Sustainable Polymer-Based Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications

Abstract

Polymers are an important class of materials that are providing unparalleled benefits in our daily life. Over the past decade, there is a rapid increase in demand for ecofriendly materials to counter various problems, such as environmental issues, biodegradability, sustainability, and biocompatibility. Thus, sustainable polymers derived from renewable resources is fast growing and evolving research field for energy and environmental applications. The sustainable polymers can be derived from natural sources or synthesized from renewable resources. However, in order to design ecofriendly materials, there is a need for a basic knowledge of sustainable polymers. Therefore, the present book chapter provides discussion on the classification of sustainable polymers and their structures, physical and chemical properties. Further, polymeric materials which exhibit high performance for energy storage and environmental applications are briefly discussed.