Volume 58, Issue 7 pp. 1904-1927
Review

Phenolic Building Blocks for the Assembly of Functional Materials

Dr. Md. Arifur Rahim

Dr. Md. Arifur Rahim

ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science, and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010 Australia

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Dr. Samantha L. Kristufek

Dr. Samantha L. Kristufek

ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science, and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010 Australia

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Dr. Shuaijun Pan

Dr. Shuaijun Pan

ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science, and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010 Australia

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Dr. Joseph J. Richardson

Dr. Joseph J. Richardson

ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science, and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010 Australia

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Prof. Frank Caruso

Corresponding Author

Prof. Frank Caruso

ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science, and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010 Australia

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First published: 16 September 2018
Citations: 390

Graphical Abstract

Phenolics on the rise: Recent advances in the preparation of functional materials, namely thin films, particles, and bulk materials, based on phenolic building blocks and their diverse applications, ranging from biomedicine to catalysis, are highlighted. This Review will help integrate various disciplines that use phenols and serve as a guide for the development of future materials.

Abstract

Phenolic materials have long been known for their use in inks, wood coatings, and leather tanning. However, there has recently been a renewed interest in engineering advanced materials from phenolic building blocks. The intrinsic properties of phenolic compounds, such as metal chelation, hydrogen bonding, pH responsiveness, redox potentials, radical scavenging, polymerization, and light absorbance, have made them a distinct class of structural motifs for the synthesis of functional materials. Materials prepared from phenolic compounds often retain many of these useful properties with synergistic effects in applications ranging from catalysis to biomedicine. This Review provides an overview of the diverse functional materials that can be prepared from natural and synthetic phenolic building blocks, as well as their applications.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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