Novel, functional materials based on chitin of marine origin and lignin were prepared. The synthesized materials were subjected to physicochemical, dispersive-morphological and electrokinetic analysis. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method of synthesis of functional chitin/lignin materials. Mechanism of chitin modification by lignin is based on formation of hydrogen bonds between chitin and lignin. Additionally, the chitin/lignin materials were studied from the perspective of waste water treatment. The synthetic method presented in this work shows an attractive and facile route for producing low-cost chitin/lignin biosorbents with high efficiency of nickel and cadmium adsorption (88.0% and 98.4%, respectively). The discovery of this facile method of synthesis of functional chitin/lignin materials will also have a significant impact on the problematic issue of the utilization of chitinous waste from the seafood industry, as well as lignin by-products from the pulp and paper industry.

The characteristic mineral-free fibrous skeletons (made of structural protein-spongin) of H. communis (Demospongiae: Porifera) was used as a structural template in hydrothermal synthesis of hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles.

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Multifunctional chitin/lignin materials were synthesized. In order to combine mechanical milling of the biopolymers with simultaneous mixing, a centrifugal ball mill was utilized. The resulting materials, differing in terms of the proportions of precursors used, underwent detailed physicochemical and dispersive-morphological analysis. On the basis of FT-IR spectra and results of elemental analysis, the efficiency of the preparation of the materials was determined. The influence of the precursors on the thermal stability of the resulting systems was also evaluated. Zeta potential was determined as a function of pH to describe the electrokinetic stability of aqueous dispersions. This is important for evaluating the utility of the materials and indirectly confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method of synthesis of chitin/lignin products. Measurements were performed to determine basic colorimetric parameters, crucial in the production technology of multiple colored materials. It is expected that chitin/lignin materials will find a wide range of applications (biosorbents, polymer fillers, and electrochemical sensors), as they combine the unique properties of chitin with the specific structural features of lignin to provide a multifunctional material.

Chitin of poriferan origin is a unique and thermostable biological material. It also represents an example of a renewable materials source due to the high regeneration ability of Aplysina sponges under marine ranching conditions. Chitinous scaffolds isolated from the skeleton of the marine sponge Aplysina aerophoba were used as a template for the in vitro formation of Fe 2 O 3 under conditions (pH $ 1.5, 90 C) which are extreme for biological materials. Novel chitin-Fe 2 O 3 three dimensional composites, which have been prepared for the first time using hydrothermal synthesis, were thoroughly characterized using numerous analytical methods including Raman spectroscopy, XPS, XRD, electron diffraction and HR-TEM. We demonstrate the growth of uniform Fe 2 O 3 nanocrystals into the nanostructured chitin substrate and propose a possible mechanism of chitin-hematite interactions. Moreover, we show that composites made of sponge chitin-Fe 2 O 3 hybrid materials with active carbon can be successfully used as electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors.