Recent Advances in Designing Hydrogels from Chitin and Chitin-Derivatives and their Impact on Environment and Agriculture: A Review

Our purpose is to show and discuss the most relevant data on the synthesis approach and the characterization of hydrogels based on chitin and chitin-derivatives, such as chitosan, as well as their applications in several materials technologies. The current and future relevance of materials based on chitin, chitosan and derivatives have been verified by the impressive number of scientific and technological publications (both papers and patents) that appears day-by-day. The hydrogels, which show half liquid-like and half solid-like properties, have become a great promise for applications where the efficient use of water is essential to improve the physical-chemical properties of the arid soils. They are also effective in treatment of waters contaminated with dyes, lead cadmium, mercury, nickel, and so on, minimizing the environmental impact.