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Gels
Special Issues
Designing Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Agriculture and Water Sustainability
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Designing Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Agriculture and Water Sustainability

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 2409

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Daniel A. Palacio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Polímeros, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Interests: complex polyelectrolytes; hydrogels; (nano)composites; biobased materials; agricultural applications; biopolymer modification; ultrafiltration processes; removal of emerging organic pollutants; functional polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. M. Melendrez-castro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastian, Campus las Tres Pascuales, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Interests: applied nanotechnology; hybrid materials; nanocomposite hydrogels; biobased material
Dr. Gustavo Cabrera Barjas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Sciences for Healthcare Nutrition and Dietetica School, Universidad San Sebastián, Campus Las Tres Pascualas, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Interests: hydrogels; polysaccharides; biopolymers; polyphenols; biocomposites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The design and applications of hydrogels in different fields of application have increased considerably over the years. This is due to the great versatility, properties, and unique solutions that this type of material provides. Currently, with the challenge of obtaining new, friendlier materials with applications to minimize the impacts caused by climate change, the design of hydrogels and hydrogel-derived materials has become a focus of studies to counteract the current sustainability needs of agriculture and water as part of the global economy and as necessary resources on our planet.

In this Special Issue, entitled “Designing Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Agriculture and Water Sustainability”, we seek contributions in the field of advancing the design of hydrogel-derived materials for agriculture and water sustainability, such as hydrogels for the elimination of emerging organic contaminants, contaminants of organic origin such as antibiotics, endocrine disruptors, dyes, analgesics, and pesticides, among others, and contaminants of inorganic origin such as heavy metals and oxyanions in both the soil and water matrix. In addition, we seek contributions on the controlled release of agrochemicals, water, hormones, pesticides, etc. Likewise, manuscripts are accepted in the fields of nanocomposite hydrogels, hybrid hydrogels, biobased hydrogels, and other types of hydrogels for agriculture and water sustainability.

For this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Daniel A. Palacio
Dr. M. Melendrez-castro
Dr. Gustavo Cabrera Barjas
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. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2100 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

  • super absorbent
  • hydrogels
  • controlled release hydrogels in agriculture
  • hydrogels for contaminant removal
  • design and characterization of hydrogels
  • application of hydrogels for environmental sustainability
  • nanocomposite hydrogels
  • hybrid hydrogels
  • biobased hydrogels

