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Nanomaterials
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Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment
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Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2023) | Viewed by 21811

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Evangelos P. Favvas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Demokritos National Centre for Scientific Research, 15341 Athens, Greece
Interests: experimental study of gas separation using mem-branes and sorbents as well as the in situ study of the condensation process using combination of X-ray scattering and adsorption techniques; preparation and evaluation of new hybrid porous materials (met-al-doped, silica-based materials, CNTs, graphene, etc.) with emphasis on energy and environmental applications; the development of new methods for the gaseous nanobubbles preparation and the investigation of their properties in the surface and colloidal science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Porous materials have applications in a wide range of research and industrial processes. Food industry, agricultural products, biomedical and pharmaceutical technology, wood processing, urban construction, ceramic products, gas separation, filtration processes, drying, and catalysts are just a few examples. The scientific interest has increased in the investigation of the porous nanomaterial properties—especially the properties of hybrid porous nanomaterials. As hybrid nanomaterials contain two or more different components, typically inorganic and organic components which are brought together by specific interactions, the result is the synergistic enhancement of their chemical and functional properties. These new enhanced properties have stirred the interest of both academy and industry towards energy, environment, and health applications. Hybrid nanoporous materials can provide solutions in numerous applications, such as fuel cells, batteries, sensors and bio-sensors, building materials, gas separation and storage processes, catalytic reactions, and water treatment processes, to name a few.

Within this context, this Special Issue entitled “Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment” aims to compile relevant contributions exhibiting the potentialities of emerging hybrid porous nanomaterials with potential applications bilaterally in energy and the environment. We particularly welcome experimental and modeling articles, as well as some review articles dealing with the most significant progress in preparation, properties investigation, as well as processes and technologies of hybrid porous nanomaterials.

Dr. Evangelos P. Favvas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • porous materials
  • hybrid materials
  • synergetic mechanism
  • membranes
  • adsorbents
  • catalysts
  • Metal-organic Frameworks
  • MOFs
  • sensors
  • energy
  • environment

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 182 KiB  
Editorial
Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment
by Evangelos P. Favvas
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(14), 2471; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12142471 - 19 Jul 2022
Viewed by 1172
Abstract
Porous materials have applications in a wide range of research and industrial processes [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

