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Catalysts
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Advancements in Photocatalysis for Environmental Applications
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Advancements in Photocatalysis for Environmental Applications

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Photocatalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 5064

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sikai Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Interests: photocatalysis; mineral materials; gas sensors; nanomaterials; mineral processing
Prof. Dr. Yanbai Shen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Interests: photocatalysis; mineral processing; mineral materials; gas sensors; nanomaterials; utilization of solid waste

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this century, environmental issues have reached a critical juncture, demanding urgent attention and concerted global effort. Photocatalysis, utilizing light to drive chemical reactions, holds great potential in addressing environmental challenges. Various great works that focus on enhancing photocatalyst efficiency, expanding spectral response, clarifying the photodegradation process, etc., have emerged. This Special Issue seeks to explore and showcase the latest developments in photocatalysis for environmental applications, covering a spectrum of topics from the design and synthesis of novel photocatalytic materials to the fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms and the translation of research into practical applications. We welcome submissions that delve into various facets of photocatalytic research for environmental applications, including, but not limited to, the following subtopics:

  • Design, synthesis, and characterization of novel photocatalytic materials for environmental applications.
  • Fundamental insight into photocatalytic mechanisms.
  • Computational modeling and simulation of photocatalytic systems.
  • Scaling up photocatalytic processes for industrial applications.
  • Reviews on photocatalysis in environmental applications.

Dr. Sikai Zhao
Prof. Dr. Yanbai Shen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photocatalysis
  • photocatalysts
  • environmental protection
  • computational simulation
  • sustainability
  • materials engineering

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4025 KiB  
Article
Photocatalytic NO Removal by Ternary Composites Bi12GeO20/BiOCl/W18O49 Using a Waste Reutilization Strategy
by Fei Chang, Wenlong Bao, Jiayi Li, Zhongyuan Zhao and Dengguo Liu
Catalysts 2025, 15(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15010073 - 14 Jan 2025
Viewed by 520
Abstract
Heterojunction creation is demonstrated as an effective strategy to enhance the transfer and separation of charge carriers, which is beneficial for subsequent photocatalytic reactions. In this study, “sea urchin-like” W18O49 was in situ-grown on the surface of Bi12GeO [...] Read more.
Heterojunction creation is demonstrated as an effective strategy to enhance the transfer and separation of charge carriers, which is beneficial for subsequent photocatalytic reactions. In this study, “sea urchin-like” W18O49 was in situ-grown on the surface of Bi12GeO20 through a hydrothermal process, and the released Cl− anions tended to produce BiOCl simultaneously. Systematical characterizations confirmed the construction of ternary composites Bi12GeO20/BiOCl/W18O49 (GBW), in which Type I and Z-scheme models were integrated to promote charge carrier migration and separation by combining the structural merits of both models. Under UV–visible light, the catalytic performance of the as-synthesized samples was tested in terms of NO oxidation removal. Compared to pure Bi12GeO20, the composite GBW5 showed the highest NO photocatalytic removal efficiency of 42%, which was nearly four times that of pure Bi12GeO20. These improvements were mainly due to enhanced light absorption, suitable morphological features, effective separation of charge carriers, and the boosted generation of reactive species in the GBW series. This study paves the way for the construction of Bi12GeO20-based ternary composites using a comprehensive utilization of waste method and the employment of the composites for the photocatalytic removal of low concentrations of NO at the ppb level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Photocatalysis for Environmental Applications)
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11 pages, 4165 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Application of Highly Efficient Self-Cleaning Coating g-C3N4/MoS2@PDMS
by Chunhua Gao, Yifei Sima, Cong Xiang and Zerun Lv
Catalysts 2025, 15(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15010010 - 26 Dec 2024
Viewed by 442
Abstract
Photocatalytic coatings are capable of achieving pollution-free degradation of organic pollutants on the surface of buildings. The preparation of photocatalytic coatings with high degradation efficiency, stability and durability constitutes a significant challenge in current widespread applications. This study prepared g-C3N4 [...] Read more.
Photocatalytic coatings are capable of achieving pollution-free degradation of organic pollutants on the surface of buildings. The preparation of photocatalytic coatings with high degradation efficiency, stability and durability constitutes a significant challenge in current widespread applications. This study prepared g-C3N4/MoS2 photocatalytic materials through a simple hydrothermal combined low-temperature calcination process, and selected the materials through characterization and photocatalytic degradation of organic wastewater experiments. Finally, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was added to obtain a g-C3N4/MoS2@PDMS coating. The coating was applied to the concrete surface, and, in the experiment, the coating showed good durability, stability, and high photocatalytic activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Photocatalysis for Environmental Applications)
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15 pages, 3890 KiB  
Article
Rational Engineering of Nanostructured NiS/GO/PVA for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants
by Arafat Toghan, Naglaa Roushdy, Hanan Alhussain and Noha A. Elessawy
Catalysts 2024, 14(9), 567; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14090567 - 28 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 975
Abstract
A novel nanocomposite film synthesized from an inexpensive and easily accessible polymer such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which is coated with nickel sulfide (NiS) and graphene oxide (GO), was obtained from used drinking-water bottles. The produced coated film was examined as a [...] Read more.
A novel nanocomposite film synthesized from an inexpensive and easily accessible polymer such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which is coated with nickel sulfide (NiS) and graphene oxide (GO), was obtained from used drinking-water bottles. The produced coated film was examined as a potential photocatalyst film for wastewater treatment promotion in a batch system for the removal of methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline (TC) antibiotics. The experimental results show that the presence of GO significantly increases the photocatalytic efficiency of NiS, and the MB and TC degradation results proved that the incorporation of GO with NiS led to a more than one-and-a-half-fold increase in the removal percentage in comparison with the NiS/PVA-coated film. After 30 min of illumination using GO/NiS/PVA-coated film, the removal efficiency reached 86% for MB and 64% for TC. The photodegradation kinetic rate followed the pseudo-first-order rate. Furthermore, the response surface methodology (RSM) model was utilized to study and optimize several operating parameters. The ideal circumstances to achieve 91% elimination of MB are 12 mg L−1 MB initial concentration, two lamps, and an illumination time of 15 min; however, to achieve 85% TC removal, 11 mg L−1 TC initial concentration, two lamps, and a 45 min illumination time should be used. The fabricated nanocomposite photocatalyst film seems to have promise for use in water purification systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Photocatalysis for Environmental Applications)
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Review

