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Polymers
Special Issues
Sustainable Polymeric Materials and Eco-Design
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Sustainable Polymeric Materials and Eco-Design

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 5067

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Ranucci

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Milan, via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: biodegradable and biocompatible polymers; bioinspired polymers with flame-retardant activity; phytotoxicity of polymers; composite resins from natural fibers for water purification; composite hydrogels as scaffolds for tissue regeneration; polymers from renewable sources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Paolo Ferruti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: functionalization of polymers; polymer nanoparticles; biocompatible and biodegradable polymers; bioinspired polymers; biomedical and biotechnological applications of functional polymers; polymers for drug delivery; polymeric hydrogels as scaffolds for cell culturing and tissue regeneration; flame-retardant functional polymers; polyelectrolytes; heavy metal ion complexing polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jenny Alongi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Chimica, University of Milan, via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, Italy
Interests: polymers with high thermal stability; flame-retardant polymers; biocompatible and biomimetic polymers; multifunctional resins for the adsorption of heavy metals from wastewaters; multifunctional coatings; layer-by-layer assembly
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marco A. Ortenzi

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Chimica, University of Milan, via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, Italy
Interests: synthesis of polymers, mainly via ROP and polycondensation, with control of macromolecular architecture; bioplastics and environmentally friendly polymers; synthesis of green polymers; environmental degradation of plastics and polymers; polymer recycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Laura Boggioni

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Guest Editor
Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche (CNR), SCITEC "G. Natta", via Corti 12, Milan, Italy
Interests: olefin polymerization; homogeneous catalytic systems; α-olefin and cyclic olefin homo- and copolymers; microstructure analysis; polymers from renewable sources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increase in the world population, the environmental concerns related to pollution, climate change and the depletion of natural resources make the transition from the traditional linear economy paradigm to a circular economy model an emergency. This new production model aims to develop a sustainable economy by making optimal use of resources and energy while respecting the environment. The awareness of the need for this epochal change led to the emergence of eco-design—an approach to product designing that integrates environmental protection criteria throughout the product lifecycle, from conception to development, from transport to recycling. Eco-design is the core of circular economy and has the potential to significantly reduce the impacts of human activities on biodiversity, species, and common goods.

Thanks to their structural versatility and adjustable properties, polymeric materials play a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as defined by the United Nations, in strategic sectors including healthcare, transportation, food storage, construction, electronics and water purification. The application of eco-design principles to the production of polymeric materials can minimize the environmental harm caused by the massive production and use of conventional plastics, through the reduction of the use of raw materials, the use of renewable resources, the implementation of green processes, the extension of the functional lifetime, and predictable disintegration into non-toxic fragments and recycling. 

This Special Issue is open to contributions on a broad range of research topics related to sustainable polymeric materials and eco-design. These include, but are not limited to: 

  • Biodegradable polymers and the biodegradation of polymeric materials.
  • Biorefinery of plastics.
  • Chemical recycling of plastic waste.
  • Ecotoxicology of polymers.
  • Life-cycle assessment of polymer production processes.
  • Phase-change polymeric materials for intelligent temperature regulation.
  • Production processes of polymers through green chemistry approaches.
  • Technological approaches to minimize the production of microplastics.
  • Use of natural resources for the production of polymeric materials.

Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Ranucci
Prof. Dr. Paolo Ferruti
Dr. Jenny Alongi
Dr. Marco A. Ortenzi
Dr. Laura Boggioni
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

Keywords

  • biodegradable polymers
  • bioplastics
  • biodegradation of polymers
  • ecotoxicology of polymers
  • green chemistry
  • chemical recycling of polymers
  • natural-fiber-based polymeric composites
  • microplastics
  • life-cycle assessment of polymeric materials
  • energy-saving polymeric materials

