Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
3.2
Journals
Energies
Special Issues
Bio-Inspired Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications
energies-logo
Submit to Energies Review for Energies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Bio-Inspired Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D1: Advanced Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 7337

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Samira Gharehkhani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
Interests: bio-based materials (nanocrystal cellulose and lignin); energy; emulsions; novel carbon nanomaterials; lightweight hydrogels; 3D-printed components; rheology of soft materials
Dr. Farid Seyed Shirazi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Manufacturing and Aerospace Engineering, Thunder Bay Campus, Confederation College, Thunder Bay, ON P7C 4W1, Canada
Interests: bioprinting; additive manufacturing; materials science; energy; nanomaterials
Prof. Dr. Anthony Anyia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6, Canada
Interests: Crop science, water use efficiency, bioconversion, biocatalysis, fermentation, value added bioproducts, pyrolysis, biochar

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Engineering of advanced materials that mimic natural matter structures and features stands among the most impressive themes in research. In this context, inspired by nature, various unique materials with hierarchically ordered structure, self-assembly characteristics, lightweight structures, and biocompatible, responsive, and conductive features have emerged as a promising class of functional materials, bio-inspired materials, for assorted applications. Of particular interest are energy and environmental applications where progress in implementation of bio-inspired materials has provided exciting developments in scientific research and depicted a roadmap to practical engineering.   

This Special Issue aims to cover recent trends in bio-inspired materials towards energy and environmental applications. This includes studies with emphasis on the synthesis, processing, and characterization of bio-inspired materials and their applications in energy conversion and storage systems (photovoltaic devices, fuel cells, solar cells, supercapacitors, and batteries), sensors and actuators, green fuel production, heat transfer, and adsorption and detection of pollutants, e.g., in water treatment processes.  

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. Full papers, short communications, and reviews will be greatly appreciated.

Dr. Samira Gharehkhani
Dr. Farid Seyed Shirazi
Prof. Dr. Anthony Anyia
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. Energies 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

  • Bio-inspired materials
  • Bio-inspired processes
  • Biomass
  • Conductive materials
  • Wearable energy devices
  • Energy conversion
  • Energy storage
  • Supercapacitors and batteries
  • Heat transfer
  • Pollutant adsorption
  • Water treatment
  • Bio-based nanofluids
  • Bio-based soft materials
  • Green chemicals and fuels

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 2613 KiB  
Communication
DEAP Actuator Composed of a Soft Pneumatic Spring Bias with Pressure Signal Sensing
by Jakub Bernat and Jakub Kołota
Energies 2021, 14(4), 1189; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14041189 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1823
Abstract
Dielectric electroactive actuators are novel and significant smart actuators. The crucial aspect of construction of these devices is the bias mechanism. The current literature presents three main types of biases used in the construction of the DEAP actuators. In these solutions, the bias [...] Read more.
Dielectric electroactive actuators are novel and significant smart actuators. The crucial aspect of construction of these devices is the bias mechanism. The current literature presents three main types of biases used in the construction of the DEAP actuators. In these solutions, the bias is caused by the action of a spring, a force of a permanent magnet or an applied mass. The purpose of this article is to present a novel type of DEAP bias mechanism using soft pneumatic spring. In contrast to the solutions presented so far, the soft pneumatic spring has been equipped with a sensor that measures the variable pressure of its inner chamber. We performed the modeling process of a soft pneumatic spring with the finite element method to predict its mechanical behavior. Furthermore, a prototype of the soft spring was molded and used to construct a dielectric electroactive polymer actuator. The principle of operation has been confirmed by the experiments with measurement of static and dynamics characteristics. The presented device can be used to control systems with an additional pressure-sensing feedback. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

31 pages, 5782 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Cellulose Nanofibers Preparation through Energy-Efficient Approaches: A Review
by Seyed Rahman Djafari Petroudy, Bruno Chabot, Eric Loranger, Maryam Naebe, Jamileh Shojaeiarani, Samira Gharehkhani, Behzad Ahvazi, Jinguang Hu and Sabu Thomas
Energies 2021, 14(20), 6792; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14206792 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 4491
Abstract
Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and their applications have recently gained significant attention due to the attractive and unique combination of their properties including excellent mechanical properties, surface chemistry, biocompatibility, and most importantly, their abundance from sustainable and renewable resources. Although there are some commercial [...] Read more.
Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and their applications have recently gained significant attention due to the attractive and unique combination of their properties including excellent mechanical properties, surface chemistry, biocompatibility, and most importantly, their abundance from sustainable and renewable resources. Although there are some commercial production plants, mostly in developed countries, the optimum CNF production is still restricted due to the expensive initial investment, high mechanical energy demand, and high relevant production cost. This paper discusses the development of the current trend and most applied methods to introduce energy-efficient approaches for the preparation of CNFs. The production of cost-effective CNFs represents a critical step for introducing bio-based materials to industrial markets and provides a platform for the development of novel high value applications. The key factor remains within the process and feedstock optimization of the production conditions to achieve high yields and quality with consistent production aimed at cost effective CNFs from different feedstock. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop