Fabrication of Metallic Micro-/Nano-Composite Materials for Environmental Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Aspects in Colloid and Interface Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2023) | Viewed by 6098

Special Issue Editors

1. Department of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, School of Aerospace Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
2. Tan Kah Kee Innovation Laboratory, Xiamen 361102, China
Interests: laser microprocessing/nanofabrication; multi-scale micro-/nano-structured materials; optical engineering and applications

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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immuno-Engineering of Henan Province, Henan University, Henan 475004, China
Interests: piezophotocatalyst; antimicrobial coating; filtration materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The consistent high demand for various functional materials towards carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability has stimulated the exploration of innovative fabrication strategies based on laser-assisted processing and chemical synthesis for the synthesis of heterogeneous catalytic metallic nano-composites. In addition, micro/nano-textured filtration membranes have been extensively studied for use in water purification and wastewater treatment. To further advance these applications, the development of easy-to-use, low-cost, and high-throughput methods is desired for use in fabricating multifunctional filtration membranes with super-wettability, which also could be combined with photocatalytic/piezocatalytic/piezo-photocatalytic activity. Using laser surface treatment and chemical synthesis to create micro-/nano-scale hierarchical structures and elemental variations have been widely employed to generate the desired surface wettability of filtration membranes for water purification. The filtration membrane not only has the merits of high separation efficiency but also mitigates membrane fouling by forming a hydration layer composed of water molecules confined by surface micro/nano-structure. Meanwhile, the growth and modification of catalytic nanostructured materials on micro-/nano-structured filtration membrane surfaces via various coating techniques, such as laser ablation/cladding, the wet chemical technique, the hydrothermal reaction, chemical vapor deposition, etc., could equip them with the improved optoelectronic properties of photocatalysis/piezocatalysis/piezo-photocatalysis by creating a p-n heterostructure at the interfaces to further reduce the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs. Despite the enormous progress that has been made in this field, there is still lots area to be explored, especially concerning the rational deposition and growth of nanostructured catalyst coatings on micro-/nano-filters for highly-efficient, reliable, and synergic multifunctional composite materials. We warmly invite researchers to submit their contributions, in the form of both original research articles and review papers, which will inspire research towards the next generation of fabricating multifunctional composite materials for environmental applications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Laser-assisted or chemical synthesis of catalytic nanoparticles, the surface science of nanomaterials, and surface effects at nanoscale and applications;
  • Laser surface treatment or chemical synthesis of filtration membrane surface for separation, surface engineering, and functionalization;
  • Physical and chemical deposition of nanostructured coatings for photocatalysis, piezocatalysis or piezo-photocatalysis, and functional surfaces and coatings;
  • Antimicrobial and antifouling metallic coatings/filters for water purifications, electrochemistry at surfaces, and corrosion protection strategies;
  • Theories and simulations analyzing the kinetics and mechanisms of fundamental processes during the growth of nanostructured materials on filter support, and thermophysical aspects of surfaces and interfaces.

Dr. Rui Zhou
Prof. Dr. Hongjun Liu
Prof. Dr. Gang Han
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • laser surface treatment
  • surface wettability
  • photocatalysis/piezocatalysis/piezo-photocatalysis
  • filtration membrane
  • surface micro/nano-structured coatings
  • separation
  • antimicrobial
  • purification
  • antifouling

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Editorial

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6 pages, 220 KiB  
Editorial
Fabrication of Metallic Micro-/Nano-Composite Materials for Environmental Applications
by Xiaohan Xing, Rui Zhou, Hongjun Liu and Gang Han
Coatings 2022, 12(12), 1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12121946 - 11 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2402
Abstract
Micro-/nano-structured materials refer to functional materials with excellent chemical and physical properties at the level of micro-/nano-size, which have played an important role in a wide range of applications for addressing environmental problems [...] Full article

Research

Jump to: Editorial

16 pages, 4831 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Piezoelectric ZnO Nanowires on Laser Textured Copper Substrate to Enhance Catalytic Properties
by Hongbin Wang, Rui Zhou, Huangping Yan and Hongjun Liu
Coatings 2023, 13(11), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13111963 - 17 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1493
Abstract
In this work, 3D periodic “grid-type” CuO/Cu2O layers were fabricated on a copper sheet using laser processing techniques, and the laser processing parameters were optimized for favorable ZnO nanowire growth. It was found that ZnO nanowires could be successfully prepared to [...] Read more.
In this work, 3D periodic “grid-type” CuO/Cu2O layers were fabricated on a copper sheet using laser processing techniques, and the laser processing parameters were optimized for favorable ZnO nanowire growth. It was found that ZnO nanowires could be successfully prepared to form a CuO-Cu2O-ZnO heterojunction structure without an extra catalyst or seed layer coating, which could be attributed to the copper oxide active sites induced via laser texturing. ZnO nanowires on laser textured “grid-type” copper substrates demonstrated an effective piezocatalytic performance with different morphologies and the generation of abundant reactive oxygen species in the CuO-Cu2O-ZnO catalytic system, providing a fundamental mechanism for the degradation of organic dye in water. This simple and low-cost method could provide a useful guide for the large-scale efficient and versatile synthesis of immobilized piezoelectric catalysts. Full article
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18 pages, 3517 KiB  
Article
Titanium–Platinum Thin Films as a Tool for the Electrooxidation of Cyanide
by Aušra Valiūnienė, Povilas Virbickas, Inga Gabriunaite, Zana Margarian, Ramūnas Levinas, Dagne Janarauskiene and Gintaras Valincius
Coatings 2023, 13(11), 1821; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13111821 - 24 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1521
Abstract
This paper presents a detailed study of a titanium–platinum thin film-based electrode preparation and its practical application in the electrooxidation of cyanides to help protect our environment. The novel electrochemical deposition process of Pt on nearly atomically smooth magnetron-sputtered Ti film has been [...] Read more.
This paper presents a detailed study of a titanium–platinum thin film-based electrode preparation and its practical application in the electrooxidation of cyanides to help protect our environment. The novel electrochemical deposition process of Pt on nearly atomically smooth magnetron-sputtered Ti film has been used to prepare a highly effective glass|Ti|Pt composite electrode with high catalytic activity for the electrooxidation of cyanide ions. The composite electrode exhibits over a 90% electrical current efficiency in the cyanide electrooxidation process and can be used for the decontamination of highly concentrated KCN solutions (up to 0.1 M) without any chemical additives. A high current efficiency (70%) of Pt thin film deposition on a glass|Ti electrode was achieved using a potentiostatic double-pulse method. Fast Fourier transform electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed the oxidation kinetics for cyanide ions at the electrode. The glass|Ti electrode was prepared using the magnetron sputtering technique, which allows us to fabricate electrodes of any shape suitable for any electrochemical cell or electroplating bath. Meanwhile, electrochemical deposition of Pt on the glass|Ti electrode is an efficient and environmentally friendly method, since various salts of Pt and/or Pt-containing wastes can be used for electrodeposition instead of pure Pt, which is more expensive. Full article
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