Gel-Based Adsorbent Materials for Environmental Remediation

Dear Colleagues,

Gels have a 3D polymeric network with remarkable physicochemical properties, such as excellent water absorption and retention capacity, good pollutant adsorption capacity, and reversible swelling ability. Their biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic nature makes them highly suitable for diverse water treatment applications that employ adsorption, filtration, and membrane separation techniques. Gel-based materials are distinguished as organogels or hydrogels and can be derived from natural or synthetic sources. The various synthetic methods for preparing gels, employing a variety of precursors and composite strategies, afford adsorbent materials with diverse functionality and applications in pure water harvesting, sequestration of organic and inorganic pollutants, and oil–water separation. The structural properties of the gels determine their utility in removing polar or apolar organic pollutants and cationic or anionic inorganic particles for tailored applications. For example, the introduction of metallic–organic frameworks (MOFs) into hydrogels imparts superior physicochemical properties, such as surface area, porosity, functional groups, mechanical stability, and recoverability for improved and tailored adsorption performance. Similarly, supramolecular-based gel materials manifest responsiveness to external stimuli, making them more versatile as smart adsorbent materials. This Special Issue focuses on the use of gels for the adsorption of pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, dyes, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals) from aqueous solutions. We welcome original research papers, reviews, communications, and short papers that highlight the preparation, characterization, structure–function relationship, and advantages or challenges of using gel-based materials for applications in environmental remediation.

Dr. Inimfon A. Udoetok
Dr. Abdalla H. Karoyo
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. Gels 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 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.

• gels
• environmental remediation
• adsorbent
• adsorption
• crosslinking
• smart materials
• structure–function
• water harvesting