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Materials for Light-Assisted Catalytic Reactions

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 9236

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Particles and Catalysis Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: catalysis and mechanisms of reactions; photocatalysis; energy generation; conversion and storage engineering; chemical engineering

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Guest Editor
Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratary, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: chemical engineering; catalyst; mesoporous materials; nanomaterials synthesis; carbon dioxide
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Special Issue Information

With the ongoing push for heterogeneous catalysis to become more sustainable, the utilisation of an energy input which offsets conventional thermal heating is a subject of growing significance. Light represents one such alternative which can be exploited to either directly heat the catalyst (photothermal) or assist with improving catalytic activity/selectivity (photo-and-thermal). Employing light in this way opens the door for concentrated sunlight to contribute to driving heterogeneous catalytic reactions, in turn upgrading system sustainability. To ensure that the benefits of the incident light are effectively accessed, catalyst material design requires re-evaluation. This can be in the form of creating catalysts and catalyst supports which can harness a greater portion of the solar spectrum, utilise incident light to boost activity and/or drive selectivity towards more favourable products.

This Special Issue will address recent research in the field of materials development for light-assisted heterogeneous catalysis, where the light acts either directly as the heat source (photothermal) or complements the thermal provision of heat (photo-and-thermal). It is distinct from photocatalysis, as catalytic activity does not rely solely on the semiconducting properties of the support. The Editors welcome articles on light-absorbing (for heating purposes) catalysts/supports, plasmonic catalysts and other catalyst systems which function using combined light and thermal inputs. There are no restrictions to the nature of the catalyst preparation method nor the reaction to which the catalyst is applied.

Dr. Jason Anthony Scott
Dr. Emma C. Lovell
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • photothermal
  • photo-and-thermal
  • plasmonic
  • solar
  • illumination
  • light-assisted

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2431 KiB  
Article
Plasma-Induced Catalyst Support Defects for the Photothermal Methanation of Carbon Dioxide
by Salina Jantarang, Simone Ligori, Jonathan Horlyck, Emma C. Lovell, Tze Hao Tan, Bingqiao Xie, Rose Amal and Jason Scott
Materials 2021, 14(15), 4195; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154195 - 28 Jul 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2687
Abstract
The presence of defects in a catalyst support is known to benefit catalytic activity. In this work, a He-plasma treatment-based strategy for introducing and stabilising defects on a Ni/TiO2 catalyst for photothermal CO2 hydrogenation was established. The impact of pretreatment step [...] Read more.
The presence of defects in a catalyst support is known to benefit catalytic activity. In this work, a He-plasma treatment-based strategy for introducing and stabilising defects on a Ni/TiO2 catalyst for photothermal CO2 hydrogenation was established. The impact of pretreatment step sequence—which comprised He-plasma treatment and reduction/passivation—on defect generation and stabilisation within the support was evaluated. Characterisation of the Ni/TiO2 catalysts indicated that defects created in the TiO2 support during the initial plasma treatment stage were then stabilised by the reduction/passivation process, (P-R)Ni/TiO2. Conversely, performing reduction/passivation first, (R-P)Ni/TiO2, invoked a resistance to subsequent defect formation upon plasma treatment and consequently, poorer photothermal catalytic activity. The plasma treatment altered the metal-support interaction and ease of catalyst reduction. Under photothermal conditions, (P-R)Ni/TiO2 reached the highest methane production in 75 min, while (R-P)Ni/TiO2 required 165 min. Decoupling the impacts of light and heat indicated thermal dominance of the reaction with CO2 conversion observed from 200 °C onwards. Methane was the primary product with carbon monoxide detected at 350 °C (~2%) and 400 °C (~5%). Overall, the findings demonstrate the importance of pretreatment step sequence when utilising plasma treatment to generate active defect sites in a catalyst support. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Light-Assisted Catalytic Reactions)
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Review

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35 pages, 5367 KiB  
Review
Photocatalytic Technology for Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Wastewater Treatment: Current Progress and Future Perspective
by Wibawa Hendra Saputera, Aryan Fathoni Amri, Rahman Daiyan and Dwiwahju Sasongko
Materials 2021, 14(11), 2846; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14112846 - 26 May 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5847
Abstract
The palm oil industry produces liquid waste called POME (palm oil mill effluent). POME is stated as one of the wastes that are difficult to handle because of its large production and ineffective treatment. It will disturb the ecosystem with a high organic [...] Read more.
The palm oil industry produces liquid waste called POME (palm oil mill effluent). POME is stated as one of the wastes that are difficult to handle because of its large production and ineffective treatment. It will disturb the ecosystem with a high organic matter content if the waste is disposed directly into the environment. The authorities have established policies and regulations in the POME waste quality standard before being discharged into the environment. However, at this time, there are still many factories in Indonesia that have not been able to meet the standard of POME waste disposal with the existing treatment technology. Currently, the POME treatment system is still using a conventional system known as an open pond system. Although this process can reduce pollutants’ concentration, it will produce much sludge, requiring a large pond area and a long processing time. To overcome the inability of the conventional system to process POME is believed to be a challenge. Extensive effort is being invested in developing alternative technologies for the POME waste treatment to reduce POME waste safely. Several technologies have been studied, such as anaerobic processes, membrane technology, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), membrane technology, adsorption, steam reforming, and coagulation. Among other things, an AOP, namely photocatalytic technology, has the potential to treat POME waste. This paper provides information on the feasibility of photocatalytic technology for treating POME waste. Although there are some challenges in this technology’s large-scale application, this paper proposes several strategies and directions to overcome these challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Light-Assisted Catalytic Reactions)
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