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Smart Materials in Environmental Science
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Smart Materials in Environmental Science

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 20217

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Maria Harja

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, D. Mangeron, 73, 700050 Iasi, Romania
Interests: new materials synthesis and characterization; photocatalysis; nanomaterials; geopolymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gabriela Ciobanu

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Guest Editor
Department of Organic, Biochemical and Food Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection “Cristofor Simionescu”, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Prof. dr. doc. D. Mangeron Street, no. 73, 700050 Iasi, Romania
Interests: biomaterials (hydroxyapatite, titanium and their alloys, etc.); coatings; scaffolds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is generally acknowledged that a real challenge today is the development of new materials for environmental applications. In fact, the problem of environmental pollution is one of the most critical issues, determining global warming, extreme weather phenomena, decay of health till loss of human lives, etc. This highly innovative and promising new approach is generated by the necessity of humanity paying attention regarding water, air, and soil remediation. The materials that reversibly respond to stimuli from environments by changing their properties, so-called smart materials, are particularly promising as potential solutions to global environmental issues.

Smart Materials in Environmental Science is a Special Issue dedicated to this new class of materials, emphasizing their applications in environmental protection. Smart materials can minimize environmental impacts, increase energy and material efficiency use, enhance recyclability, etc.

Smart materials are used to develop more cost-effective and high-performance water and air treatment systems. They have been extensively used for treatment, remediation, and pollution prevention. For example, via smart materials, water can be reused, recycled, and desalinized without biological and chemical contamination.

For this issue, the following materials are some examples of those considered: Polymers, magnetic materials, adsorbents, nanomaterials applied in diverse fields, membranes, photocatalysts, nano- and mesoporous materials, inorganic polymeric materials (siloxanes, xerogels, geopolymers), thin films, glasses, ceramics, building materials, alloys, coating materials, biopolymers, zeolites and biozeolites, nano-insulation materials, carbon nanotubes, mixed oxides, hydroxyapatite, semiconductors, sensors, etc.

We kindly invite you to submit your research contribution in the form of a research article, communication or review for this Special Issue.

Assoc. Prof. Habil. Dr. Maria Harja
Prof. Dr. Gabriela Ciobanu
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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

  • Adsorbents
  • Membranes
  • Nano and mesoporous materials
  • Organic and inorganic polymers
  • Photocatalysts and photocatalysis
  • Water, air and soil depollution
  • Zeolites and biozeolites

