Pectin Based Multifunctional Porous Materials and Polymer Composites

Nowadays, the several environmental problems caused by urbanization and industrialization have become global issues. The request to develop more sustainable and economically viable materials and investigate the functional materials from sustainable resources has been growing steadily. The aim of this thesis is to investigate pectin as a raw material to fabricate multifunctional porous mate-rials and polymer composite, by deepening the understanding of pectin and consequently, broadening the potential application fields of pectin-based materials.  The fundamental investigation of the correlation between the structure and properties of ionically crosslinked pectin hydrogels and aerogels with a minimal number of cations revealed what happens when the ionic crosslinking and junction zones start to be introduced in pectin solutions. A green and simple method, freeze-casting followed by freeze-drying was utilized to fabricate anisotropic pectin cryogels. Furthermore, the influence of preparation parameters, including pectin concentration, freezing temperature, and salt concentration, on the morphologies and properties of pectin cryogels was investigated.  Furthermore, the functional performance of pectin-based porous materials and polymer composites was demonstrated. The anisotropic pectin cryogel exhibits good sound absorption with low thermal conductivity and outstanding mechanical properties. In addition, the freeze-casted anisotropic pectin cryogel is utilized as a matrix to infiltrate polymer solution. Anisotropic pectin cryogel infiltrated with poly(methyl methacrylate) resulted in an optically transparent composite with UV-blocking ability and thermal insulation properties. Infiltrating with phase change material (polyethylene glycol), on the other hand, leads to a pectin/polymer composite with energy storage ability and good optical properties.  Combining the fundamental investigation and functional performance in this work, the great potential of pectin as a raw material towards practical applications, such as in the construction industry, has been illustrated.