Funkcjonalne materiały otrzymywane z udziałem ligniny : od projektowania do zastosowania

Polymers of natural origin have been gaining increasing significance in sciences, as well as the industry. Owing to their renewable nature, unique properties and wide availability, they are components that can be used for numerous advanced applications. Lignin, a biopolymer, which is a waste product separated from the widely understood biomass, most usually generated in the pulp and paper industry, falls in line with this trend. In this context, the importance of cellulose, which is used in the production of paper and by-products is greater. Whereas lignin, in the vast majority, i.e. approx. 95-98%, constitutes an energy source generated as a result of its combustion. However, nowadays, due to the huge potential arising from the specific structure of lignin and its properties, attempts are being made at using this material in many different applications within the so-called high added value. Lignin, as a commonly used polymer of unique chemical structure and properties, has recently become a source of many studies utilizing its potential in the preparation of functional materials and/or biomaterials, including hybrid ones. Such systems consist of appropriate inorganic and organic elements, which as a whole constitute a functional product with special properties, not exhibited by individual components. This provides unlimited possibilities in terms of engineering, shaping and practical application in newly developed systems. The huge interest in hybrid materials and/or biomaterials results from their potential applications, namely, in medicine, electronics, optics, electrochemistry, energy storage etc. Therefore, it nowadays becomes justified and important to try and develop new, functional systems, which owing to their specific properties could result in interesting application-wise possibilities in everyday life. Therefore, the attempt to use lignin as a source of many attractive and prospective possibilities is not without significance.