Functionalized Bio-Based Polymers for Environmental Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Sustainable Polymer Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 August 2025 | Viewed by 96
Special Issue Editor
Interests: chemical modification of natural polymers; bacterial cellulose; zwitterionic functionalization of cellulose and starch; solid-state NMR; chemical structure and interactions in biopolymers and materials; dye adsorption in ionic cellulose devices; hybrid materials; chemical compatibilization of cellulose
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Natural polymers such as polysaccharides show outstanding characteristics in the design of new sustainable biomaterials, either due to their intrinsic properties of biodegradability, renewability, relative abundance, and profitability or because of the feasibility of their chemical modification. From a chemical point of view, the chemical functionalization of polysaccharides with different moieties becomes attractive because the modification confers new or improved properties for a more versatile application. Polysaccharides such as cellulose, starch, chitosan, chitin, amylose, amylopectin, and microbial exopolysaccharides have been used in devices for environmental applications such as wastewater treatment.
Recently, functionalized polysaccharides have been applied for bioremediation processes due to their improved affinity for the pollutants in water streams. Carbohydrates are also used as adsorbents, which are obtained by coupling reactions generating hybrid materials or composites. These new polymers remove contaminants from water through complexation, precipitation, ionic interactions, chemical bonding, etc. Therefore, the environmental application of polysaccharides is a growing field for pollutant removal in water and soil regeneration.
This Special Issue deals with the most recent contributions to the development of functionalized polysaccharides used as sustainable adsorbents or green devices for environmental applications. Furthermore, new insights into the adsorption mechanisms involved in the adsorbent–adsorbate interaction are highly welcomed.
Prof. Dr. Ricardo Manríquez-González
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- functionalized polysaccharides
- chemical modification
- natural polymers
- biocomposites
- environmental applications
- biodegradability
- sustainable biomaterials
- wastewater treatment
- bioremediation processes
- chemical and structural characterization
- pollutant removal
- soil regeneration
- moiety interactions in polysaccharides
- green devices
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