Natural Polymers and Materials

CHEM-4610

This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the diverse range of natural polymers, their role in nature, routes to production, physical properties, and applications. Natural polymers are of growing importance as society transitions from carbon derived from petroleum to readily renewable sources such as plants. Furthermore, natural polymer biosynthesis occurs under mild and sustainable conditions that provide representative examples of green chemistry. Natural polymers offer desirable attributes such as biodegradability and properties that can be manipulated by traditional methods such as modification or blending as well as via genetic engineering. The course introduces numerous families of natural polymers from sources such as plant cell walls, rubber trees, grains, crustacean exoskeletons, fungal cell walls, microbial fermentation, seaweed, seeds, silkworms, spiders, and animals. Applications of natural polymers and their modified forms that will be discussed include but are not limited to, thickeners, biodegradable plastics, medical materials, fibers in composites, nanoparticles, antimicrobials, and cosmetic ingredients.

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