Unique state-of-the-art book on an important topic in renewable materials
The purpose of this monograph is to provide a thorough outlook on the topic related to the synthesis and characterization of original macromolecular materials derived from plant oils, an important part of the broader steadily growing discipline of polymers from renewable resources. The interest in vegetable oils as sources of biodiesel and materials has witnessed a remarkable growth of scientific and industrial interest since the beginning of the third millennium responding to the pressing drive to implement sustainability in the energy and materials sectors.
The book highlights the most relevant strategies being pursued to elaborate polymers derived from a variety of common oils, by direct activation or through chemical modifications yielding novel monomers. Because glycerol is the main byproduct of biodiesel production, it is treated here as the other logical source of macromolecular synthesis. Each of the different approaches is illustrated by an introductory layout of the underlying chemical mechanisms, followed by examples of notable achievements in terms of the properties and potential applications of the ensuing materials, which span a wide range of structures and performances. In particular, original pathways involving click-chemistry reactions as thiol-ene and Diels-Alder couplings and metathesis polymerizations are discussed and shown to reflect the involvement of a growing number of research programs worldwide.
About the Author: Alessandro Gandini is a physical chemist who has taught and conducted research for the last fifty years at academic and other institutions in Switzerland, UK, Canada, USA, Cuba, France, Brazil and Portugal, after his first degree in Italy. His main scientific interests are polymer synthesis and characterization, with a special emphasis on polymers from renewable resources, photochemistry, and the physical chemistry of surfaces and interfaces. He has published more than 400 scientific contributions and is an Honorary Doctor of the Saint Petersburg Forestry Academy and of Havana University, and was invested with the Ermine decoration of Grenoble National Polytechnic Institute, France.
Talita M. Lacerda received her PhD degree in chemistry in 2012 from the São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil. After holding a post-doc position in Professor Alessandro Gandini's research group (2012-2016) and in Professor Michael Meier's research group (2013-2014), she moved in 2016 to the Biotechnology Department of Lorena School of Engineering, University of São Paulo. Her main research interests include the synthesis and chemical modification of polymers and the development of biocomposites based on renewable resources.
