Lignin-based hydrogels through a green-metrics lens: solvents, crosslinking chemistries, scalable processes

Key Points

• To explore sustainable synthesis routes for dynamic lignin-based hydrogels and evaluate their environmental impact.
• Identified various synthesis methods: dynamic covalent, metal-phenolic, enzymatic, and visible-light.
• Mapped these methods onto a sustainability scorecard targeting environmental applications.
• Analyzed scalability of production processes for practical use.
• Developed antifreezing lignin-based hydrogels suitable for environmental remediation.
• Established a scorecard indicating the sustainability of different synthesis approaches.
• Demonstrated potential applications in wearable sensing technologies.