Plasma Surface Engineering of Natural and Sustainable Polymeric Derivatives and Their Potential Applications

HIGHLIGHTS: The article reviewed plasma research on natural fiber functionalization and sustainable polymeric derivatives in the last two decades. The article highlighted various plasma processes: functionalization, ablation, ion implantation, grafting, and polymerization, with special emphasis on natural fiber materials. The review article focused on plasma-modified sustainable materials’ application in heavy metal remediation, water purification, biomedical applications, packaging materials, and sensor applications. Plasma processing employed fortuitously to alter the natural fibers and sustainable polymeric derivatives for potential applications reducing the environmentally hazardous chemicals. The revamped surface properties such as hydrophilicity, adhesion, and surface energy of the materials by dint of plasma processing ensures wide applicability of the sustainable polymeric materials. ABSTRACT: Recently, natural as well as synthetic polymers have been receiving significant attention as candidates to replace non-renewable materials. With the exponential developments in the world each day, the collateral damage to the environment is incessant. Increased demands for reducing pollution and energy consumption are the driving force behind the research related to surface-modified natural fibers (NFs), polymers, and various derivatives of them such as natural-fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Natural fibers have received special attention for industrial applications due to their favorable characteristics, such as low cost, abundance, light weight, and biodegradable nature. Even though NFs offer many potential applications, they still face some challenges in terms of durability, strength, and processing. Many of these have been addressed by various surface modification methodologies and compositing with polymers. Among different surface treatment strategies, low-temperature plasma (LTP) surface treatment has recently received special attention for tailoring surface properties of different materials, including NFs and synthetic polymers, without affecting any of the bulk properties of these materials. Hence, it is very important to get an overview of the latest developments in this field. The present article attempts to give an overview of different materials such as NFs, synthetic polymers, and composites. Special attention was placed on the low-temperature plasma-based surface engineering of these materials for diverse applications, which include but are not limited to environmental remediation, packaging, biomedical devices, and sensor development.