
Guest Editor

Dr. Hao Lu
Guest Editor Assistant

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

  • low-carbon ecological materials
  • sustainable materials
  • environmental impact assessment
  • CCUS technologies
  • life-cycle assessment
  • eco-innovative material development

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 14010 KB  
Article
The Influence of Pore Characteristics on the Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Concrete Based on the Phase-Field Method
by Lei Luo, Yao Li, Wenbin Xu, Yuchi You, Wenqiang Xu and Deyong Hu
Materials 2026, 19(12), 2637; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19122637 - 18 Jun 2026
Viewed by 262
Abstract
The interlayer pores of 3D-printed concrete (3DPC) significantly weaken its macroscopic mechanical properties. In this study, the phase-field cohesive zone model (PF-CZM) is employed as a numerical tool to systematically investigate the weakening mechanisms and crack evolution behavior associated with pore characteristics, including [...] Read more.
The interlayer pores of 3D-printed concrete (3DPC) significantly weaken its macroscopic mechanical properties. In this study, the phase-field cohesive zone model (PF-CZM) is employed as a numerical tool to systematically investigate the weakening mechanisms and crack evolution behavior associated with pore characteristics, including pore size, morphology, spatial orientation, and arrangement, through single-factor numerical simulations with different pore numbers. The results demonstrate that the degradation induced by a single pore is controlled by its effective projection length in the direction perpendicular to the principal tensile stress, with horizontal flat pores being the most detrimental under the same porosity. In the multi-pore system, the connection angle between pores, rather than their spacing, is the key factor determining structural degradation, and a horizontal collinear arrangement is prone to triggering brittle fracture. Furthermore, locally aggregated small pores can form combined defects, whose strength-weakening effect surpasses that of isolated large pores, thereby triggering crack path competition and leading to asymmetrical structural failure. This study reveals the fracture mechanisms driven by complex pore configurations and provides a reference for strength prediction of 3DPC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy)
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14 pages, 6694 KB  
Article
Cracking Mechanism and Life-Cycle Performance Evaluation of Early-Age Concrete Based on Environment-Damage Coupling
by Min Yuan, Zhiqiang Xie, Jiazheng Li, Yun Dong and Sheng Qiang
Materials 2026, 19(6), 1256; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19061256 - 22 Mar 2026
Viewed by 533
Abstract
Concrete is accelerating its transition towards green and low-carbon development, but its performance throughout its entire life cycle is significantly influenced by environmental changes, which remains a key technical challenge currently faced. The effects of early-age concrete tensile damage on thermal conductivity and [...] Read more.
Concrete is accelerating its transition towards green and low-carbon development, but its performance throughout its entire life cycle is significantly influenced by environmental changes, which remains a key technical challenge currently faced. The effects of early-age concrete tensile damage on thermal conductivity and moisture transport properties, as well as their coupling mechanism, remain unclear, leading to severe cracking. To explore the cracking mechanism of early-age concrete under the coupled conditions of environment and damage and to evaluate its performance throughout its lifecycle, this article conducts comparative experiments on the performance of concrete under high temperature, varying humidity, and damage conditions in the early age stage. The variation law of temperature, humidity, and strain of concrete is studied, and the evolution of microstructure and composition of concrete is explored. The response of porosity to ambient humidity exhibits opposite trends between restrained and unrestrained specimens, with rates of change of +0.0353%/RH and −0.0245%/RH, respectively. Furthermore, the study identified a critical turning point in ambient relative humidity (50% RH), which significantly alters the degree of hydration (Ca/Si ratio) of the concrete. The research results may provide theoretical and technical support for cracking risk assessment and crack control throughout the entire life cycle of concrete thin-walled structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy)
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19 pages, 3170 KB  
Article
Response Surface Optimization of High-Durability Fly Ash–Slag Blended Concrete as an Eco-Friendly Repair Material
by Hua Wei, Anyi Chen, Chunhe Li, Jiaming Zhang and Hao Lu
Materials 2026, 19(6), 1058; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19061058 - 10 Mar 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 570
Abstract
To address the durability deficiencies and limited service life of concrete structures exposed to complex service environments such as chloride attack in marine and underground engineering, this study employs fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), typical eco-friendly materials, as functional [...] Read more.
To address the durability deficiencies and limited service life of concrete structures exposed to complex service environments such as chloride attack in marine and underground engineering, this study employs fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), typical eco-friendly materials, as functional mineral admixtures to systematically investigate the effects of their combined incorporation on the mechanical properties, durability, drying shrinkage, and microstructural characteristics of concrete. The objective is to develop a concrete material that achieves high durability while maintaining structural safety and service performance, with the additional benefit of improved resource utilization efficiency. Single-factor tests were first conducted to determine the sensitivity ranges of FA and GGBS within 10–30% for slump, compressive strength, chloride migration coefficient (RCM), and drying shrinkage. Subsequently, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to establish quadratic regression models using FA and GGBS as independent variables and compressive strength, RCM, and drying shrinkage as response indicators. The models exhibited high fitting accuracy, and their reliability was validated through analysis of variance (ANOVA), residual analysis, and predictive performance indices. Multi-objective optimization based on the desirability function identified the optimal mix proportion as FA = 14.8% and SL = 29.3%, yielding predicted values of 56.2 MPa for 28-day compressive strength, 6.03 × 10−12 m2/s for RCM, and 639 με for 90-day drying shrinkage. Microstructural analysis using SEM and MIP further revealed that the binary-blended system promotes the formation of a dense C–S–H/C–A–S–H gel network, refines pore-size distribution, and reduces pore connectivity, thereby improving long-term mechanical and durability performance. The findings provide quantitative guidance for designing high-durability, environmentally friendly concrete suitable for marine and underground engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy)
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