Advanced Photocatalytic Nanomaterials for Environmental and Energy Applications

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 2669

Special Issue Editors

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Interests: photocatalytic; semiconductor nanomaterials; wastewater treatment; energy and environmental applications
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Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Interests: photocatalytic; semiconductor nanomaterials; wastewater treatment; energy and environmental applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the depletion of fossil resources (coal, oil, natural gas), and the environmental pollution caused by the massive use of them, it is urgent to develop renewable energy. The development and utilization of solar energy is of great significance to the energy security and ecological civilization construction of a country. Photocatalytic technology, which can directly convert solar energy into high value-added fuel and chemical materials, or degrade a wide range of organic pollutants into easily degradable intermediates or less toxic small molecular substances, is regarded as one of the most important ways to solve the global energy shortage and environmental pollution problem. Photocatalytic nanomaterials, such as metal oxides, chalcogenides, chalcohalides, perovskites, transition metal carbide or nitride (MXene), carbon-based materials, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) due to the benefits of being easy to separate, absorbing the sunlight, and having numerous active sites have gained significant attention. However, the photocatalytic activity of nanomaterials to date has hardly satisfied the efficiency values required for this promising strategy due to kinetic limitations. The catalyst design, preparation, and modification are proposed to overcome the significant problems existing in the field of modern photocatalysis. Hence, there are extremely high requirements for the development of efficient photocatalysts and the understanding of the principle of photocatalytic water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction, nitrogen reduction, and other processes.

This Special Issue will present comprehensive research outlining progress on the application of nanomaterials in photocatalytic technology. This includes the utilization of modification methods, mechanism exploration, and the construction of new kinds of structures to improve performance in photocatalytic applications. We invite authors to contribute original research articles and review articles covering the current progress in the field of photocatalytic nanomaterials.

Dr. Rui Li
Dr. Jianxin Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • photocatalytic technology
  • semiconductor nanomaterials
  • solar energy
  • wastewater degradation
  • water splitting
  • hydrogen energy
  • ammonia synthesis

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 9440 KiB  
Article
SiC@FeZnZiF as a Bifunctional Catalyst with Catalytic Activating PMS and Photoreducing Carbon Dioxide
by Zhiqi Zhu, Liaoliao Yang, Zhaodong Xiong, Daohan Liu, Binbin Hu, Nannan Wang, Oluwafunmilola Ola and Yanqiu Zhu
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(10), 1664; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13101664 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2048
Abstract
Herein, we encapsulated modified silicon carbide nanoparticles utilizing a metal–organic backbone. E-SiC-FeZnZIF composites were successfully prepared via Fe doping. The catalysis activity of this bifunctional composite material was evaluated by the degradation of tetracycline (THC) and carbamazepine (CBZ) and the reduction of carbon [...] Read more.
Herein, we encapsulated modified silicon carbide nanoparticles utilizing a metal–organic backbone. E-SiC-FeZnZIF composites were successfully prepared via Fe doping. The catalysis activity of this bifunctional composite material was evaluated by the degradation of tetracycline (THC) and carbamazepine (CBZ) and the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2). Nano SiC has received widespread attention in advanced oxidation applications, especially in the catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). However, the inferior activity of SiC has severely restricted its practical use. In this study of dual functional composite materials, nano SiC was firstly etched under aqueous alkali. Then, zeolite imidazolate frame-8 (ZIF-8) was used for immobilization. The filling of the etched nano SiC with FeZnZiF was confirmed by SEM, XRD, FTIR, BET, and XPS analyses. In addition, E-SiC-FeZnZIF exhibited excellent catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to oxidize water pollutants, which can degrade tetracycline hydrochloride (THC), achieving a removal rate of 72% within 60 min. Moreover, E-SiC-FeZnZIF exhibited a relatively high CO2 reduction rate with H2O. The yields of CO and CH4 were 0.085 and 0.509 μmol g−1, respectively, after 2 h, which are higher than that of 50 nm of commercial SiC (CO: 0.084 μmol g−1; CH4: 0.209 μmol g−1). This work provides a relatively convenient synthesis path for constructing metal skeleton composites for advanced oxidation and photocatalytic applications. This will have practical significance in protecting water bodies and reducing CO2, which are vital not only for maintaining the natural ecological balance and negative feedback regulation, but also for creating a new application carrier based on nano silicon carbide. Full article
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16 pages, 7060 KiB  
Article
Development of MOF Based Recyclable Photocatalyst for the Removal of Different Organic Dye Pollutants
by Narasimharao Kitchamsetti, Chidurala Shilpa Chakra, Ana Lucia Ferreira De Barros and Daewon Kim
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(2), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13020336 - 13 Jan 2023
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2817
Abstract
The preparation of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) has come to the forefront in recent years because of their outstanding physical and chemical properties. Many MOFs such as Zn, Co, Ni, Fe, and Ag, etc., have been successfully synthesized. In this work, we followed [...] Read more.
The preparation of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) has come to the forefront in recent years because of their outstanding physical and chemical properties. Many MOFs such as Zn, Co, Ni, Fe, and Ag, etc., have been successfully synthesized. In this work, we followed the solvothermal assisted route to synthesize Ag-MOF (abbreviated as AMOF) nanosheets and then applied them as a photocatalyst to remove different organic pollutants, namely methyl orange (MO), crystal violet (CV), and methylene blue (MB). Chemical composition, optical properties, morphology, and microstructural analysis were analyzed using XPS, UV-visible spectrophotometer, FESEM, TEM, and EDS, respectively. The structural properties of AMOF nanosheets were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherm analysis were utilized to evaluate the specific surface area and pore size of the AMOF nanosheets. Further, AMOF nanosheets showed notable photocatalytic performance for various dye pollutants degradation. The results confirmed 74.5, 85.5, and 90.7% of MO, CV, and MB dye pollutants removal after 120 min of irradiation with the rate constants (k) of 0.0123, 0.0153, and 0.0158 min−1, respectively. The effect of superoxide radicals (O2) and photogenerated holes (h+) on the organic dye pollutants removal was investigated using radical scavenger trapping studies. Moreover, the stability study also confirmed the recyclability of the photocatalyst. Therefore, the findings of this research present a realizable method to grow AMOF photocatalyst for successful degradation of various dye pollutants. Full article
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