Replacing petroleum-based polymers with alternative renewable, chemically modified, and cost-effective natural products will have a significant positive impact on the environment and the sustainable polymer industry. Plant oils are widely used as renewable natural materials to obtain new green low-molecular weight monomers suitable for the synthesis of sustainable multifunctional polymers and composites with outstanding mechanical, thermal, and dielectric properties. These plant oil-based polymers and composites have similar performance to their petrochemical counterparts. Plant oils and lignin were chemical functionalized to synthesize aqueous- polyurethane dispersion with nanoscale morphology and excellent dispersion stability. The chemically modified plant oils were also utilized to fabricate bio-based norbornenyl-functionalized monomers suitable for ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) to create novel high-temperature plant oil-based thermosets. The aqueous dispersions, polymer films, composites, and thermosets were characterized using a wide range of analytical techniques, such as small amplitude rheometer, TEM, DSC, TGA, DMA, etc. This work is a part of global efforts to develop innovative technologies to transform these natural resources into novel monomers and polymers. Some of these technologies have already generated competitive industrial products with comparable properties to conventional petrochemical polymers.

Energy and the environment are two key issues in modern society which are necessities for the economic and social sustainable development of the world. In 2018, there is a 79.5% energy economy that relies on conventional energy sources such as coal, petroleum oil, and natural gas, which are not renewable and environmentally benign. So far, fossil fuels account for about 87% of global energy. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, economic growth has been driven by a continuous increase in power consumption, which has been possible thanks to the availability, high energy density, and low price of fossil fuels. Currently, the global demand for energy is growing faster than the capacity and utilization of fossil fuels, which leads to energy shortages. To deal with this problem, there has been a global drive to seek renewable and clean alternatives to fossil fuels. Moreover, world energy demand due to population growth, Industrial development and Excessive use of modern electrical devices is constantly increasing. Therefore, finding reliable, cost-effective, and renewable energy sources is needed for the future. Solar energy, as the cleanest and the largest exploitable resource of energy, can potentially meet the growing requirements for the whole world's energy needs beyond fossil fuels. Consequently, today, the development of renewable and clean energy sources has received global attention as an alternative. Solar cells or photovoltaic cells are electrical devices that convert light energy directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It is a physical and chemical phenomenon. These types of cells have electrical properties such as current, voltage, or resistance that change when exposed to light. Among various combinations of solar cells, Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as one of the best in the photovoltaic industry in recent years. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) plays an important role in generating electricity from solar power. PSCs are one of the most important types of solar cells that can be used to produce cheaper solar energy.

Green chemistry started for the search of benign methods for the development of nanoparticles from nature and  their use in the field of  antibacterial, antioxidant, and antitumor applications. Bio wastes are eco-friendly starting materials to produce typical nanoparticles with well-defined chemical composition, size, and morphology. Cellulose, starch, chitin and chitosan are the most abundant biopolymers around the world.   Cellulose nanoparticles (fibers, crystals and whiskers) can be extracted from agrowaste resources. Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose, it is a characteristic component of the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods and nanoparticles of chitin (fibers, whiskers) can be extracted from shrimp and crab shells.  Starch nano particles can be extracted from tapioca and potato wastes. These nanoparticles can be converted into smart and functional biomaterials by functionalization through chemical modifications due to presence of large amount of hydroxyl group on the surface. The preparation of these nanoparticles includes both series of chemical as well as mechanical treatments; crushing, grinding, alkali, bleaching and acid treatments. Since large quantities of bio wastes are produced annually, further utilization of cellulose, starch  and chitins as functionalized materials is very much desired. The cellulose, starch  and chitin nano particles are currently obtained as aqueous suspensions which are used as reinforcing additives for high performance environment-friendly biodegradable polymer materials. These nanocomposites are being used as   biomedical composites for drug/gene delivery, nano scaffolds in tissue engineering and cosmetic orthodontics. The reinforcing effect of these nanoparticles results from the formation of a percolating network based on hydrogen bonding forces. The incorporation of these nano particles in several bio-based polymers have been discussed. The role of nano particle dispersion, distribution, interfacial adhesion and orientation on the properties of the ecofriendly bio nanocomposites have been carefully evaluated.

Three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modified by polyethyleneimine (PEI) was prepared and functionalized by fluorophore-labeled dexamethasone-aptamer (Flu-DEXapt) via π-π stacking interaction. The rGO/PEI/Flu-DEX-apt was used as a selective membrane for dexamethasone hormone removal from water. The prepared rGO/PEI/Flu-DEX-apt membranes were stable, insoluble, and easily removable from liquid media. The membrane was characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. The rGO/PEI/Flu-DEX-apt membrane showed high sensitivity and specificity toward the dexamethasone hormone in the presence of other steroid hormone analogs, such as progesterone, estrone, estradiol, and 19-norethindrone. The fluorescence and UV-visible spectroscopy were used to confirm the membranes performance and the quantification of hormones removal. The resulting data clearly show that the graphene oxide concentration influence the aptamers and analytes interaction (π-π stacking interaction). It was found that by varying the graphene oxide concentration yields to different porosities of rGO/PEI/Flu-DEX-apt membranes affects the adsorption recovery rate, as well as the specificity and selectivity toward the dexamethasone hormone.

