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Catalysts
Special Issues
Nanomaterials-Based Catalysts for Degradation of Pollutants
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Nanomaterials-Based Catalysts for Degradation of Pollutants

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 9737

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiaofeng Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Life and Environmental Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Interests: fluorescent sensing; pollutant degradation; CO2 reduction; photocatalysis; functional metal–organic frameworks materials; electronically excited states
Dr. Ihsanullah Ihsanullah

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Environment & Water (CEW) Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Interests: water treatment; membrane separations; adsorption; nanomaterials; carbon-based adsorbents; desalination; MXenes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the few decades, environmental pollution has become an increasingly serious issue due to the fast industrial development and expanded human activities. Polluted water and air, in turn, severely impair public health and harm the environment. Developing novel techniques for the removal of environmental contaminants, including organic dyes, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, metals and other toxic chemicals from water, and CO, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides from the air is of profound significance.

Nanomaterials are known as a class of materials structuring at least one external dimension that measures 100 nanometers. Nanomaterials-based catalysts have been widely used in the field of catalysis, biomedical application, information technologies, etc. due to their magnetic, electrical, optical and chemical properties benefiting from their unique structural characteristics. Various 0D, 1D and 2D nanomaterials have exhibited tremendous potential in the synthesis of novel catalysts for the degradation of toxic pollutants. These included (but are not limited to) nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphitic carbon nitride, MXenes, etc. These materials can be employed as the main catalyst or a co-catalyst, to enhance the characteristics of the traditional catalytic materials.

This Special Issue aims to cover the latest trends in nanomaterials-based catalysis for the degradation of environmental pollutants. Original research articles and reviews focusing on the development of nanomaterials-based catalysts and their application in the degradation of pollutants are welcome. Potential research topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Synthesis of novel nanomaterials-based catalysts;
  • Structural modulation and surface functionality;
  • Nanocomposites engineering;
  • Applications of nanomaterials-based catalysts in wastewater treatment;
  • Removal of emerging pollutants;
  • Air purification;
  • Nitrogen oxides removal.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Xiaofeng Chen
Dr. Ihsanullah Ihsanullah
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. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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

  • nanostructures
  • nanocomposites
  • catalysis
  • photocatalysis
  • electrocatalysis
  • wastewater treatment
  • air pollution
  • pollutant degradation
  • pollutant removal