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4643 KiB  
Article
High-Glass-Transition Polyesters Produced with Phthalic Anhydride and Epoxides by Ring-Opening Copolymerization (ROCOP)
by Selena Silvano, Matteo Proverbio, Adriano Vignali, Fabio Bertini and Laura Boggioni
Polymers 2023, 15(13), 2801; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15132801 - 24 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1349
Abstract
Polyesters with a high glass transition temperature above 130 °C were obtained from limonene oxide (LO) or vinylcyclohexene oxide (VCHO) and phthalic anhydride (PA) in the presence of commercial salen-type complexes with different metals—Cr, Al, and Mn—as catalysts in combination with 4-(dimethylamino) pyridine [...] Read more.
Polyesters with a high glass transition temperature above 130 °C were obtained from limonene oxide (LO) or vinylcyclohexene oxide (VCHO) and phthalic anhydride (PA) in the presence of commercial salen-type complexes with different metals—Cr, Al, and Mn—as catalysts in combination with 4-(dimethylamino) pyridine (DMAP), bis-(triphenylphosphorydine) ammonium chloride (PPNCl), and bis-(triphenylphosphoranylidene)ammonium azide (PPNN3) as cocatalysts via alternating ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP). The effects of the time of precontact between the catalyst and cocatalyst and the polymerization time on the productivity, molar mass (Mw), and glass transition temperature (Tg) were evaluated. The polyesters were characterized by a molar mass (Mw) of up to 14.0 kg/mol, a narrow dispersity Tg of up to 136 °C, and low (<3 mol%) polyether units. For poly(LO-alt-PA) copolymers, biodegradation tests were performed according to ISO 14851 using the respirometric biochemical oxygen demand method. Moreover, the vinyl double bond present in the poly(LO-alt-PA) copolymer chain was functionalized using three different thiols, methyl-3-mercaptopropionate, isooctyl-3-mercaptopropionate, and butyl-3-mercaptopropionate, via a click chemistry reaction. The thermal properties of poly(LO-alt-PA), poly(VCHO-alt-PA) and thiol-modified poly(LO-alt-PA) copolymers were extensively studied by DSC and TGA. Some preliminary compression molding tests were also conducted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Polymeric Materials and Eco-Design)
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26 pages, 13590 KiB  
Article
Effect of Monomer Type on the Synthesis and Properties of Poly(Ethylene Furanoate)
by Johan Stanley, Zoi Terzopoulou, Panagiotis A. Klonos, Alexandra Zamboulis, Eleftheria Xanthopoulou, Savvas Koltsakidis, Dimitrios Tzetzis, Lidija Fras Zemljič, Dimitra A. Lambropoulou, Apostolos Kyritsis, George Z. Papageorgiou and Dimitrios N. Bikiaris
Polymers 2023, 15(12), 2707; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15122707 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2148
Abstract
This work aimed to produce bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) with a high molecular weight using 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) or its derivative dimethyl 2,5-furan dicarboxylate (DMFD), targeting food packaging applications. The effect of monomer type, molar ratios, catalyst, polycondensation time, and temperature on [...] Read more.
This work aimed to produce bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) with a high molecular weight using 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) or its derivative dimethyl 2,5-furan dicarboxylate (DMFD), targeting food packaging applications. The effect of monomer type, molar ratios, catalyst, polycondensation time, and temperature on synthesized samples’ intrinsic viscosities and color intensity was evaluated. It was found that FDCA is more effective than DMFD in producing PEF with higher molecular weight. A sum of complementary techniques was employed to study the structure–properties relationships of the prepared PEF samples, both in amorphous and semicrystalline states. The amorphous samples exhibited an increase in glass transition temperature of 82–87 °C, and annealed samples displayed a decrease in crystallinity with increasing intrinsic viscosity, as analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Dielectric spectroscopy showed moderate local and segmental dynamics and high ionic conductivity for the 2,5-FDCA-based samples. The spherulite size and nuclei density of samples improved with increased melt crystallization and viscosity, respectively. The hydrophilicity and oxygen permeability of the samples were reduced with increased rigidity and molecular weight. The nanoindentation test showed that the hardness and elastic modulus of amorphous and annealed samples is higher at low viscosities due to high intermolecular interactions and degree of crystallinity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Polymeric Materials and Eco-Design)
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18 pages, 7997 KiB  
Article
Silk/Polyamidoamine Membranes for Removing Chromium VI from Water
by Paolo Ferruti, Jenny Alongi, Emanuele Barabani, Amedea Manfredi and Elisabetta Ranucci
Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1871; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081871 - 13 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1015
Abstract
Polyamidoamine hydrogels prepared by the radical post-polymerization of α,ω-bisacrylamide-terminated M-AGM oligomers, in turn obtained by the polyaddition of 4-aminobutylguanidine with N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide, were reinforced with raw silk fibers, which can establish covalent bonds with the polyamidoamine matrix via reaction of the amine groups [...] Read more.
Polyamidoamine hydrogels prepared by the radical post-polymerization of α,ω-bisacrylamide-terminated M-AGM oligomers, in turn obtained by the polyaddition of 4-aminobutylguanidine with N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide, were reinforced with raw silk fibers, which can establish covalent bonds with the polyamidoamine matrix via reaction of the amine groups in the lysine residues with the acrylamide terminals of the M-AGM oligomer. Silk/M-AGM membranes were prepared by impregnating silk mats with M-AGM aqueous solutions and subsequent crosslinking by UV irradiation. The guanidine pendants of the M-AGM units imparted the ability to form strong but reversible interactions with oxyanions, including the highly toxic chromate ions. The potential of the silk/M-AGM membranes to purify Cr(VI)-contaminated water down to the drinkability level, that is, below 50 ppb, was tested by performing sorption experiments both in static (Cr(VI) concentration 20–2.5 ppm) and flow conditions (Cr(VI) concentration 10–1 ppm). After static sorption experiments, the Cr(VI)-loaded silk/M-AGM membranes could easily be regenerated via treatment with a 1 M sodium hydroxide solution. Dynamic tests performed using two stacked membranes and a 1 ppm Cr(VI) aqueous solution reduced Cr(VI) concentration down to 4 ppb. Remarkably, the use of renewable sources, the environmentally friendly preparation process, and the goal achieved meet eco-design requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Polymeric Materials and Eco-Design)
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