Eco-friendly Polymer Nanocomposites ― Processing and Properties

This book contains precisely referenced chapters, emphasizing environment-friendly polymer nanocomposites with basic fundamentals, practicality and alternatives to traditional nanocomposites through detailed reviews of different environmental friendly materials procured from different resources, their synthesis and applications using alternative green approaches. The book aims at explaining basics of eco-friendly polymer nanocomposites from different natural resources and their chemistry along with practical applications which present a future direction in the biomedical, pharmaceutical and automotive industry. The book attempts to present emerging economic and environmentally friendly polymer nanocomposites that are free from side effects studied in the traditional nanocomposites. This book is the outcome of contributions by many experts in the field from different disciplines, with various backgrounds and expertises. This book will appeal to researchers as well as students from different disciplines. The content includes industrial applications and will fill the gap between the research works in laboratory to practical applications in related industries.

Dr. Vijay Kumar Thakur has been working as Research Faculty (Staff Scientist) in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, U.S.A, since September 2013. His former appointments include being a Research Scientist in Temasek Laboratories at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at LHU-Taiwan. His research interests include the synthesis and processing of biobased polymers, nanomaterials, polymer micro/nanocomposites, nanoelectronic materials, novel high dielectric constant materials, electrochromic materials for energy storage, green synthesis of nanomaterials, and surface functionalization of polymers/nanomaterials. He did his Post doctorate in Materials Science at Iowa State University and his Ph.D. in Polymer Science (2009) at the National Institute of Technology. In his academic career, he has published more than 80 SCI journal research articles in the field of polymers/materials science and holds one United States patent. He has also published 12 books and thirty book chapters on the advanced state-of-the-art of polymers/materials science with numerous publishers. He is an editorial board member of several international journals and also is member of scientific bodies around the world. In addition to being on the editorial board of journals, he also serves as the guest editor for the Journal of Nanomaterials, International Journal of Polymer Science, Journal of Chemistry, and American Journal of Applied Chemistry.

Dr. Manju Kumar Thakur has been working as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Division of Chemistry, Govt. Degree College Sarkaghat Himachal Pradesh University – Shimla, INDIA since June 2010. She received her B.Sc. in Chemistry, Botany and Zoology; M.Sc., M. Phil; in Organic Chemistry and Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the Chemistry Department at Himachal Pradesh University – Shimla, INDIA. She has rich experience in the field of organic chemistry, bio- polymers, composites/ nanocomposites, hydrogels, applications of hydrogels in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions, drug delivery etc. She has published more than 30 research papers in several international journals, co-authored three books and has also published 25 book chapters in the field of polymeric materials.