sustainability

As electromobility, renewable energy systems, and portable electronics continue to grow, the demand for efficient energy storage technologies is increasing rapidly. However, performance alone is no longer sufficient. The environmental footprint of batteries and supercapacitors is becoming a decisive factor. The future of energy storage must be not only powerful, but also sustainable, recyclable, and resource-efficient.

The construction industry is facing a major challenge: developing materials that are more durable, high-performing, and at the same time significantly more sustainable. Alongside advances in cement formulations, bio-based functional materials are increasingly gaining attention in research and development. One particularly promising candidate is chitosan - a natural biopolymer with unique chemical and structural properties.

What Is a Biosensor?

A biosensor is an analytical device that combines a biological recognition element (e.g., enzymes, DNA, or cells) with a transducer to detect specific substances. It converts a biological event – such as the binding of a toxin or metal ion – into a measurable signal (electrochemical, optical, or piezoelectric).

Chitosan is a versatile biopolymer that is gaining increasing importance in the food and packaging sectors. With its antimicrobial properties, biodegradability, and film-forming capacity, it offers sustainable solutions for shelf-life extension and plastic-free packaging. However, its effectiveness is not determined by degree of deacetylation (DDA) and molecular weight (MW) alone – rather, it results from a combination of chemical and physical characteristics that determine its suitability for different applications.

Biopolymers such as chitosan are attracting increasing attention as polymer electrolytes in dye-sensitized solar cells. Since chitosan has a low electrical conductivity, the study presented here aims to improve this by using salts and plasticizers.

Due to the increase of infectious diseases and the development of antibiotic resistance, new antibacterial substances are needed. In the presented study, novel chitosan-AgIO₃ bionanocomposites were synthesized and their antibacterial properties were investigated.