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6618 KiB  
Article
Urea-Assisted Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO2 Photocatalysts for the Efficient Removal of Clofibric Acid from Water
by Lidia Favier, Amalia Maria Sescu, Elaziouti Abdelkader, Laurence Oughebbi Berthou and Doina Lutic
Materials 2021, 14(20), 6035; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14206035 - 13 Oct 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1836
Abstract
Mesoporous TiO2 photocatalysts intended for the advanced removal of clofibric acid (CA) from water were synthesized by the sol-gel method in a medium containing cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) and urea, using either ethanol or isopropanol to dilute the TiO2 precursor. The activation [...] Read more.
Mesoporous TiO2 photocatalysts intended for the advanced removal of clofibric acid (CA) from water were synthesized by the sol-gel method in a medium containing cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) and urea, using either ethanol or isopropanol to dilute the TiO2 precursor. The activation of the samples was undertaken at 550, 650 and 750 °C. The XRD revealed that the nature of the solvent resulted in significant differences in the anatase-to-rutile ratios obtained at different temperatures. The specific surface area values were situated between 9 and 43 m2·g−1 and the band gap values were similar for all the samples. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was examined for the degradation of CA, an emergent water contaminant. The photocatalytic tests performed under UV-A irradiation revealed that the photo-reactivity of these materials depends on the calcination temperature. The best results were obtained for the samples calcined at 750 °C, which showed high yields of CA elimination, as well as almost complete mineralization (over 95%) after 180 min of reaction. Good results in terms of catalyst reusability in the reaction were found for the catalyst showing the highest photo-reactivity. Therefore, the samples can be considered good candidates for future water remediation applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials in Environmental Science)
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16 pages, 5506 KiB  
Article
Application of Saccharomyces cerevisiae/Calcium Alginate Composite Beads for Cephalexin Antibiotic Biosorption from Aqueous Solutions
by Lăcrămioara Rusu, Cristina-Gabriela Grigoraș, Andrei-Ionuț Simion, Elena Mirela Suceveanu, Daniela Șuteu and Maria Harja
Materials 2021, 14(16), 4728; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164728 - 21 Aug 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2387
Abstract
Cephalexin (CPX) is recognized as a water pollutant, and it has been listed in a number of countries with a risk factor greater than one. Herein, the present work focused on the synthesis, characterization and biosorption capacity evaluation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized in [...] Read more.
Cephalexin (CPX) is recognized as a water pollutant, and it has been listed in a number of countries with a risk factor greater than one. Herein, the present work focused on the synthesis, characterization and biosorption capacity evaluation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized in calcium alginate as a biosorbent to remove CPX from aqueous solutions. Biosorbent was characterized by SEM and FTIR techniques. Batch biosorption experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the effect of the initial pH, biosorbent dose and CPX initial concentration. The removal efficiency, in considered optimal conditions (pH = 4, CPX initial concentration = 30 mg/L, biosorbent dose = 1 g/L) was 86.23%. CPX biosorption was found to follow the pseudo–second-order kinetics. The equilibrium biosorption data were a good fit for the Langmuir model with correlation coefficient of 0.9814 and maximum biosorption capacity was 94.34 mg/g. This study showed that the synthesized biosorbent by immobilization technique is a low-cost one, easy to obtain and handle, eco-friendly, with high feasibility to remove CPX antibiotic from aqueous solution. The findings of this study indicate that the biosorbents based on microorganisms immobilized on natural polymers have the potential to be applied in the treatment of wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials in Environmental Science)
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17 pages, 4611 KiB  
Article
Fly Ash Coated with Magnetic Materials: Improved Adsorbent for Cu (II) Removal from Wastewater
by Maria Harja, Gabriela Buema, Nicoleta Lupu, Horia Chiriac, Dumitru Daniel Herea and Gabriela Ciobanu
Materials 2021, 14(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14010063 - 25 Dec 2020
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3250
Abstract
Fly ash/magnetite material was used for the adsorption of copper ions from synthetic wastewater. The obtained material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and vibrating [...] Read more.
Fly ash/magnetite material was used for the adsorption of copper ions from synthetic wastewater. The obtained material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Batch adsorption experiments were employed in order to investigate the effects of adsorbent dose, initial Cu (II) concentration and contact time over adsorption efficiency. The experimental isotherms were modeled using Langmuir (four types of its linearization), Freundlich, Temkin, and Harkins–Jura isotherm models. The fits of the results are estimated according to the Langmuir isotherm, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 17.39 mg/g. The pseudo-second-order model was able to describe kinetic results. The data obtained throughout the study prove that this novel material represents a potential low-cost adsorbent for copper adsorption with improved adsorption capacity and magnetic separation capability compared with raw fly ash. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials in Environmental Science)
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15 pages, 4169 KiB  
Article
Eco-Friendly Materials Obtained by Fly Ash Sulphuric Activation for Cadmium Ions Removal
by Gabriela Buema, Nicoleta Lupu, Horia Chiriac, Tiberiu Roman, Marieta Porcescu, Gabriela Ciobanu, Daniela Vasilica Burghila and Maria Harja
Materials 2020, 13(16), 3584; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163584 - 13 Aug 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3111
