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Nanomaterials
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Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications
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Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 June 2019) | Viewed by 47627

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marco Stoller

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, University Sapienza of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy
Interests: chemical engineering; process development and control; process intensification; wastewater treatment processes; nanoparticles production; membrane processes; membrane fouling; photocatalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Javier Miguel Ochando-Pulido

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: water and wastewater treatment; advanced oxidation processes and advanced separation by ion exchange and membrane technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Luca Di Palma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering Materials & Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
Interests: wastewater treatment; soil remediation; nano materials for environmental remediation
Prof. Dr. Hongxun Hao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Crystallization Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
2. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: photocatalysis; production; crystallization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue on “Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications”. Nanotechnologies have shown great potential for novel clean energy production and transportation, water preparation, wastewater treatment, air depollution and soil remediation.

We welcome the contributions of researchers and engineers from universities and institutions as well as stakeholders from industry, to present recent advances, new approaches, novel synthesis routes, production equipment or processes and enhanced materials on the application of nanotechnologies for energy and the environment.

We hope you may assist reporting your work within this Special Issue, in order to finalize and gather a collection of the most relevant contributions in this field together.

Prof. Marco Stoller
Prof. Javier Miguel Ochando Pulido
Prof. Luca Di Palma
Prof. Hongxun Hao
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. Nanomaterials 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 2900 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

  • nanotechnologies
  • wastewater remediation
  • water preparation
  • soil remediation
  • nanoparticle production
  • energy

