Functionalized Polymers from Lignocellulosic Biomass: Fractionation, Conversion and Applications

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 (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 3949

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Forest Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Interests: paper science; coating and converting
State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan, China
Interests: nanocellulose; biomaterials; nanocomposites; porous materials; carbohydrate polymers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the realization that global sustainability depends on renewable sources of materials and energy, there has been an ever-increasing need to develop bio-based polymers that are able to replace petroleum-based polymers. Chemicals, energies, and materials derived from lignocellulosic biomass are renewable and sustainable and have the potential to replace fossil feedstocks. Research in this field has shown strong potential in generating high-performance functionalized polymers from plant biomass. With the anticipated large-scale production of lignocellulosic biomass, lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulosic polysaccharides will be abundantly available renewable feedstocks for biopolymers and biocomposites with physicochemical properties that match or exceed those of petroleum-based compounds.

The aim of this Special Issue titled “Functionalized Polymers from Lignocellulosic Biomass: Fractionation, Conversion and Applications” is to gather a collection of original research and review contributions from world-leading scientists working with lignocellulosic biomass. Thus, research that is representative of the current developments dealing with the advances and challenges in synthesis and applications of specialty polymers and composites derived from cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, ending with a brief assessment of genetic modification as a route to tailor crop plants for specific applications, are very welcome to the Special Issue.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts are available on the journal’s website.

Prof. Dr. HakLae Lee
Dr. Ming He
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • lignocellulose
  • fractionation
  • structural characterization
  • conversion
  • value-added utilization
  • lignin and its derivatives
  • cellulose
  • hemicellulose
  • cellulose nanofibril
  • cellulose nanocrystal
  • nanocomposites
  • aerogels
  • hybrids

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 5270 KiB  
Article
Supercritical CO2 Assisted TiO2 Preparation to Improve the UV Resistance Properties of Cotton Fiber
by Sihong Ye, Hui Sun, Juan Wu, Lingzhong Wan, Ying Ni, Rui Wang, Zhouyang Xiang and Xiaonan Deng
Polymers 2022, 14(24), 5513; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14245513 - 16 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1403
Abstract
Cotton fiber is favored by people because of its good moisture absorption, heat preservation, soft feel, comfortable wearing and other excellent performance. In recent years, due to the destruction of the ozone layer, the intensity of ultraviolet radiation at ground level has increased. [...] Read more.
Cotton fiber is favored by people because of its good moisture absorption, heat preservation, soft feel, comfortable wearing and other excellent performance. In recent years, due to the destruction of the ozone layer, the intensity of ultraviolet radiation at ground level has increased. Cotton fiber will degrade under long time ultraviolet irradiation, which limits the outdoor application of cotton fiber. In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles were prepared on the surface of cotton fibers with the help of supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) to improve the UV resistance of cotton fibers. The effects of SCCO2 treatment on the morphology, surface composition, thermal stability, photostability and mechanical properties of TiO2 were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, UV-VIS spectroscopy, and single fiber test. The results showed that TiO2 particles were generated on the fiber surface, which reduced the photo-degradation rate of cotton fiber. This is because TiO2 can absorb UV rays and reduce the absorption of UV rays by the cotton fiber itself. The synthesis process of SCCO2 is simple and environmentally friendly, which provides a promising technology for the synthesis of metal nitrogen dioxide on natural plant fibers. Full article
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14 pages, 3722 KiB  
Article
In-Built Fabrication of MOF Assimilated Porous Hollow Carbon from Pre-Hydrolysate for Supercapacitor
by Xin Zhao, Changwei Li, Lei Sha, Kang Yang, Min Gao, Honglei Chen and Jianchun Jiang
Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3377; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163377 - 18 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1876
Abstract
With the fast consumption of traditional fossil fuels and the urgent requirement for a low-carbon economy and sustainable development, supercapacitors are gaining more and more attention as a clean energy storage and conversion device. The research on electrode materials for supercapacitors has become [...] Read more.
With the fast consumption of traditional fossil fuels and the urgent requirement for a low-carbon economy and sustainable development, supercapacitors are gaining more and more attention as a clean energy storage and conversion device. The research on electrode materials for supercapacitors has become a hot topic nowadays. An electrode material for a supercapacitor, comprising the ZIF-67 in-built carbon-based material, was prepared from a biomass pre-hydrolysate via a hydrothermal process. As a by-product of dissolving slurry, the pre-hydrolysate is rich in carbon, which is an excellent biomass resource. The utilization of pre-hydrolysate to prepare carbon energy materials could realize the high value utilization of pre-hydrolysate and the efficient energy conversion of biomass. Meanwhile, the cobalt-based MOF (such as ZIF-67), as a porous crystalline material, has the advantages of having a regular order, high specific surface area and controllable pore size, as well as good thermal and chemical stability. The addition of ZIF-67 modified the morphology and pore structure of the carbon, and the obtained samples showed outstanding electrochemical performance. One- and two-step synthetic processes generated specimens with a coral-like cross-linked structure and a new type of rough, hollow, dandelion-like structure, respectively, and the pore size was in the range of 2.0–5.0 nm, which is conducive to ion transport and charge transfer. In C2-ZIF-67, the hollow structures could effectively prevent the accumulation of the electrochemical active center, which could provide enough space for the shrinkage and expansion of particles to protect them from the interference of electrolytes and the formation of solid electrolyte interphase film layers. Additionally, the plush tentacle structure with low density and a large specific surface area could expose more active sites and a large electrolyte electrode contact area, and short electron and charge transport paths. Importantly, active, free electrons of small amounts of Co-MOF (1 wt%) could be stored and released through the redox reaction, further improving the electrical conductivity of Carbon-ZIF-67 materials in this work. Consequently, C2-ZIF-67 exhibited superior specific capacitance (400 F g−1, at 0.5 A g−1) and stability (90%, after 10,000 cycles). Full article
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