1st Edition
Green Micro- and Nanocomposites
Green materials derived from renewable resources are increasingly being advocated for sustainable development due to rising environmental consciousness, waste management difficulties, depleting fossil resources, and rising oil prices to name a few. Renewable green resources such as starchy and cellulose polymers, natural fibers, vegetable oils, wood bark, cotton, wool, and silk have been utilized for food, furniture, and clothing for thousands of years. They have only recently undergone a revival as one of the most cost-effective alternatives to synthetic polymers in a variety of industrial applications, including building and construction, automotive packaging, films, and paper coating as well as biomedical uses. The primary drawbacks of synthetic polymers, such as the release of toxic gases and vapors during incineration and the difficulty in disposing of them, have prompted extensive research on new, green polymeric materials with special focus on the use of biopolymers derived from renewable resources for green composite applications. This book gives a true reflection of the vast area of research in green composites as it has contributions from internationally recognized experts in the field of green polymer materials, representing a wide range of disciplines, backgrounds, and expertise.
1. Green Micro- and Nanocomposite Materials
2. Biodegradability of Green Composites: Mechanisms and Evaluation Methods
3. Green Composites Reinforced with Cellulose
4. Green Composites Reinforced with Chitin and Chitosan
5. Green Composites Based on Polyhydroxyalkanoates
6. Green Composites Based on Poly(lactic acid)
7. Green Composites Based on Protein Materials
8. Surface Modification of Biobased Polysaccharide Nanoparticles via Grafting
Biography
Sabu Thomas is vice chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), Kottayam, Kerala, India. He is a highly committed teacher and a remarkably active researcher, and an outstanding leader with sustained international acclaims for his work in nanoscience, polymer science and engineering, green nanotechnology, and related fields. Prof. Thomas' research group invented new high-performance barrier rubber nanocomposite membranes for inner tubes and inner liners for tyres in collaboration with India's premier tyre company, Apollo Tyres.
Abitha V. K. is a senior research associate at the International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, MGU. She completed her PhD from the School of Chemical Sciences, MGU. She has written several book chapters in addition to editing three books. Her research interests include polymer blends, filler partitioning in rubber blends, fiber-filled polymer composites, particulate-filled polymer composites, and their morphological and structural characterizations.
Hanna J Maria is a UGC STRIDE fellow and senior researcher at the School of Energy Materials of MGU. She completed her PhD in 2015 from MGU and carried out her postdoctoral work at the Centre for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha-Qatar. She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Tokiwadai, Japan, in a project with TOCLAS Corporation, Japan. She also got the Dr D. S. Kothari postdoctoral fellowship with Prof. Sabu Thomas.