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 4437 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Fe/Ni Bimetallic Nanoparticles and Application to the Catalytic Removal of Nitrates from Water
by Gunay G. Valiyeva, Irene Bavasso, Luca Di Palma, Sevinj R. Hajiyeva, Mahammadali A. Ramazanov and Flora V. Hajiyeva
Nanomaterials 2019, 9(8), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9081130 - 6 Aug 2019
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5432
Abstract
This work investigated the effectiveness of zerovalent iron and Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles in the treatment of water polluted by a high concentration of nitrates. Nanoparticle synthesis was carried out by a sodium borohydride reduction method in the presence of sodium oleate as a [...] Read more.
This work investigated the effectiveness of zerovalent iron and Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles in the treatment of water polluted by a high concentration of nitrates. Nanoparticle synthesis was carried out by a sodium borohydride reduction method in the presence of sodium oleate as a surfactant. The particles were characterized by XRD and SEM. Batch experiments were conducted on water samples contaminated by 300 mg L−1 of nitrate. The parameters investigated were the Fe/Ni dosage (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 g L−1) and the reaction pH (unbuffered; buffered at pH = 3; initial pH = 3, 5, and 10). The results showed that almost complete nitrate removal (>99.8%) was always achieved after 15 min at a concentration of bimetallic nanoparticles higher than 0.2 g L−1. The optimization of bimetallic nanoparticle dosage was carried out at a fixed pH. Kinetic study tests were then performed at different temperatures to assess the effect of temperature on the nitrate removal rate. By fixing the pH at acidic values and with an operating temperature of 303 K, nitrates were completely removed after 1 min of treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications)
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20 pages, 4103 KiB  
Article
Nanopore Structure and Fractal Characteristics of Lacustrine Shale: Implications for Shale Gas Storage and Production Potential
by Lei Chen, Zhenxue Jiang, Shu Jiang, Keyu Liu, Wei Yang, Jingqiang Tan and Fenglin Gao
Nanomaterials 2019, 9(3), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9030390 - 7 Mar 2019
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3425
Abstract
In order to better understand nanopore structure and fractal characteristics of lacustrine shale, nine shale samples from the Da’anzhai Member of Lower Jurassic Ziliujing Formation in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern (SW) China were investigated by total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) [...] Read more.
In order to better understand nanopore structure and fractal characteristics of lacustrine shale, nine shale samples from the Da’anzhai Member of Lower Jurassic Ziliujing Formation in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern (SW) China were investigated by total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and low-pressure N2 adsorption. Two fractal dimensions D1 and D2 (at the relative pressure of 0–0.5 and 0.5–1, respectively) were calculated from N2 adsorption isotherms using the Frenkel–Halsey–Hill (FHH) equation. The pore structure of the Lower Jurassic lacustrine shale was characterized, and the fractal characteristics and their controlling factors were investigated. Then the effect of fractal dimensions on shale gas storage and production potential was discussed. The results indicate that: (1) Pore types in shale are mainly organic-matter (OM) and interparticle (interP) pores, along with a small amount of intraparticle (intraP) pores, and that not all grains of OM have the same porosity. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas of shale samples range from 4.10 to 8.38 m2/g, the density-functional-theory (DFT) pore volumes range from 0.0076 to 0.0128 cm3/g, and average pore diameters range from 5.56 to 10.48 nm. (2) The BET surface area shows a positive correlation with clay minerals content and quartz content, but no obvious relationship with TOC content. The DFT pore volume shows a positive correlation with TOC content and clay minerals content, but a negative relationship with quartz content. In addition, the average pore diameter shows a positive correlation with TOC content and a negative relationship with quartz content, but no obvious relationship with clay minerals content. (3) Fractal dimension D1 is mainly closely associated with the specific surface area of shale, suggesting that D1 may represent the pore surface fractal dimension. Whereas fractal dimension D2 is sensitive to multiple parameters including the specific surface area, pore volume, and average pore diameter, suggesting that D2 may represent the pore structure fractal dimension. (4) Shale with a large fractal dimension D1 and a moderate fractal dimension D2 has a strong capacity to store both adsorbed gas and free gas, and it also facilitates the exploitation and production of shale gas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications)
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14 pages, 2839 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Radiation Tolerance of Tungsten Nanoparticles to He Ion Irradiation
by Emily Aradi, Jacob Lewis-Fell, Robert W. Harrison, Graeme Greaves, Anamul H. Mir, Stephen E. Donnelly and Jonathan A. Hinks
Nanomaterials 2018, 8(12), 1052; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8121052 - 14 Dec 2018
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3826
Abstract
Materials exposed to plasmas in magnetic confinement nuclear reactors will accumulate radiation-induced defects and energetically implanted gas atoms (from the plasma and transmutations), of which insoluble helium (He) is likely to be the most problematic. The large surface-area-to-volume ratio exhibited by nanoporous materials [...] Read more.
