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Materials from Renewable Resources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Stephen J. Eichhorn  and
Alessandro Gandini
Stephen J. Eichhorn
Affiliation:
School of Materials, University of Manchester, UK; tel. +44-161-306-5982; fax +44-161-306-3586; and e-mail s.j.eichhorn@manchester.ac.uk.
Alessandro Gandini
Affiliation:
Chemistry Department, CICECO, University of Aveiro, Portugal; tel. +351-234-370735; fax +351-234-370084; and e-mail: agandini@ua.pt.

Abstract

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The drive for greater use of renewable materials is one that has recently gained momentum due to the need to rely less heavily on petroleum. These renewable materials are defined as such since they are derived from plant-based sources. Some renewable materials also offer properties that conventional materials cannot provide: hierarchical structure, environmental compatibility, low thermal expansion, and the ability to be modified chemically to suit custom-made applications. Nature's materials, particularly from plant- and animal-based polysaccharides and proteins, have hierarchical structures, and these structures can be utilized for conventional applications via biomimetic approaches. This issue begins with an article covering renewable polymers or plastics that can be used to generate block copolymers (where two polymers with specific functions are combined) as an alternative to conventional materials. Applications of renewable polymers, such as cellulose from plants, bacteria, and animal sources, are also covered. Also presented are the use of bacterial cellulose and other plant-based nanofibers for transparent electronic display screens and, in a wider sense, the use of cellulose nanofibers for composite materials, where renewable resources are required to generate larger amounts of material. Finally, this issue shows the use of biomimetic approaches to take the multifunctional properties of renewable materials and use these concepts, or the materials themselves, in conventional materials applications.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 35 , Issue 3: Materials from Renewable Resources , March 2010 , pp. 187 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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