Abstract
Wastes are the sustainable sources of raw materials for the synthesis of new adsorbent materials. This study has as objectives the advanced capitalization of fly ash, by sulphuric acid activation methods, and testing of synthesized materials for heavy metals removal. Based on the [...] Read more.
Wastes are the sustainable sources of raw materials for the synthesis of new adsorbent materials. This study has as objectives the advanced capitalization of fly ash, by sulphuric acid activation methods, and testing of synthesized materials for heavy metals removal. Based on the previous studies, the synthesis parameters were 1/3 s/L ratio, 80 °C temperature and 10% diluted sulphuric acid, which permitted the synthesis of an eco-friendly adsorbent. The prepared adsorbent was characterized through SEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD and BET methods. Adsorption studies were carried out for the removal of Cd2+ ions, recognized as ions dangerous for the environment. The effects of adsorbent dose, contact time and metal ion concentrations were studied. The data were tested in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm and it was found that the Langmuir isotherm fitted the adsorption with a maximum adsorption capacity of 28.09 mg/g. Kinetic data were evaluated with the pseudo-first-order model, the pseudo-second-order model and the intraparticle diffusion model. The kinetics of cadmium adsorption into eco-friendly material was described with the pseudo-second-order model, which indicated the chemisorption mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials in Environmental Science)
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12 pages, 1903 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Evaluation of Lignin-Containing Nanocellulose
by Donguk Kim, Jaehyeon Jeong, Ji-Ae Ryu, Sa Rang Choi, Jung Myoung Lee and Heeyoun Bunch
Materials 2020, 13(15), 3365; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13153365 - 29 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3129
Abstract
The increasing importance of environmental sustainability has led to the development of new materials that are environmentally friendly, functional, and cost-effective. Lignin-containing cellulose nanomaterials are a common example of these. The advantages of lignocelluloses include their renewability, sustainability, and functionality combined with molecular [...] Read more.
The increasing importance of environmental sustainability has led to the development of new materials that are environmentally friendly, functional, and cost-effective. Lignin-containing cellulose nanomaterials are a common example of these. The advantages of lignocelluloses include their renewability, sustainability, and functionality combined with molecular rigidity and enhanced hydrophobicity. In order to valorize these beneficial traits from lignin-containing nanocellulose, various approaches have been examined in industrial applications. However, the safety of these materials has not been tested or validated in humans. In this study, we tested 21 wt% lignin-containing nanocellulose (L-MFC) in vitro using the human lung and kidney cell lines, H460 and HEK293 cells, respectively. The cytotoxicity of cellulose, L-MFC, and lignin was compared using the water-soluble tetrazolium salt assays. In addition, the gene expressions of HSP70 and HSP90 as cellular stress markers treated with cellulose, L-MFC, and lignin were quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blotting. Our data indicated little cytotoxicity for cellulose and significant cytotoxicity for lignin and a relatively low level of cytotoxicity for L-MFC, providing the lethal median concentration (LC50) values of L-MFC and lignin. The gene expression of HSP70 and HSP90 was little affected by moderate concentrations of L-MFC. Interestingly, the lignin contained in L-MFC influenced the cell viability and the gene expression of HSP70 and HSP90 less than the same amount of lignin alone. These results indicate that L-MFC displays cell-type-dependent sensitivity and suggest that L-MFC could serve as a new eco-friendly material that is relatively safe for humans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials in Environmental Science)
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12 pages, 1360 KiB  
Article
Increased Sustainability of Carbon Dioxide Mineral Sequestration by a Technology Involving Fly Ash Stabilization
by Ahmad Assi, Stefania Federici, Fabjola Bilo, Annalisa Zacco, Laura E. Depero and Elza Bontempi
Materials 2019, 12(17), 2714; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12172714 - 24 Aug 2019
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 4400
Abstract
Mineral carbonation, involving reactions of alkaline earth oxides with CO2, has received great attention, as a potential carbon dioxide sequestration technology. Indeed, once converted into mineral carbonate, CO2 can be permanently stored in an inert phase. Several studies have been focalized [...] Read more.
Mineral carbonation, involving reactions of alkaline earth oxides with CO2, has received great attention, as a potential carbon dioxide sequestration technology. Indeed, once converted into mineral carbonate, CO2 can be permanently stored in an inert phase. Several studies have been focalized to the utilization of industrial waste as a feedstock and the reuse of some by-products as possible materials for the carbonation reactions. In this work municipal solid waste incineration fly ash and other ashes, as bottom ash, coal fly ash, flue gas desulphurization residues, and silica fume, are stabilized by low-cost technologies. In this context, the CO2 is used as a raw material to favor the chemical stabilization of the wastes, by taking advantage of the pH reduction. Four different stabilization treatments at room temperature are performed and the carbonation reaction evaluated for three months. The crystalline calcium carbonate phase was quantified by the Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Results highlight that the proposed stabilization strategy promotes CO2 sequestration, with the formation of different calcium carbonate phases, depending on the wastes. This new sustainable and promising technology can be an alternative to more onerous mineral carbonation processes for the carbon dioxide sequestration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials in Environmental Science)
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