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4133 KiB  
Article
Development of High-Efficiency Fertilizer by Hydrogels Obtained from Cassava Starch and Citric Acid for Slow Release of Ammonium and Potassium
by Andrés F. Chamorro, Manuel Palencia and Álvaro A. Arrieta
Gels 2024, 10(7), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10070434 - 29 Jun 2024
Viewed by 601
Abstract
Fertilizers with enhanced efficiency or high-efficiency fertilizers increase the nutrient availability, minimize losses, and reduce costs, thereby increasing crop yields and food production while mitigating environmental impacts. This research evaluates the synthesis of biodegradable hydrogels from cassava starch and citric acid for agrochemical [...] Read more.
Fertilizers with enhanced efficiency or high-efficiency fertilizers increase the nutrient availability, minimize losses, and reduce costs, thereby increasing crop yields and food production while mitigating environmental impacts. This research evaluates the synthesis of biodegradable hydrogels from cassava starch and citric acid for agrochemical applications. Hydrogels were synthesized using water as the solvent and applied for the controlled release of macronutrients (N and K). Four concentrations of nutrient-containing salts were tested (0.5 to 10.0% w/w). Materials were analyzed using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and swelling studies. The presence of nutrients reduced both the crosslinking efficacy and the water absorption capacity, with the latter dropping from 183.4 ± 0.6% to 117.9 ± 3.7% and 157.4 ± 25.0% for hydrogels loaded with NH4Cl and KCl, respectively. The cumulative release of K and N from the hydrogel was monitored for 144 h and examined using kinetics models, revealing that the releases follow Fickian’s diffusion and anomalous diffusion, respectively. Additionally, the material was formed using cassava with peel previously milled to reduce the production costs, and its potential for nutrient-controlled delivery was evaluated, with the finding that this hydrogel decreases the release rate of nitrogen. The results suggest that these biomaterials may have promising applications in the agrochemical industry in the making of high-efficiency fertilizers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Agriculture and Water Sustainability)
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16 pages, 3641 KiB  
Article
Biodegradable Cassava Starch/Phosphorite/Citric Acid Based Hydrogel for Slow Release of Phosphorus: In Vitro Study
by Andrés F. Chamorro, Manuel Palencia and Enrique M. Combatt
Gels 2024, 10(7), 431; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10070431 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 783
Abstract
Phosphorous (P) is one the most important elements in several biological cycles, and is a fundamental component of soil, plants and living organisms. P has a low mobility and is quickly adsorbed on clayey soils, limiting its availability and absorption by plants. Here, [...] Read more.
Phosphorous (P) is one the most important elements in several biological cycles, and is a fundamental component of soil, plants and living organisms. P has a low mobility and is quickly adsorbed on clayey soils, limiting its availability and absorption by plants. Here, biodegradable hydrogels based on Cassava starch crosslinked with citric acid (CA) were made and loaded with KH2PO4 and phosphorite to promote the slow release of phosphorus, the storing of water, and the reduction in P requirements during fertilization operations. Crosslinking as a function of CA concentrations was investigated by ATR-FTIR and TGA. The water absorption capacity (WAC) and P release, under different humic acid concentration regimens, were studied by in vitro tests. It is concluded that hydrogel formed from 10% w/w of CA showed the lowest WAC because of a high crosslinking degree. Hydrogel containing 10% w/w of phosphorite was shown to be useful to encouraging the slow release of P, its release behavior being fitted to the Higuchi kinetics model. In addition, P release increased as humic acid contents were increased. These findings suggest that these hydrogels could be used for encouraging P slow release during crop production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Agriculture and Water Sustainability)
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16 pages, 19173 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocomposite Hydrogels Based on Poly(Sodium 4-Styrene Sulfonate) under Very-High Concentration Regimen of Clays (Bentonite and Kaolinite)
by Tulio A. Lerma, Enrique M. Combatt and Manuel Palencia
Gels 2024, 10(6), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10060405 - 18 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 637
Abstract
The aim of this work was to synthesize and study the functional properties of polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCNCs) based on poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (NaPSS) and two types of clay in the dispersed phase: bentonite and kaolinite, in order to advance in the development of [...] Read more.
The aim of this work was to synthesize and study the functional properties of polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCNCs) based on poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (NaPSS) and two types of clay in the dispersed phase: bentonite and kaolinite, in order to advance in the development of new geomimetic materials for agricultural and environmental applications. In this study, the effect of adding high concentrations of clay (10–20 wt. %) on the structural and functional properties of a polymer–clay nanocomposite was evaluated. The characterization by infrared spectroscopy made it possible to show that the PCNCs had a hybrid nature structure through the identification of typical vibration bands of the clay matrix and NaPSS. In addition, scanning electron microscopy allowed us to verify its hybrid composition and an amorphous particle-like morphology. The thermal characterization showed degradation temperatures higher than ~300 °C with Tg values higher than 100 °C and variables depending on the clay contents. In addition, the PCNCs showed a high water-retention capacity (>2900%) and cation exchange capacity (>112 meq/100 g). Finally, the results demonstrated the ability of geomimetic conditioners to mimic the structure and functional properties of soils, suggesting their potential application in improving soil quality for plant growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Agriculture and Water Sustainability)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

  Synthesis and characterization of hydrogel from sustainable and reliable organic compounds

  Authors: C. Villalba-Yepez1, T. Marzialetti1, M. Vera2, K. Sossa3, L.F. Montoya1*
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