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Sustainable Biopolymer Materials for Industrial Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 891

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Civil and Industrial Engineering Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Interests: biomaterial science; electrospinning; nanomaterials; biopolymer scaffolds; drug delivery systems; sustainable materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue highlights recent advances in biopolymers, focusing on innovative processing methods, unique material properties, and broad applications. As sustainable alternatives to conventional polymers, biopolymers are emerging as key materials in areas such as biomedical engineering, packaging, agriculture, and environmental protection. Contributions address structure–property relationships, composite development, functionalization techniques, and scalable processing strategies. This issue aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and promote cutting-edge research that advances biopolymer-based materials' functionality, versatility, and commercial viability. Tackling critical scientific and engineering challenges, this collection supports the global move toward more sustainable and eco-friendly material solutions. 

Dr. Bahareh Azimi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biopolymers
  • sustainable materials
  • polymer processing
  • biomedical applications
  • environmental impact

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 58300 KB  
Article
The Cellulose Loading and Silylation Effects on the Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites: Insights from Classical and Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulations
by Ahmad Y. Al-Maharma, Bernd Markert and Franz Bamer
Polymers 2025, 17(20), 2749; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17202749 - 14 Oct 2025
Viewed by 675
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of silylation and cellulose loading on the mechanical properties of epoxy composites. We use the hydrolyzed 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) as a crosslinker for epoxy and as a coupling agent for cellulose. The mechanical properties of the epoxy composites are [...] Read more.
This study investigates the effect of silylation and cellulose loading on the mechanical properties of epoxy composites. We use the hydrolyzed 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) as a crosslinker for epoxy and as a coupling agent for cellulose. The mechanical properties of the epoxy composites are evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations. The improvement in the interfacial adhesion between epoxy and cellulose, achieved by using KH550, is demonstrated through the pulling out of cellulose from the epoxy composites. The results indicate that the nanocovalent bonds formed by KH550 at the epoxy/cellulose interface have a higher enhancement effect on the pulling force compared to increasing the cellulose content. For instance, the force needed for pulling 44.1 wt.% of raw cellulose is 93 ± 5 (kcal/mol)/Å, while the one required to pull the 28.1 wt.% of silylated cellulose is 97 ± 4 (kcal/mol)/Å. The silylated cellulose at 28.1 wt.% enhances the tensile modulus, shear modulus, and strength of the epoxy-KH550 composite by 14.55%, 15.65%, and 15.64%, respectively, compared to its counterpart reinforced with raw cellulose. Using the silylation treatment on cellulose that reinforces epoxy-KH550 at 43.9 wt.% improves the elastic modulus, shear modulus, and tensile strength of the epoxy composite by 4.23%, 4.64%, and 18.07%, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biopolymer Materials for Industrial Applications)
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