Materials exposed to plasmas in magnetic confinement nuclear reactors will accumulate radiation-induced defects and energetically implanted gas atoms (from the plasma and transmutations), of which insoluble helium (He) is likely to be the most problematic. The large surface-area-to-volume ratio exhibited by nanoporous materials provides an unsaturable sink with the potential to continuously remove both point defects and He. This property enhances the possibilities for these materials to be tailored for high radiation-damage resistance. In order to explore the potential effect of this on the individual ligaments of nanoporous materials, we present results on the response of tungsten (W) nanoparticles (NPs) to 15 keV He ion irradiation. Tungsten foils and various sizes of NPs were ion irradiated concurrently and imaged in-situ via transmission electron microscopy at 750 °C. Helium bubbles were not observed in NPs with diameters less than 20 nm but did form in larger NPs and the foils. No dislocation loops or black spot damage were observed in any NPs up to 100 nm in diameter but were found to accumulate in the W foils. These results indicate that a nanoporous material, particularly one made up of ligaments with characteristic dimensions of 30 nm or less, is likely to exhibit significant resistance to He accumulation and structural damage and, therefore, be highly tolerant to radiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications)
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14 pages, 17859 KiB  
Article
Investigation on Microstructure of Beetle Elytra and Energy Absorption Properties of Bio-Inspired Honeycomb Thin-Walled Structure under Axial Dynamic Crushing
by Jianxun Du and Peng Hao
Nanomaterials 2018, 8(9), 667; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8090667 - 27 Aug 2018
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6555
Abstract
The beetle elytra requires not only to be lightweight to make a beetle fly easily, but also to protect its body and hind-wing from outside damage. The honeycomb sandwich structure in the beetle elytra make it meet the above requirements. In the present [...] Read more.
The beetle elytra requires not only to be lightweight to make a beetle fly easily, but also to protect its body and hind-wing from outside damage. The honeycomb sandwich structure in the beetle elytra make it meet the above requirements. In the present work, the microstructures of beetle elytra, including biology layers and thin-walled honeycombs, are observed by scanning electron microscope and discussed. A new bionic honeycomb structure (BHS) with a different hierarchy order of filling cellular structure is established. inspired by elytra internal structure. Then the energy absorbed ability of different bionic models with the different filling cell size are compared by using nonlinear finite element software LS-DYNA (Livermore Software Technology Corp., Livermore, CA, USA). Numerical results show that the absorbed energy of bionic honeycomb structures is increased obviously with the increase of the filling cell size. The findings indicate that the bionic honeycomb structure with second order has an obviously improvement over conventional structures filled with honeycombs and shows great potential for novel clean energy absorption equipment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications)
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15 pages, 6257 KiB  
Article
Highly Efficient and Reusable Montmorillonite/Fe3O4/Humic Acid Nanocomposites for Simultaneous Removal of Cr(VI) and Aniline
by Haijiao Lu, Jingkang Wang, Fei Li, Xin Huang, Beiqian Tian and Hongxun Hao
Nanomaterials 2018, 8(7), 537; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8070537 - 17 Jul 2018
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4379
Abstract
Recyclable nanomaterials are in great need to develop clean technology for applications in the removal of water contaminants. In this work, easily separable montmorillonite/Fe3O4/humic acid (MFH) nanocomposites were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal route. It was found the adsorption [...] Read more.
Recyclable nanomaterials are in great need to develop clean technology for applications in the removal of water contaminants. In this work, easily separable montmorillonite/Fe3O4/humic acid (MFH) nanocomposites were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal route. It was found the adsorption ability and stability of MFH was significantly enhanced due to the synergistic effects between montmorillonite, Fe3O4 nanoparticles and humic acid. The MFH nanocomposites are highly efficient and recyclable as they can remove at least 82.3% of Cr(VI) and 95.1% of aniline in six consecutive runs. The adsorption mechanism was investigated by analyzing the kinetic parameters of pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models and describing the equilibrium isotherms of Langmuir and Freundlich models. Results indicated different adsorption mechanisms of Cr(VI) and aniline by MFH. The readily synthesized MFH nanocomposites can act as effective and practical materials for environmental applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications)
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Review

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39 pages, 5331 KiB  
Review
Nanomaterials for the Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater
by Jinyue Yang, Baohong Hou, Jingkang Wang, Beiqian Tian, Jingtao Bi, Na Wang, Xin Li and Xin Huang
Nanomaterials 2019, 9(3), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9030424 - 12 Mar 2019
Cited by 492 | Viewed by 22708
Abstract
Removal of contaminants in wastewater, such as heavy metals, has become a severe problem in the world. Numerous technologies have been developed to deal with this problem. As an emerging technology, nanotechnology has been gaining increasing interest and many nanomaterials have been developed [...] Read more.
Removal of contaminants in wastewater, such as heavy metals, has become a severe problem in the world. Numerous technologies have been developed to deal with this problem. As an emerging technology, nanotechnology has been gaining increasing interest and many nanomaterials have been developed to remove heavy metals from polluted water, due to their excellent features resulting from the nanometer effect. In this work, novel nanomaterials, including carbon-based nanomaterials, zero-valent metal, metal-oxide based nanomaterials, and nanocomposites, and their applications for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater were systematically reviewed. Their efficiency, limitations, and advantages were compared and discussed. Furthermore, the promising perspective of nanomaterials in environmental applications was also discussed and potential directions for future work were suggested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications)
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