Advances in Nanocellulose-Based High-Tech Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Since the first papers that described simple techniques of acid hydrolysis of cellulose (cellulose nanocrystals—CNC) and those which reported a new form of cellulose produced by a unique physical treatment (nanofibrillated cellulose—NFC), the attention of researchers has been constantly focused on finding new high-tech applications for what we define today as nanocelluloses (NCs).

Impressive mechanical properties, reinforcing capabilities, huge specific surface area, abundance, low density and biodegradability of NCs make them ideal candidates for the development of novel versatile materials. In addition, the chemical modification of cellulose nanoparticles surfaces is also a promising strategy to improve the properties of nanocelluloses.

The development of new nanocellulose-based materials has recently grown almost exponentially, as these materials are carbon-neutral, durable, recyclable and non-toxic, with the potential to be truly green nanomaterials.

In recent years, nanocellulose-based materials have been developed and used in different areas, such as food packaging materials, filters and membranes, printing and paper industry, optically transparent flexible devices (flat displays, digital cameras, cellular telephones), light-responsive composites and other electronic components, advanced composites manufacturing, and pharmaceutical and medical applications. In biomedical applications, these are used, from wound dressings and drug delivery systems, to new types of bioactive scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Obviously, we all understand that nanocellulose-based materials will play a significant role in the future nano-era, and consequently, are under advanced development in various departments and research institutes. However, new challenges are constantly emerging in the fields of high-performance functional products, and more studies are needed to develop a strong business case.

This Special Issue will focus on the latest advances and reports on the progress of nanocellulose-based materials intended for all kinds of high-tech applications, with particular attention paid to engineering and biomedical applications, and in this regard, it is my pleasure to invite you to contribute full papers, review articles and short communications to this topic.

Dr. Florin Ciolacu
Guest Editor

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers 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 2700 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.