15 pages, 5167 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Impedance as an Assessment Tool for the Investigation of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Graphene-Based Cementitious Nanocomposites
by Eirini Tziviloglou, Zoi S. Metaxa, George Maistros, Stavros K. Kourkoulis, Dionysios S. Karousos, Evangelos P. Favvas and Nikolaos D. Alexopoulos
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(19), 2652; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13192652 - 27 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1253
Abstract
This investigation explores the potential of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in evaluating graphene-based cementitious nanocomposites, focusing on their physical and structural properties, i.e., electrical resistivity, porosity, and fracture toughness. EIS was employed to study cement mixtures with varying graphene nanoplatelet (xGnP) concentrations (0.05–0.40% [...] Read more.
This investigation explores the potential of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in evaluating graphene-based cementitious nanocomposites, focusing on their physical and structural properties, i.e., electrical resistivity, porosity, and fracture toughness. EIS was employed to study cement mixtures with varying graphene nanoplatelet (xGnP) concentrations (0.05–0.40% per dry cement weight), whereas flexural tests assessed fracture toughness and porosimetry analyses investigated the structural characteristics. The research demonstrated that the electrical resistivity initially decreased with increasing xGnP content, leveling off at higher concentrations. The inclusion of xGnPs correlated with an increase in the total porosity of the cement mixtures, which was indicated by both EIS and porosimetry measurements. Finally, a linear correlation emerged between fracture toughness and electrical resistivity, contributing also to underscore the use of EIS as a potent non-destructive tool for evaluating the physical and mechanical properties of conductive nano-reinforced cementitious nanocomposites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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19 pages, 4062 KiB  
Article
Chromium(VI) Removal from Water by Lanthanum Hybrid Modified Activated Carbon Produced from Coconut Shells
by Athanasia K. Tolkou, Soultana Trikalioti, Olina Makrogianni, Maria Xanthopoulou, Eleni A. Deliyanni, Ioannis A. Katsoyiannis and George Z. Kyzas
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(7), 1067; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12071067 - 24 Mar 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2647
Abstract
Cr(VI) is considered to be the most hazardous and toxic oxidation state of chromium and hence the development of effective removal technologies, able to provide water with Cr(VI) below the drinking water limits (US EPA 100 μg/L, European Commission 50 μg/L, which will [...] Read more.
Cr(VI) is considered to be the most hazardous and toxic oxidation state of chromium and hence the development of effective removal technologies, able to provide water with Cr(VI) below the drinking water limits (US EPA 100 μg/L, European Commission 50 μg/L, which will be reduced to 25 by 2036) is a very important issue in water treatment. This study aimed at examining the performance of activated carbon produced from coconut shells, modified by lanthanum chloride, for Cr(VI) removal from waters. The structure of the formed material (COC-AC-La) was characterized by the application of BET, FTIR and SEM techniques. The effect of the adsorbent’s dosage, pH value, contact time, initial Cr(VI) concentration and water matrix was examined with respect to Cr(VI) removal. The results indicated that the maximum Cr(VI) removal was observed at pH 5; 4 h contact time and 0.2 g/L of adsorbent’s dosage was adequate to reduce Cr(VI) from 100 μg/L to below 25 μg/L. Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic models fitted the experimental data sufficiently. The maximum adsorption capacity achieved was 6.3 μg/g at pH 5. At this pH value, the removal percentage of Cr(VI) reached 95% for an initial Cr(VI) concertation of 30 μg/L. At pH 7 the corresponding efficiency was roughly 60%, resulting in residual Cr(VI) concentrations below the anticipated drinking water limit of 25 μg/L of total chromium, when the initial Cr(VI) concentration was 50 μg/L. Consecutive adsorption and regeneration studies were conducted using 0.01 M of NaOH as an eluent to evaluate the reusability of the adsorbents, Results showed 20% decrease of adsorption capacity after 5 regeneration cycles of operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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16 pages, 4184 KiB  
Article
Dispersion of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes into White Cement Mortars: The Effect of Concentration and Surfactants
by Zoi S. Metaxa, Spyridoula Boutsioukou, Maria Amenta, Evangelos P. Favvas, Stavros K. Kourkoulis and Nikolaos D. Alexopoulos
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(6), 1031; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12061031 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3638
Abstract
Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) exhibit exceptional mechanical and electrical properties and can be used to improve the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of cement-based materials. In the present study, the effect of different MWCNT concentrations as well as different types of surfactants and a [...] Read more.
Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) exhibit exceptional mechanical and electrical properties and can be used to improve the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of cement-based materials. In the present study, the effect of different MWCNT concentrations as well as different types of surfactants and a superplasticizer were examined to reinforce, at the nanoscale, a white cement mortar typically used for the restoration of monuments of cultural heritage. It was shown that sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and Triton X-100 surfactants slightly decreased the white cement mortars’ electrical resistivity (by an average of 10%), however, the mechanical properties were essentially decreased by an average of 60%. The most suitable dispersion agent for the MWCNTs proved to be the superplasticizer Ceresit CC198, and its optimal concentration was investigated for different MWCNT concentrations. Carboxylation of the MWCNT surface with nitric acid did not improve the mechanical performance of the white cement nanocomposites. The parametric experimental study showed that the optimum combination of 0.8 wt% of cement superplasticizer and 0.2 wt% of cement MWCNTs resulted in a 60% decrease in the electrical resistivity; additionally, the flexural and compressive strengths were both increased by approximately 25% and 10%, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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15 pages, 3284 KiB  
Article
CFD Development of a Silica Membrane Reactor during HI Decomposition Reaction Coupling with CO2 Methanation at Sulfur–Iodine Cycle
by Milad Mohammad Alinejad, Kamran Ghasemzadeh, Adolfo Iulianelli, Simona Liguori and Milad Ghahremani
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(5), 824; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12050824 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2229
Abstract
In this work, a novel structure of a hydrogen-membrane reactor coupling HI decomposition and CO2 methanation was proposed, and it was based on the adoption of silica membranes instead of metallic, according to their ever more consistent utilization as nanomaterial for hydrogen [...] Read more.