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 5772 KiB  
Article
UV-Visible-Near-Infrared-Driven Photoelectrocatalytic Urea Oxidation and Photocatalytic Urea Fuel Cells Based on Ruddlensden–Popper-Type Perovskite Oxide La2NiO4
by Mingwen Xiong, Ying Tao, Lanlan Fu, Donglai Pan, Yuxin Shi, Tong Hu, Jiayu Ma, Xiaofeng Chen and Guisheng Li
Catalysts 2023, 13(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal13010053 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3018
Abstract
Photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis, as green and low-cost pollutant treatment technologies, have been widely used to simultaneously degrade pollutants and produce clean energy to solve the problems of environmental pollution and energy crisis. However, the disadvantages of photocatalysts in a narrow absorption range and [...] Read more.
Photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis, as green and low-cost pollutant treatment technologies, have been widely used to simultaneously degrade pollutants and produce clean energy to solve the problems of environmental pollution and energy crisis. However, the disadvantages of photocatalysts in a narrow absorption range and low utilization rate of solar energy still hinder the practical application. Here we fabricate two-dimensional porous Ruddlensden–Popper type nickel-based perovskite oxide La2NiO4 as a noble metal-free photoanode for photoelectrocatalytic urea oxidation under full spectrum sunlight irradiation. The transient photocurrent density under near infrared (NIR) light (λ > 800 nm) can reach 50 μA cm−2. Urea wastewater was used as the fuel to obtain low-energy hydrogen production, and round-the-clock hydrogen production was achieved with the optimal yield of 22.76 μmol cm−2 h−1. Moreover, a photocatalytic urea fuel cell (PUFC) was constructed with La2NiO4 as the photoanode. The power density under UV-vis-NIR was 0.575 μW cm−2. Surprisingly, the filling factor (FF) under NIR light was 0.477, which was much higher than those under UV-vis-NIR and visible light. The results demonstrated that PUFCs constructed from low-cost nickel-based perovskite oxides have potential applications for low-energy hydrogen production and efficient utilization of sunlight. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials-Based Catalysts for Degradation of Pollutants)
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17 pages, 4658 KiB  
Article
Integrated Adsorption-Photocatalytic Decontamination of Oxytetracycline from Wastewater Using S-Doped TiO2/WS2/Calcium Alginate Beads
by Rajeev Kumar, Mohammad Omaish Ansari, Md Abu Taleb, Mohammad Oves, Mohamed A. Barakat, Mansour A. Alghamdi and Naief H. Al Makishah
Catalysts 2022, 12(12), 1676; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12121676 - 19 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1688
Abstract
Integrated wastewater treatment processes are needed due to the inefficient removal of emerging pharmaceuticals by single methods. Herein, an adsorbent-photocatalyst integrated material was fabricated by coupling calcium alginate with sulfur-doped TiO2/tungsten disulfide (S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads) for the removal [...] Read more.
Integrated wastewater treatment processes are needed due to the inefficient removal of emerging pharmaceuticals by single methods. Herein, an adsorbent-photocatalyst integrated material was fabricated by coupling calcium alginate with sulfur-doped TiO2/tungsten disulfide (S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads) for the removal of oxytetracycline (OTC) from aqueous solution by an integrated adsorption-photocatalysis process. The semiconductor S-TiO2/WS2 hybrid photocatalyst was synthesized with a hydrothermal method, while the integrated adsorbent-photocatalyst S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads were synthesized by blending S-TiO2/WS2 with sodium alginate using calcium chloride as a precipitating agent. The physicochemical characteristics of S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads were analyzed using X-ray diffraction , scanning electron microscopy, elemental mapping, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The integrated adsorption-photocatalysis process showed enhanced removal from 92.5 to 72%, with a rise in the OTC concentration from 10 to 75 mg/L respectively. The results demonstrated that the adsorption of OTC onto S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads followed the Elovich kinetic model and Redlich–Peterson isotherm models. The formations of H-bonds, cation bridge bonding, and n-π electron donor-acceptor forces were involved in the adsorption of OCT onto S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads. In the integrated adsorption-photocatalysis, surface-adsorbed OTC molecules were readily decomposed by the photogenerated active radical species (h⁺, O2•−, and HO•). The persulfate addition to the OTC solution further increased the photocatalysis efficacy due to the formation of additional oxidizing species (SO4•⁻, SO4⁻). Moreover, S-TiO2/WS2/alginate beads showed favorable efficiency and sustainability in OTC removal, approaching 78.6% after five cycles. This integrated adsorption-photocatalysis process offered significant insight into improving efficiency and reusability in water treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials-Based Catalysts for Degradation of Pollutants)
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20 pages, 3923 KiB  
Article
Biodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene by Decorating Rhodococcus erythropolis IGTS8 Using Montmorillonite/Graphitic Carbon Nitride
by Nika Yavani Hasanbeik, Mehrab Pourmadadi, Azam Ghadami, Fatemeh Yazdian, Abbas Rahdar and George Z. Kyzas
Catalysts 2022, 12(11), 1450; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12111450 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1399
Abstract
Fossil fuels are the main sources of human energy, but their combustion releases toxic compounds of sulfur oxide. In the oil industry, using the optimal methods to eliminate sulfur compounds from fossil fuels is a very important issue. In this study, the performance [...] Read more.
Fossil fuels are the main sources of human energy, but their combustion releases toxic compounds of sulfur oxide. In the oil industry, using the optimal methods to eliminate sulfur compounds from fossil fuels is a very important issue. In this study, the performance of montmorillonite/graphitic carbon nitride (a new hybrid nanostructure) in increasing the biodesulfurization activity of Rhodococcus erythropolis IGTS8 was investigated. X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used for the characterization of the nanoparticles. The effective factors in this process were determined. Optimum conditions for microorganisms were designed using the Design Expert software. Experiments were performed in a flask. The results indicated that the biodesulfurization activity of a microorganism in the presence of the nanostructure increases by 52%. In addition, in the presence of the nanostructure, the effective factors are: 1. concentration of the nanostructure; 2. concentration of sulfur; 3. cell concentration. In the absence of the nanostructure, the only effective factor is the concentration of sulfur. Through analysis of variance, the proposed models were presented to determine the concentration of the 2-hydroxy biphenyl produced by the microorganisms (biodesulfurization activity) in the presence and absence of the nanostructure. The proposed models were highly acceptable and consistent with experimental data. The results of a Gibbs assay showed that the biodesulfurization efficiency of in the presence of the nanostructure was increased by about 52%, which is a very satisfactory result. The biodesulfurization activity of decorated cells in a bioreactor showed a significant increase compared with nondecorated cells. Almost a two-fold improvement in biodesulfurization activity was obtained for decorated cells compared with free cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials-Based Catalysts for Degradation of Pollutants)
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23 pages, 6036 KiB  
Article
Efficient Removal of Eriochrome Black T (EBT) Dye and Chromium (Cr) by Hydrotalcite-Derived Mg-Ca-Al Mixed Metal Oxide Composite
by Anjaneyulu Chatla, Ismail W. Almanassra, Viktor Kochkodan, Tahar Laoui, Hussain Alawadhi and Muataz Ali Atieh
Catalysts 2022, 12(10), 1247; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12101247 - 16 Oct 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3046
Abstract
Eriochrome Black T (EBT) and chromium (Cr) are considered to be potential pollutants due to their toxicity and severe impact on the environment. In the current study, hydrotalcite-derived Mg-Ca-Al-LDO mixed metal oxide composite was prepared using a conventional co-precipitation method and explored in [...] Read more.
Eriochrome Black T (EBT) and chromium (Cr) are considered to be potential pollutants due to their toxicity and severe impact on the environment. In the current study, hydrotalcite-derived Mg-Ca-Al-LDO mixed metal oxide composite was prepared using a conventional co-precipitation method and explored in terms of the removal of Cr and EBT dye from aqueous solution in a batch mode adsorption process. The prepared Mg-Ca-Al-LDH, Mg-Ca-Al-LDO and spent Mg-Ca-Al-LDO adsorbents were characterized to propose the adsorption mechanism. Different adsorption parameters were examined, such as adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, pH, reaction temperature and contact time. The EBT adsorption kinetic results matched strongly with the pseudo-second-order model for both Cr (R2 = 0.991) and EBT (R2 = 0.999). The Langmuir isotherm model exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 65.5 mg/g and 150.3 mg/g for Cr and EBT, respectively. The structure and morphology results obtained after Cr and EBT dye adsorption reveal that the adsorption mechanism is associated with electrostatic interactions and surface complexation of Cr and EBT dye with Mg-Ca-Al-LDO surface functional groups. Moreover, more than 84% of the initial adsorption capacity of EBT and Cr can be achieved on the Mg-Ca-Al-LDO surface after five adsorption/desorption cycles. Finally, the Mg-Ca-Al-LDO mixed metal oxide composite can be potentially used as a cost-effective adsorbent for wastewater treatment processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials-Based Catalysts for Degradation of Pollutants)
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