This book presents a review of preparation methods for environmentally friendly nanocomposite materials. It describes the combination of biodegradable and biocompatible polymer matrices with nanoparticles, leading to finished products preferably prepared by sustainable methods. The chapters also describe how the addition of synthetic or non-biodegradable particles can influence the properties of the final products. This book presents a general overview of the process from the preparation to the final applications of green nanocomposites. In addition, the book also details the trends, challenges, and prospects of this type of composites. The content can be divided into two sections. The first one presents a brief introduction about the importance of keeping the environment free of non-degradable pollutants. It also describes fundamentals, trends, and general applications of green materials. The second section focuses on the description of some of the green-based materials most used nowadays and other innovative materials, just like elastomers of natural origin. The book comprises the reintegration of these materials into the environment, followed by some biomedical, biological, and energy storage applications.
Dr. Felipe Avalos Belmontes obtained his M.Sc. in Polymer Science and Technology from the Autonomous University of Coahuila (1986) and his Ph.D. in the Complutense University of Madrid with honors "Cum Laude" (1990). He is a founding member of the Mexican Polymer Society (1986). Moreover, Dr. Avalos is the founder of the first PhD program in Mexico in Polymers Science and Technology (1994) and later the founder of the program in Materials Science and Technology (2003). He has received several awards and recognitions for his academic and research work from different institutions; and he has been a technology consultant in the processing and transformation of polymers for several companies. He is currently working as a Research Professor and lead the postgraduate Ph.D. program in Materials Sciences at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences at Autonomous University of Coahuila.
Dr. Francisco J. González has been working as Research Professor at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences at Autonomous University of Coahuila in Mexico since 2020. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at UASLP-Mexico. He received his M.Sc. in Nanosciences and Materials at IPICYT-Mexico and his M.Sc. in Plastics and Rubbers at UIMP-Spain. His Ph.D. studies were done at the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP-CSIC) in Madrid-Spain (2019), where he graduated with honors (Cum Laude). He is an active member of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry and belongs to the National Researchers System in Mexico. His research interest includes the preparation of conducting polymers composite materials, nanomaterials, and processing of biodegradable polymers for electronics and energy applications.
Prof. Miguel A. López-Manchado holds a PhD in Chemistry from University Complutense of Madrid in 1997 under the supervision of Prof. Miguel Arroyo from 1998–2001; he held a postdoctoral contract at University of Perugia in the group of Prof. Jose M. Kenny and a Ramon y Cajal contract in 2002 at Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP-CSIC). He worked as Tenured Researcher in 2006, promoted to Research Scientist in 2011 and, then, to Research Professor in 2016. He is the head of the Department, Polymer Nanomaterials and Biomaterials at the ICTP-CSIC.
In 2008, he created a new group: "Polymer Composites Group" at the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP) focused on the development of new polymer composites for advanced applications, that obtained the highest score in the CSIC last internal evaluation carried out in 2016.
He is a lecturer of Polymer Composites and Reactive Processing since 2004, and he has been academic subdirector from 2019–2021, in the official MSc course “Master de Alta Especialización en Plásticos y Caucho” of the academic alliance CSIC and UIMP.
