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Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition
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Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Photochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 3523

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ruowen Liang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fujian Province University Key Laboratory of Green Energy and Environment Catalysis, Ningde Normal University, Ningde, China
Interests: metal–organic frameworks; environmental catalysis; chemical conversion of solar energy; dynamics of photogenerated carriers; interface engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the first Special Issue, "Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications”, we are launching a second edition titled “Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition” and invite submissions from selected experts in this field.

Photocatalysis is an advanced technique that transforms solar energy into sustainable fuels and oxidizes pollutants via the aid of semiconductor photocatalysts. The main scientific and technological challenges for effective photocatalysis are the stability, robustness, and efficiency of semiconductor photocatalysts. For practical applications, developments in energy conversion (i.e., hydrogen evolution, CO2 reduction, and oriented synthesis) and environmental remediation (i.e., air purification, antibacteria and wastewater treatment) for highly efficient and stable photocatalysts are needed. This Special Issue plans to offer an opportunity for the publication of original research regarding the synthesis of novel photocatalytic materials and their application in energy conversion and environmental remediation.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Photocatalytic performance;
  • Photocatalytic semiconductor materials;
  • Metal-organic frameworks;
  • Mechanisms of photocatalytic process;
  • Role of photocatalysts in environment;
  • Role of photocatalysts in energy.   

Dr. Ruowen Liang
Guest Editor

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. Molecules 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 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

