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Topic Review
Biography
Topic Review
Plastic Mismanagement in Africa
Plastic waste pollution is one of the main items on international agendas. It leads to more and more leakages and constitutes a dangerous threat to living beings and the ecosystem (toxic substances). Globally, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, while 22% of it is mismanaged. A large part of this waste ends up legally or illegally in Africa.
221
22 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Exploring Bioinspired Polymer Actuators via Electrospinning
Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the development of novel materials and devices. In particular, polymer actuators that mimic the movements and functions of natural organisms have been of great interest due to their potential applications in various fields, such as biomedical engineering, soft robotics, and energy harvesting. The development and actuation performance of electrospun fibrous meshes with the advantages of high permeability, surface area, and easy functional modification, has received extensive attention from researchers.
217
23 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Heterogeneous Catalysts Based on Hypercrosslinked Polystyreneand
Platform chemicals, also known as chemical building blocks, are substances that serve as starting materials for the synthesis of various value-added products, which find a wide range of applications. These chemicals are the key ingredients for many fine and specialty chemicals. Most of the transformations of platform chemicals are catalytic processes, which should meet the requirements of sustainable chemistry: to be not toxic for humans, to be safe for the environment, and to allow multiple reuses of catalytic materials. Hypercrosslinked polymers are already widely applied in industry as excellent (ad)sorbents. Their use for the synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts is a relatively new but dynamically developing area. A new class of heterogeneous catalysts based on nanoparticles of catalytically active metals stabilized in a polymer matrix of hypercrosslinked polystyrene (HPS) are provided, their synthesis, properties, and application to produce several platform chemicals from renewable raw materials. Some transformations of platform chemicals into compounds with high added value are addressed and multiple perspectives are discussed.
204
03 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Aerogels for the Removal of Heavy Metal Ions
Aerogel is a general term referring to novel nanostructured materials characterized by very high porosity and tunable physicochemical properties that are obtained following a sol–gel process and an appropriate drying method. Such novel materials are entering the market in everyday products and a wide portfolio of properties usable for applications in health care, foods, agriculture, energy, and environmental remediation. Bio-based aerogels obtained from renewable resources and biomass are biodegradable and biocompatible due to the natural origin of the polymers, and for this reason, they greatly contribute to the sustainable concept of the bio-economy, offering promising commodities for environmental remediation.
197
22 Jan 2024
Topic Review
The Alphabet of Nanostructured Polypyrrole
Polypyrrole is a significantly useful material derived from an inconspicuous pyrrole ring. The available synthetic procedures allow for the precise sculpturing of both the chemical composition and morphology of the forming polymer. Multiple variations shall be taken into consideration to take advantage of the synergy effect coming from the sophisticated nanostructuring of the material at the stage of choosing the polymer procedure (proper solvent, doping ion, substrate choice), during the polymerization (conditions like temperature, stirring, enhanced impulses, like ultrasounds) or at the post-synthetic functionalization stage.
194
20 Nov 2023
Topic Review
COF-Based Photocatalysts for Enhanced Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide
Photocatalytic synthesis of H2O2 has emerged as a compelling alternative, offering the prospect of harnessing solar energy directly to drive chemical reactions, thereby circumventing the need for energy-intensive processes and deleterious chemicals.
190
11 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Biodegradable Microplastics and Plants
Microplastics (MPs) pollution has emerged as one of the world’s most serious environmental issues, with harmful consequences for ecosystems and human health. One proposed solution to their accumulation in the environment is the replacement of nondegradable plastics with biodegradable ones. However, due to the lack of true biodegradability in some ecosystems, they also give rise to biodegradable microplastics (BioMPs) that negatively impact different ecosystems and living organisms.
188
14 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Optimized Polymeric Membranes for Water Treatment
Conventional polymers, endowed with specific functionalities, are extensively utilized for filtering and extracting a diverse set of chemicals, notably metals, from solutions. The main structure of a polymer is an integral part for designing an efficient separating system. However, its chemical functionality further contributes to the selectivity, fabrication process, and resulting product morphology. One example would be a membrane that can be employed to selectively remove a targeted metal ion or chemical from a solution, leaving behind the useful components of the solution. Such membranes or products are highly sought after for purifying polluted water contaminated with toxic and heavy metals. An efficient water-purifying membrane must fulfill several requirements, including a specific morphology attained by the material with a specific chemical functionality and facile fabrication for integration into a purifying module Therefore, the selection of an appropriate polymer and its functionalization become crucial and determining steps.
185
23 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Interpolymer Complexes Based on Cellulose Ethers
Interpolymer complexes based on cellulose ethers are formed by combining different polymers through non-covalent interactions, resulting in stable structures.
184
08 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Membrane-Based Direct Air Capture Application
Direct air capture (DAC) is an emerging negative CO2 emission technology that aims to introduce a feasible method for CO2 capture from the atmosphere. Unlike carbon capture from point sources, which deals with flue gas at high CO2 concentrations, carbon capture directly from the atmosphere has proved difficult due to the low CO2 concentration in ambient air. Current DAC technologies mainly consider sorbent-based systems; however, membrane technology can be considered a promising DAC approach since it provides several advantages, e.g., lower energy and operational costs, less environmental footprint, and more potential for small-scale ubiquitous installations. Several recent advancements in validating the feasibility of highly permeable gas separation membrane fabrication and system design show that membrane-based direct air capture (m-DAC) could be a complementary approach to sorbent-based DAC, e.g., as part of a hybrid system design that incorporates other DAC technologies (e.g., solvent or sorbent-based DAC).
178
05 Feb 2024
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