State-of-the-art polymer science and technology in Italy

The history of polymers in Italy certainly begins with Giulio Natta and the discovery of isotactic polypropylene [1,2], culminated in the delivery to Prof. Natta of the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1963. Before those years, thanks to the development of the hydrocarbons and petrochemical sector by Montecatini (General Society for the Mining and Chemical Industry), the foundations for the development of macromolecular chemistry in Italy had been laid, but the real expansion occurred between 1958 and 1967 with a sector growth of 30% on an annual basis [3]. The research of Natta and his collaborators, on metal-organic catalysis applied to the polymerization reactions of -olefins and other unsaturated monomers, promoted the growth and consolidation, in Italy, of a network of industrial centers and academic institutes operating in the polymer science and technology sector, creating international skills. Since that period until today, Italy has kept pace with other countries and has certainly contributed to the development of the polymeric materials sector. Today, polymer science and technology in Italy represents a long-lasting and interdisciplinary field in which chemistry, physics, and engineering mix together to produce studies, which are considered among the best in the world. Several research groups coming from very different fields often collaborate in the design of the material, of the part, and of the processing technology to obtain innovative products with outstanding, new, and smart properties. Examples of the contributions of Italian research in the field are spread out in the top Journals and Conferences throughout the world. This Special Issue, which consists of 22 articles, including two review articles, aims at collecting an overview of Polymer Science and Technology in Italy, hoping that it can portray the state of the Polymeric Research in Italy and give the rest of the world a bright image of what is carried out in the field in our country.