Carbon-Based Hybrid Materials for Environmental and Energy Applications

Dear colleagues,

The demand for sustainable and efficient materials for environmental and energy applications has propelled research into carbon-based materials beyond traditional approaches. This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest advances in novel carbon-based materials that address current challenges in energy storage and conversion systems, as well as environmental remediation. These materials, encompassing graphene derivatives, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, MOFs derivatives, biochar, and hybrid carbon composites, possess unique properties like high surface areas, conductivity, and tunable structures that make them highly suitable for applications in energy and environmental technologies.

Carbon-based materials are particularly attractive for electrochemical energy storage and conversion, as they can act as both active materials and conductive matrices to improve performance. Recent research has focused on enhancing their functionality through techniques like heteroatom doping, composite formation, and structural engineering. These modifications can optimize their electrochemical properties, providing improved catalytic performance in reactions such as the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Furthermore, carbon-based materials demonstrate significant potential in next-generation batteries (e.g., lithium-ion, sodium-ion, potassium-ion, and lithium-sulfur batteries) and supercapacitors, where they contribute to increased capacity, stability, and cycling performance.

Additionally, carbon-based materials are becoming central to environmental applications, such as pollutant adsorption, water purification, and CO₂ capture. Their high surface area and tunable properties enable effective interaction with various contaminants, positioning them as promising solutions for environmental remediation.

This Special Issue invites original research articles and critical reviews that explore innovative synthesis techniques, structural and compositional modification methods, characterization, and performance in applications of novel carbon-based materials. The contributions will offer a comprehensive perspective on achieving sustainable and efficient solutions for energy and environmental applications through advanced carbon materials.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Synthesis and characterization of novel carbon-based materials;
• Functionalization and doping strategies for enhanced properties;
• Carbon-based materials for energy storage applications (e.g., batteries, supercapacitors);
• Carbon materials in electrochemical energy conversion (e.g., HER, OER, ORR);
• Structural engineering of carbon composites for environmental applications;
• Carbon-based materials for pollutant adsorption and water purification;
• CO₂ capture and storage using carbon-based materials;
• Hybrid carbon composites for improved catalytic performance;
• Stability and cycling studies of carbon materials in energy systems;
• Advanced techniques for modifying and tuning carbon structures.

Prof. Dr. Hak Yong Kim
Dr. Kisan Chhetri
Dr. Tae Hoon Ko
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. Inorganics 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 2700 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.

• carbon-based materials
• energy applications
• environmental remediation
• electrochemical storage
• catalytic performance
• sustainability