Design of cellulose-synthetic hybrid polymer vehicles for polyphenols uptake/release combining controlled radical polymerization with molecular imprinting technique

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Publications

Supercritical CO2 extraction and purification of bioactive compounds in olive leaf with molecularly imprinted polymers

Publication . Gomes, Catarina; Ayssata, Almeida; Dias, Rolando; Martins, Cláudia F.D.; Costa, Mário Rui

Around 4.5 million tons of leaves are generated each year as a by-product of the olive and olive-oil production. These olive leaves must be removed from the fields and olive-mills. Usually they are burned, or else used as fuels or for animal feed. However, olive leaf is extremely rich in bio-resources, being estimated that around 1 million tons of bioactive compounds, 1 million tons of cellulose and 1.5 million tons of lignin are currently underexploited [1]. In particular, the extraction and isolation of high-added value bioactive compounds in olive leaf (e.g. polyphenols, triterpenoids, essential oils, lipids, lignocellulose) is especially appealing due to their high-market potential in the food, feed, chemical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors

2022Conference object

Open access

Carbon-based hydrogels

Publication . Bzainia, Amir; Gomes, Catarina P.; Dias, Rolando; Costa, Mário Rui

This chapter intends to give insight into the use of carbon-based hydrogels for energy storage and/or conversion, which are becoming critical, given the ongoing need for decarbonization and growing renewable energy production. The ability to use sustainable materials and the added advantage to incorporate tailor-made, nontoxic, cheap, and electrochemically active functional moieties during their synthesis make them frontrunner materials in the field of green chemistry and energy applications. Here, after a brief introduction of graphene-, synthetic polymer-, and natural polymer-based hydrogels and many possibilities for their hybrid combination, a particular emphasis is given to their application to energy storage, energy conversion, and energy efficiency enhancement systems. Application examples concerning metal-air batteries, fuel cells, water electrolyzers, microbial fuel cells, photoelectrochemical water splitting, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and other metal-ion batteries, desalination, and water purification through solar vapor generation are highlighted.

2023Book part

Restricted access