Research and development related to polymers from renewable resources have witnessed a spectacular development from the beginning of this millennium, with a progressively deeper and wider involvement of both academia and industry. This lecture aims at providing a succinct “state of the art” of this exciting field through a number of examples of recent advances, including contributions from my research groups. Two main approaches are discussed, namely: The chemical modification of natural polymers. This topic covers the synthesis and characterization of novel materials and composites arising from the surface, in-depth and bulk transformation of celulose fibers, including nanofibers, chitosan, starch, lignin and natural rubber. The synthesis and polymerization of monomers derived from renewable resources. The variety of such monomers and macromonomers has already reached a remarkably wide spectrum and is increasing incessantly. The examples provided in this context deal with small molecules derived from sugars and polysaccharides, lignin, and larger structures derived from vegetable oils. Particular emphasis is placed on furan monomers and furan chemistry, which provide a new class of polymer chemistry, including the application of structure-specific mechanisms like the Diels-Alder click reaction. Additionally, the peculiar properties of some of these new macromolecular materials, such as poly(lactic acid), other polyesters, polyamides and polyurethanes, are highlighted to show, among other features, their unique applications, e.g. recyclability and self-mendability.
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