In this work, a novel structure of a hydrogen-membrane reactor coupling HI decomposition and CO2 methanation was proposed, and it was based on the adoption of silica membranes instead of metallic, according to their ever more consistent utilization as nanomaterial for hydrogen separation/purification. A 2D model was built up and the effects of feed flow rate, sweep gas flow rate and reaction pressure were examined by CFD simulation. This work well proves the feasibility and advantage of the membrane reactor that integrates HI decomposition and CO2 methanation reactions. Indeed, two membrane reactor systems were compared: on one hand, a simple membrane reactor without proceeding towards any CO2 methanation reaction; on the other hand, a membrane reactor coupling the HI decomposition with the CO2 methanation reaction. The simulations demonstrated that the hydrogen recovery in the first membrane reactor was higher than the methanation membrane reactor. This was due to the consumption of hydrogen during the CO2 methanation reaction, occurring in the permeate side of the second membrane reactor system, which lowered the amount of hydrogen recovered in the outlet streams. After model validation, this theoretical study allows one to evaluate the effect of different operating parameters on the performance of both the membrane reactors, such as the pressure variation between 1 and 5 bar, the feed flow rate between 10 and 50 mm3/s and the sweep gas flow rate between 166.6 and 833.3 mm3/s. The theoretical predictions demonstrated that the best results in terms of HI conversion were 74.5% for the methanation membrane reactor and 67% for the simple membrane reactor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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11 pages, 3533 KiB  
Article
Electronic Structure and d-Band Center Control Engineering over Ni-Doped CoP3 Nanowall Arrays for Boosting Hydrogen Production
by Jing Qi, Tianli Wu, Mengyao Xu, Dan Zhou and Zhubing Xiao
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(6), 1595; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11061595 - 17 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2788
Abstract
To address the challenge of highly efficient water splitting into H2, successful fabrication of novel porous three-dimensional Ni-doped CoP3 nanowall arrays on carbon cloth was realized, resulting in an effective self-supported electrode for the electrocatalytic hydrogen-evolution reaction. The synthesized samples [...] Read more.
To address the challenge of highly efficient water splitting into H2, successful fabrication of novel porous three-dimensional Ni-doped CoP3 nanowall arrays on carbon cloth was realized, resulting in an effective self-supported electrode for the electrocatalytic hydrogen-evolution reaction. The synthesized samples exhibit rough, curly, and porous structures, which are beneficial for gaseous transfer and diffusion during the electrocatalytic process. As expected, the obtained Ni-doped CoP3 nanowall arrays with a doping concentration of 7% exhibit the promoted electrocatalytic activity. The achieved overpotentials of 176 mV for the hydrogen-evolution reaction afford a current density of 100 mA cm−2, which indicates that electrocatalytic performance can be dramatically enhanced via Ni doping. The Ni-doped CoP3 electrocatalysts with increasing catalytic activity should have significant potential in the field of water splitting into H2. This study also opens an avenue for further enhancement of electrocatalytic performance through tuning of electronic structure and d-band center by doping. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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14 pages, 2057 KiB  
Article
Solar-Powered Photodegradation of Pollutant Dyes Using Silver-Embedded Porous TiO2 Nanofibers
by Jerry Zhi Xiong Heng, Karen Yuanting Tang, Michelle D. Regulacio, Ming Lin, Xian Jun Loh, Zibiao Li and Enyi Ye
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(4), 856; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11040856 - 27 Mar 2021
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 3159
Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterials have been ubiquitously investigated as a photocatalyst for organic contaminant treatment in wastewater due to their exemplary semiconductor properties. However, their huge band gap remains a barrier for visible light absorption, limiting their utility in practical applications. [...] Read more.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterials have been ubiquitously investigated as a photocatalyst for organic contaminant treatment in wastewater due to their exemplary semiconductor properties. However, their huge band gap remains a barrier for visible light absorption, limiting their utility in practical applications. The incorporation of noble metals in the TiO2 scaffold would help mitigate the problem via plasmonic resonance enhancements. Silver (Ag) is the chosen noble metal as it is relatively cheap and has great plasmonic effects. In this study, the use of electrospun Ag-embedded TiO2 nanofibers as a photocatalyst is shown to be effective in decomposing rhodamine B and methyl orange dyes under a solar simulator in 3 h, which is more efficacious as opposed to pristine TiO2 nanofibers. This showcases the potential of a simple and economic wastewater treatment system for the removal of organic pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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10 pages, 1868 KiB  
Article
Coating of Conducting and Insulating Threads with Porous MOF Particles through Langmuir-Blodgett Technique
by Sakandar Rauf, Miguel A. Andrés, Olivier Roubeau, Ignacio Gascón, Christian Serre, Mohamed Eddaoudi and Khaled N. Salama
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(1), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11010160 - 10 Jan 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3653
Abstract
The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method is a well-known deposition technique for the fabrication of ordered monolayer and multilayer thin films of nanomaterials onto different substrates that plays a critical role in the development of functional devices for various applications. This paper describes detailed studies [...] Read more.
The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method is a well-known deposition technique for the fabrication of ordered monolayer and multilayer thin films of nanomaterials onto different substrates that plays a critical role in the development of functional devices for various applications. This paper describes detailed studies about the best coating configuration for nanoparticles of a porous metal-organic framework (MOF) onto both insulating or conductive threads and nylon fiber. We design and fabricate customized polymethylmethacrylate sheets (PMMA) holders to deposit MOF layers onto the threads or fiber using the LB technique. Two different orientations, namely, horizontal and vertical, are used to deposit MIL-96(Al) monolayer films onto five different types of threads and nylon fiber. These studies show that LB film formation strongly depends on deposition orientation and the type of threads or fiber. Among all the samples tested, cotton thread and nylon fiber with vertical deposition show more homogenous monolayer coverage. In the case of conductive threads, the MOF particles tend to aggregate between the conductive thread’s fibers instead of forming a continuous monolayer coating. Our results show a significant contribution in terms of MOF monolayer deposition onto single fiber and threads that will contribute to the fabrication of single fiber or thread-based devices in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Porous Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment)
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