  • photocatalyst
  • nano materials
  • metal–organic frameworks
  • environment
  • energy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4097 KiB  
Article
Boosting Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity of BiOCl Nanosheets via Synergetic Effect of Oxygen Vacancy Engineering and Graphene Quantum Dots-Sensitization
by Zisheng Shi, Wei Chen, Yin Hu, Fen Zhang, Lingling Wang, Dan Zhou, Xuanye Chen and Sugang Meng
Molecules 2024, 29(6), 1362; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29061362 - 19 Mar 2024
Viewed by 470
Abstract
In recent years, oxygen vacancy (VO) engineering has become a research hotspot in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, an efficient GQDs/BiOCl-VO heterojunction photocatalyst was fabricated by loading graphene quantum dots (GQDs) onto BiOCl nanosheets containing oxygen vacancies. ESR and XPS [...] Read more.
In recent years, oxygen vacancy (VO) engineering has become a research hotspot in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, an efficient GQDs/BiOCl-VO heterojunction photocatalyst was fabricated by loading graphene quantum dots (GQDs) onto BiOCl nanosheets containing oxygen vacancies. ESR and XPS characterizations confirmed the formation of oxygen vacancy. Combining experimental analysis and DFT calculations, it was found that oxygen vacancy promoted the chemical adsorption of O2, while GQDs accelerated electron transfer. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancy, GQDs, and dye sensitization, the as-prepared GQDs/BiOCl-VO sample exhibited improved efficiency for RhB degradation under visible-light irradiation. A 2 wt% GQDs/BiOCl-VO composite effectively degraded 98% of RhB within 20 min. The main active species were proven to be hole (h+) and superoxide radical (·O2−) via ESR analysis and radical trapping experiments. This study provided new insights into the effective removal of organic pollutants from water by combining defect engineering and quantum dot doping techniques in heterojunction catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition)
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21 pages, 12034 KiB  
Article
Broad Spectral Response FeOOH/BiO2−x Photocatalyst with Efficient Charge Transfer for Enhanced Photo-Fenton Synergistic Catalytic Activity
by Pengfei Wu, Yufei Qin, Mengyuan Gao, Rui Zheng, Yixin Zhang, Xinli Li, Zhaolong Liu, Yingkun Zhang, Zhen Cao and Qingling Liu
Molecules 2024, 29(4), 919; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29040919 - 19 Feb 2024
Viewed by 688
Abstract
In this work, to promote the separation of photogenerated carriers, prevent the catalyst from photo-corrosion, and improve the photo-Fenton synergistic degradation of organic pollutants, the coating structure of FeOOH/BiO2−x rich in oxygen vacancies was successfully synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly [...] Read more.
In this work, to promote the separation of photogenerated carriers, prevent the catalyst from photo-corrosion, and improve the photo-Fenton synergistic degradation of organic pollutants, the coating structure of FeOOH/BiO2−x rich in oxygen vacancies was successfully synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly two-step process of hydrothermal and chemical deposition. Through a series of degradation activity tests of synthesized materials under different conditions, it was found that FeOOH/BiO2−x demonstrated outstanding organic pollutant degradation activity under visible and near-infrared light when hydrogen peroxide was added. After 90 min of reaction under photo-Fenton conditions, the degradation rate of Methylene Blue by FeOOH/BiO2−x was 87.4%, significantly higher than the degradation efficiency under photocatalysis (60.3%) and Fenton (49.0%) conditions. The apparent rate constants of FeOOH/BiO2−x under photo-Fenton conditions were 2.33 times and 3.32 times higher than photocatalysis and Fenton catalysis, respectively. The amorphous FeOOH was tightly coated on the layered BiO2−x, which significantly increased the specific surface area and the number of active sites of the composites, and facilitated the improvement of the separation efficiency of the photogenerated carriers and the prevention of photo-corrosion of BiO2−x. The analysis of the mechanism of photo-Fenton synergistic degradation clarified that ·OH, h+, and ·O2− are the main active substances involved in the degradation of pollutants. The optimal degradation conditions were the addition of the FeOOH/BiO2−x composite catalyst loaded with 20% Fe at a concentration of 0.5 g/L, the addition of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 8 mM, and an initial pH of 4. This outstanding catalytic system offers a fresh approach to the creation and processing of iron-based photo-Fenton catalysts by quickly and efficiently degrading various organic contaminants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 4579 KiB  
Article
Effects of Temperature, Axial Ligand, and Photoexcitation on the Structure and Spin-State of Nickel(II) Complexes with Water-Soluble 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin
by Máté Miklós Major, Zsolt Valicsek and Ottó Horváth
Molecules 2024, 29(2), 310; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29020310 - 08 Jan 2024
Viewed by 631
Abstract
Water-soluble metalloporphyrins, depending on the metal center, possess special spectral, coordination, and photochemical features. In nickel(II) porphyrins, the Ni(II) center can occur with low-spin or high-spin electronic configuration. In aqueous solution, the cationic nickel(II) complex (Ni(II)TMPyP4+, where H2TMPyP4+ [...] Read more.
Water-soluble metalloporphyrins, depending on the metal center, possess special spectral, coordination, and photochemical features. In nickel(II) porphyrins, the Ni(II) center can occur with low-spin or high-spin electronic configuration. In aqueous solution, the cationic nickel(II) complex (Ni(II)TMPyP4+, where H2TMPyP4+ = 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin), exists in both forms in equilibrium. In this study, an equilibrium system involving the low-spin and high-spin forms of Ni(II)TMPyP4+ was investigated via application of irradiation, temperature change, and various potential axial ligands. Soret band excitation of this aqueous system, in the absence of additional axial ligands, resulted in a shift in the equilibrium toward the low-spin species due to the removal of axial solvent ligands. The kinetics and the thermodynamics of the processes were also studied via determination of the rate and equilibrium constants, as well as the ΔS, ΔH, and ΔG values. Temperature increase had a similar effect. The equilibrium of the spin isomers was also shifted by decreasing the solvent polarity (using n-propanol) as well as by the addition of a stronger coordinating axial ligand (such as ammonia). Since triethanolamine is an efficient electron donor in Ni(II)TMPyP4+-based photocatalytic systems, its interaction with this metalloporphyin was also studied. The results promote the development of efficient photocatalytic systems based on this complex. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 1497 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Spatial Confining Effect and O Vacancy in WO3 Hollow Sphere for Enhanced N2 Reduction
by Yuzhou Xia, Xinghe Xia, Shuying Zhu, Ruowen Liang, Guiyang Yan, Feng Chen and Xuxu Wang
Molecules 2023, 28(24), 8013; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28248013 - 08 Dec 2023
Viewed by 723
Abstract
Visible-light-driven N2 reduction into NH3 in pure H2O provides an energy-saving alternative to the Haber–Bosch process for ammonia synthesizing. However, the thermodynamic stability of N≡N and low water solubility of N2 remain the key bottlenecks. Here, we propose [...] Read more.
Visible-light-driven N2 reduction into NH3 in pure H2O provides an energy-saving alternative to the Haber–Bosch process for ammonia synthesizing. However, the thermodynamic stability of N≡N and low water solubility of N2 remain the key bottlenecks. Here, we propose a solution by developing a WO3−x hollow sphere with oxygen vacancies. Experimental analysis reveals that the hollow sphere structure greatly promotes the enrichment of N2 molecules in the inner cavity and facilitates the chemisorption of N2 onto WO3−x-HS. The outer layer’s thin shell facilitates the photogenerated charge transfer and the full exposure of O vacancies as active sites. O vacancies exposed on the surface accelerate the activation of N≡N triple bonds. As such, the optimized catalyst shows a NH3 generation rate of 140.08 μmol g−1 h−1, which is 7.94 times higher than the counterpart WO3-bulk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition)
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11 pages, 6451 KiB  
Article
Preparation, Characterization, Photochromic Properties, and Mechanism of PMoA/ZnO/PVP Composite Film
by Tiehong Song, Jinyao Li, Qiyuan Deng and Yanjiao Gao
Molecules 2023, 28(22), 7605; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28227605 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 697
Abstract
A novel photochromic heteropolyacid-based composite film consisting of phosphomolybdic acid (PMoA), ZnO, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was fabricated by a sol–gel process. The microstructure and photochromic properties of the PMoA/ZnO/PVP were characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron [...] Read more.
A novel photochromic heteropolyacid-based composite film consisting of phosphomolybdic acid (PMoA), ZnO, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was fabricated by a sol–gel process. The microstructure and photochromic properties of the PMoA/ZnO/PVP were characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The FTIR spectra showed that the basic structures of ZnO and PVP, and the Keggin structure of PMoA in the PMoA/ZnO/PVP composite film, had not been destroyed during the preparation. The TEM images demonstrated that ZnO presented a rod-like structure, while PMoA was spherical, and many PMoA balls adhered to the surface of the ZnO rods. The XPS spectra of Mo 3d indicated that the valency of Mo atoms in the PMoA/ZnO/PVP was changed by visible light exposure. After visible light irradiation, the PMoA/ZnO/PVP varied from slight yellow to blue, while undergoing an opposite color change upon heating. The discoloration mechanism of the PMoA/ZnO/PVP was consistent with the photoelectron transfer mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Photocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications, 2nd Edition)
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