Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

The Royal Society of Chemistry are delighted to announce our cross-journal themed collection on Sustainable Composites, guest edited by  Professor Ian Hamerton, (University of Bristol), Dr Lois Hobson (Centre for Process Innovation), Dr Jonathan Wagner (Loughborough University). Read more about our guest editors here.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is committed to championing new research and promoting skills and development in the composites sector. This cross-journal themed collection contributes to the action plan from the Sustainable Composite Materials report by the RSC. It aims to create opportunities for researchers to publish peer-reviewed studies on sustainable composites.

This cross-journal themed collection on Sustainable Composites will bring together articles* tackling the sustainability of the entire composite lifecycle, including new composite feedstocks, low-energy manufacturing, design for end-of-life, in-use benefits, extended composite lifetime and repair, material recovery and recycling. Contributions should clearly address the sustainability aspects associated with the chosen approach. The scope of this collection extends to the management, regulatory, policy, and economic aspects associated with improving composite sustainability.

Topics include:

• Sustainable composite materials: These might include, but are not limited to bio-derived and low-carbon pathways to carbon fibre and composite resins (both drop-in and new resins); natural fibres (g., hemp, bamboo, and flax); new chemistries or new ways to existing chemistries; modelling for material prediction;
• Low-energy manufacturing: Efficient manufacturing processes, covering both resource and energy efficiency, g., UV radiation, fast curing resins, additives for low temperature curing, additive manufacturing (3D printing composites);
• Design for end of life: recyclable materials g., triggered degradation of thermosets, reversible adhesives, vitrimers; application of reactive modelling and machine learning.
• Enhanced composite lifetime: Self-healing technologies for composite repair e.g., vitrimers; underpinning tools g., accelerated testing of polymers and composites, detecting material degradation e.g., microscopy, FTIR; secondary composite applications; repair strategies; and the potential for adoption of imbedded sensor technology.
• Composite recovery and recycling: Strategies for the potential combination of chemical, biochemical and physical recycling technologies for key resin types to deliver both recycled input materials and structural building blocks as second-life materials , analytical techniques to identify composites from waste streams g., FTIR and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, digital labels such as QR codes and RFID tags;
• Composite additives: g., adhesives, conductors, core, curing agents (including hardeners and catalysts), sizing, toughening agents, flame retardants and UV stabilisers; nanocomposites as an additive in FRP providing thermal, electrical and/or mechanical properties; additives for enhancing performance e.g., toughening agents, UV absorbers/stabilisers, sizing (coating applied to surface of fibres);
• Sustainable composite applications: These might include, but are not limited to g., wind turbine blades, ship hulls, hydrogen storage tanks, airplanes, and automotive parts;
• Whole system evaluation: LCA, LCE, TEA, social-economic analysis across whole composite cycle; opportunities to explore concept of ‘sustainability in use’
• Regulatory and Policy: REACH, material passporting, approval for new materials, verification, testing, adoption of standards to cover use of second-life materials

*This collection welcomes research articles, communications, and review articles. Opinion articles and perspectives will be included at the discretion of the Guest Editors and Editorial Office.

Open for submissions until 29 September 2023

20 RSC Journals** are welcoming articles for this collection, please find the list of participating journals below. Submissions should fit within the scope of each Royal Society of Chemistry journal. For more information about the scope, standards, article types and author guidelines of each journal, please click on the journal links below.

We welcome submissions from now until the 29^th of September, with articles being published in the next available issue on acceptance and collated into an online collection. This allows greater flexibility for you to publish your research when it is ready, while ensuring your article is published quickly. The collection will be introduced with an Editorial and promoted towards the end of 2023 and beyond, ensuring maximum visibility of your article.

All submissions will be subject to rigorous initial Editorial assessment against the journal’s regular acceptance criteria. Peer review and acceptance in the journals are not guaranteed.

How to Submit:

If you would like to contribute to this collection, email materials-rsc@rsc.org, or submit to one of the chosen journals via the online submission service. Authors will be asked if they are submitting for a themed collection and should include the name of the themed collection: Sustainable Composites. Please also note the themed collection in your cover letter.

**Royal Society of Chemistry journals included in the collection. Please click on the links for further details.

If you have any queries, please contact materials-rsc@rsc.org. Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.