Based on the unique ionic-liquid like” properties of ZnCl2 solvents a novel cost-effective technology has been developed to convert cellulosic wastes into high quality materials such as tailored micro and Nano cellulosic materials. The original intention of this technology was to convert cellulosic wastes into sugars which could serve as base materials for the production of renewable fuels. During the development of such a route it was found that the cellulose produced from raw materials was quite unique and exhibited special properties and based on this insight the technology was adapted with the aim of producing valuable bio-based materials. The advantages of this technology versus alternative routes as for instance the conversion of cellulose by enzymes, acids, organic ionic liquids and/or in combination with high energy mechanical milling are discussed. Biomass conversion with acids is fast but produces a lot of degraded side products. The use of ionic liquids and/or enzymes is expensive and slow (10-40 hours).With this improved ZnCl2 hydrate technology the opportunity arises to economically produce various high value products such as: Micro and Nano-Cellulose applied as bio-coatings & materials, Cellulose oligomers in food applications (non-digestible fibers),Lignin and Nano-Cellulose as construction materials (High Tech Wood),Lignin for Bio-Aromatics (precursors for Surfactants and Carbon Fibers), Lignin as bio-component in polymeric materials.The Nano cellulose and Lignin produced are suitable candidates and/or precursors to produce high performance fibers like super nano-cellulosic fibers and Carbon-fibers. The economic value of these materials is at least 5-10 x higher than the commodities produced with other biomass conversion technologies.

Conductive organic materials are the subject of a significantly growing research area. They have a great potential for many applications such as energy solutions, electronics, medicine, pharmacy, environmental monitoring, and many others. Due to their biodegradability, bio-based materials as one group of organic materials have been proposed to help in reducing the massive amounts of electronic waste (E-waste) rising from the revolution in technological products such as mobiles and laptops. About 50 million tons of E-waste are generated annually. Moreover, if the electronic products are human health solutions such as biochips for human body sensing or drug delivery systems, the biocompatibility of bio-based materials is a major advantage. Among bio-based materials, Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) can be extracted from cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. They are lightweight rod-like nanoparticles with an elastic modulus higher than that for Kevlar fibers (110-220 GPa for CNCs, 125-130 GPa for Kevlar). They have shown a great potential in a wide range of applications including automotive industry and medicine. Despite of the interesting properties of CNCs, the research on their inclusion in electronics is limited on their use as inactive substrates to hold the conductive components. It is believed that the development of technologies to render them conductive could foster the production of bio-based electronics. Towards this goal, this presentation proposes an approach to convert the electrically-insulate cellulose nanocrystals using the proper chemistry into high-value conductive nanoparticles.

It's no secret that the last five years have been good for the cannabis industry. Although legalization has yet to spread around the world, the stigma surrounding cannabis use has begun to shift towards a more widespread acceptance of the benefits of the plant. In Canada alone, the legal market is worth $ 5 billion by 2021, which is a conservative estimate, as Canada has one of the highest rates of cannabis use. Along with the myriad businesses riding this wave, so are the scientists. An innovation race has been launched to explore the various applications of cannabis in health and wellness. While nanotechnology has been used in the food and medical industries for some time, its potential with cannabis is only just beginning to be explored. According to the Pot Network, cannabis, and other products in general, appears to work most effectively when broken down into tiny particles. When they break down, chronic pain patients, for example, may feel the first signs of relief within 15 minutes of absorption. This is due to the fact that the nanoparticles are directly absorbed into the bloodstream. This technology should continue to gain momentum in North America, with a population of more than 70 million postwar births that is aging. From cancer treatment to extended-release sleep aids, scientists are only scratching the surface of the potential of nanotechnology. Nanocann Group is one of those companies that is driving the cannabis market through the use of nanotechnology. Based in Mexico City, he's ready to take full advantage of the upcoming Mexican cannabis law. The company conducts research and manufactures nanotech encapsulates focused on the development of health-based CBD hemp consumer products in the nutraceutical, cosmetics, food and beverage sectors, as well as in the pet sectors around the world.

Additive manufacturing which is based on printing processes, is considered as the next industrial revolution. Functional printing brings additional performance of printed patterns, beyond the conventional graphic output, and the nmain bottleneck in this field is the lack of suitable materials. The synthesis and formulations of novel nanomaterials and inks will be presented, with their utilization in printed devices, responsive and 3D objects. New approaches for achieving conductive inks for printed plastic electronics will be presented, as well as new materials and processes for 3D and 4D printing. Utilization of 3D and 4D printing technologies for fabrication of objects composed of ceramics, shape memory polymers, elastomers and hydrogels will be demonstrated, for applications such as soft robotics, drug delivery systems, responsive connectors and Internet of Things (IoT),  dynamic jewelry and medical devices.