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32 pages, 17190 KiB  
Review
Removal of Emerging Organic Pollutants by Zeolite Mineral (Clinoptilolite) Composite Photocatalysts in Drinking Water and Watershed Water
by Pengfei Zhou, Fei Wang, Yanbai Shen, Xinhui Duan, Sikai Zhao, Xiangxiang Chen and Jinsheng Liang
Catalysts 2024, 14(4), 216; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14040216 - 22 Mar 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2389 | Correction
Abstract
One of the most challenging problems for people around the world is the lack of clean water. In the past few decades, the massive discharge of emerging organic pollutants (EOPs) into natural water bodies has exacerbated this crisis. Considerable research efforts have been [...] Read more.
One of the most challenging problems for people around the world is the lack of clean water. In the past few decades, the massive discharge of emerging organic pollutants (EOPs) into natural water bodies has exacerbated this crisis. Considerable research efforts have been devoted to removing these EOPs due to their biotoxicity at low concentrations. Heterogeneous photocatalysis via coupling clay minerals with nanostructured semiconductors has proven to be an economical, efficient, and environmentally friendly technology for the elimination of EOPs in drinking water and watershed water. Natural zeolite minerals (especially clinoptilolites) are regarded as appropriate supports for semiconductor-based photocatalysts due to their characteristics of having a low cost, environmental friendliness, easy availability, co-catalysis, etc. This review summarizes the latest research on clinoptilolites used as supports to prepare binary and ternary metal oxide or sulfide semiconductor-based hybrid photocatalysts. Various preparation methods of the composite photocatalysts and their degradation efficiencies for the target contaminants are introduced. It is found that the good catalytic activity of the composite photocatalyst could be attributed to the synergistic effect of combining the clinoptilolite adsorbent with the semiconductor catalyst in the heterogeneous system, which could endow the composites with an excellent adsorption capacity and produce more e−/h+ pairs under suitable light irradiation. Finally, we highlight the serious threat of EOPs to the ecological environment and propose the current challenges and limitations, before putting the zeolite mineral composite photocatalysts into practice. The present work would provide a theoretical basis and scientific support for the application of zeolite-based photocatalysts for degrading EOPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Photocatalysis for Environmental Applications)
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