Recent trends in the development of biomass-based polymers from renewable resources and their environmental applications

Polymerization of biomass-based monomers leads to a multitude of new materials that can be applied in drug delivery, biology, nano-composites, adsorption/absorption, wastewater treatment, and other applications on small length scales. Currently, polymeric materials derived from non-petrochemical feedstocks (e.g., biomass monomers) have gained increased attention from both academia and industries. Moreover, there is a significant momentum in the utilization of renewable biomass-based materials for the production of novel polymers from both economic and environmental perspectives. In this context, we herein comprehensively review the synthetic design of renewable biomass-based monomers, and their recently developed important environmental applications. We particularly focus on the synthesis and remarkable applications of biobased monomers as well as the materials based on them from the perspectives of preparation and environmental applications, because these two are closely related and have been investigated extensively. The challenges and routes of their design and fabrication are also discussed. Moreover, we also discuss the fundamental research direction in their production, modification, property enhancement, and new applications developed in the recent years. Additionally, we outline the important properties of some selected renewable biomass-based monomers according to their resources and polymerization, and highlight new research directions based on the current trends.