The Pursuit for Sustainable Green Chemistry in Polymer Research

Abstract

Sustainability has been given a big boost since the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) in 2015. The SDGs have sparked significant global activities in research dealing with sustainability and green chemistry. A promising area of opportunity is polymer science and technology because a large segment of the chemical industry uses polymeric materials. Indeed, green polymer chemistry is currently a popular research area, with numerous research groups working on different topics within this area. In this article, an overview is provided of some of the active topics. For convenience, these developments are grouped into seven sections: sustainability metrics and analyses, enzymatic catalysis, polymer recycling methods, biobased materials and additives, novel polymers and polymerization methods, sustainable polymer applications, and nanomaterials and applications. Examples for each section are taken from the chapters of this book. In view of the many ongoing activities, further progress in this research area is anticipated in the future.