Multifunctional Ecocomposites

The aim of this Special Issue is to attract leading researchers in the area of multifunctional ecocomposites in an effort to highlight the latest exciting developments to promote concrete applications.

Tremendous growth in the use of nonrenewable and nonbiodegradable synthetic materials and associated emission of greenhouse gases is presently a major concern for the environment and future generations. In this context, the use of ecomposites based on biobased sources, like natural fibers and polymers, has been investigated in recent decades by several research groups from all over the world.

Ecomposites are greatly enlarging their range of applications in different industrial sectors, including automobiles, sports, architecture, design, and many others. For this, intensive research is being done on the functionalization of ecocomposites to perform several functions and/or to overcome some of their inherent characteristics. Strong efforts are also being undertaken to design the performance of ecomposites at different scales, from nano to macro, based on hierarchical and multigrade approaches. Besides, the use of nonexplored natural sources, and the use of the basic constituents of natural-based polymers, like cellulose, is also being thoroughly explored.

In this context, the accepted contributions for this Special Issue include topics like

· Natural-fiber-reinforced composites;
· Hierarchical ecocomposites;
· Nanocellulose-based materials;
· Lignin-based composites;
· Nano biocomposites;
· Nano functionalization of ecocomposites;
· Waste-based composites;
· Multiscale ecocomposites;
· Multigrade ecocomposites;
· Biopolymer composites;
· Bionanocomposites;
· Chitin- and chitosan-based composites;
· Natural polymer composites.