Dear Colleagues,

This special issue is intended to give an overview of supercritical fluid (SCF) applications in materials science.
A supercritical fluid is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point. It shows a gas-like diffusivity and a liquid-like density; therefore, it can substitute organic solvents in a wide range of processes. Carbon dioxide and water are the most commonly used supercritical fluids.

Several processes using supercritical fluids have been proposed and, in some cases, applied to industrial scale, like, for example:

• Supercritical extraction and fractionation for food and pharmaceutical products
• Micro and nanoparticles (single or composite) production in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and biomedical fields
• Micro and nanoemulsions
• Polymer applications like membranes, foams and scaffolds production or polymers synthesis, modification and recycling
• Reactions in supercritical media
• Inorganic or organic aerogels impregnation
  Nanostructured inorganic and metallic materials processing for catalysis, electronics and optics

We expect contributions to this special issue prevalently in these areas with the aim to set the state of the art and to promote research and industrial development in this field.

Iolanda De Marco, Ph. D.
Prof. Dr. Ernesto Reverchon
Guest Editors

• supercritical carbon dioxide
• supercritical water
• microparticles
• nanoparticles
• emulsions
• supercritical reactions
• nanostructured materials