International UFAZ Conference, CPM’s 2025 Edition

Chemistry Process Materials

03-06 June 2025, Baku, Azerbaijan

Prof. Dr. Sabu Thomas

Chairman of Trivandrum Engineering Science & Technology Research Park (TrEST Research Park). Director for the School of Energy Materials, Director for the School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Director for the International and Inter-University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Conference Starts in:

Circular Economy: New Opportunities in Sustainable  Nano Materials and Polymer Bio-Nanocomposites

SABU THOMAS

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.   All are under the polysaccharides family in which cellulose is one of the important structural components of the primary cell wall of plants.  Cellulose nanoparticles (fibers, crystals and whiskers) can be extracted from agro waste resources such as  jute, coir, bamboo, pineapple leafs, coir etc. 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. Chitosan is the derivative of chitin, prepared by the removal of acetyl group from chitin.  Starch nanoparticles can be extracted from tapioca and potato wastes. These nanoparticles can be converted into smart and functional biomaterials by functionalization through chemical modifications (esterification, etherification, TEMPO oxidation, carboxylation and hydroxylation etc) due to presence of large amounts of hydroxyl group on the surface. The preparation of these nanoparticles includes both a series of chemical as well as mechanical treatments; crushing, grinding, alkali, bleaching and acid treatments. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to investigate the morphology of nanoscale biopolymers. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) are being used to study the functional group changes, crystallographic texture of nanoscale biopolymers respectively. 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 nanoparticles 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 nanoparticles in several bio-based polymers have been discussed. The role of nanoparticle dispersion, distribution, interfacial adhesion and orientation on the properties of the ecofriendly bio nanocomposites have been carefully evaluated

Register to the International UFAZ Conference, 2025

The Registration is free of charge for Presenter and Attendee

Deadline: Presenter Registration: 31st March 2025  | Attendee Registration: 31st May 2025

Partners/Sponsors

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Conference Venue

Location that you'll be looking for

Venue

Great Hall SP1 Building, UFAZ | 183 Nizami St Baku, Azerbaijan

Phone: (+994) 12 599 00 74

Transport

More information about coming to Baku, VISA and Transportation can be found here.