molecules-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Special Issue "Advances in Composite Photocatalysts"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2024 | Viewed by 1611

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Carbon Technology, Jeonju University, Jeonju 55069, Republic of Korea
Interests: nanocomposite synthesis; fabrication; characterization of novel nanomaterials; novel semiconductor photocatalysts; photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants; photocatalytic overall water splitting; electrochemical overall water splitting; wastewater treatment; photocatalytic VOCs degradation
New & Renewable Energy Materials Development Center (NewREC), School of Chemical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
Interests: nanomaterials; energy; characterization; nanoengineering; gas sensors; environmental remediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental contamination has grown in recent years as a result of industrialization and the widespread use of chemicals, threatening both human health and aquatic life. Water bodies are immediately impacted by the pollutants that result from numerous industries, such as food coloring, dyeing, printing, and textiles, which contain a variety of untreated chemicals. These pollutants can cause severe disease in humans, including gastrointestinal pain, nausea, headache, ocular injuries, dizziness, and anemia, in addition to harming aquatic and other 

organisms. It is therefore essential to remove dangerous chemicals from wastewater before introducing it to the aquatic environment. However, the complex structure makes the removal quite difficult. For this reason, various research groups are looking for sustainable methods to resolve this serious issue. Regarding sustainability, the photocatalytic technique is the appropriate choice. Composite-based photocatalysts are currently being investigated in great detail in a number of disciplines, including the purification of wastewater, water splitting, supercapacitors, H2 production, CO2 reduction, and other applications. Due to their interesting properties, composite materials are receiving more and more attention.

The goal of this Special Issue is to address the current research focusing on “Advances in Composite Photocatalysts”. We welcome researchers to contribute original research papers, reviews, or communications that cover topics including but not limited to the following: the synthesis, fabrication, characterization, reaction mechanism, and photocatalytic applications of composite materials, nanocomposite materials, carbon-based materials, semiconductor composites, and metal–semiconductor composites; wastewater treatment; water splitting; organic pollutants; heterojunction; energy storage etc.

Dr. Md. Abu Hanif
Prof. Dr. M. Shaheer Akhtar
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. 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

  • composite material
  • nanocomposite material
  • synthesis and characterization
  • photocatalysis
  • wastewater treatment
  • water splitting
  • organic pollutants
  • heterojunction

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 4165 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Photoelectrocatalytic TiO2-Co3O4/Co(OH)2 Materials Prepared from Bio-Based Surfactants for Water Splitting
Molecules 2023, 28(22), 7599; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28227599 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 300
Abstract
The development of new photoanode materials for hydrogen production and water treatment is in full progress. In this context, hybrid TiO2-Co3O4/Co(OH)2 photoanodes prepared using the sol–gel method using biosurfactants are currently being developed by our group. [...] Read more.
The development of new photoanode materials for hydrogen production and water treatment is in full progress. In this context, hybrid TiO2-Co3O4/Co(OH)2 photoanodes prepared using the sol–gel method using biosurfactants are currently being developed by our group. The combination of TiO2 with a cobalt-based compound significantly enhances the visible absorption and electrochemical performance of thin films, which is mainly due to an increase in the specific surface area and a decrease in the charge transfer resistance on the surface of the thin films. The formation of these composites allows for a 30-fold increase in the current density when compared to cobalt-free materials, with the best TiO2-CoN0.5 sample achieving a current of 1.570 mA.cm−2 and a theoretical H2 production rate of 0.3 µmol.min−1.cm−2 under xenon illumination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Composite Photocatalysts)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

18 pages, 12675 KiB  
Article
Selectivity of Sol-Gel and Hydrothermal TiO2 Nanoparticles towards Photocatalytic Degradation of Cationic and Anionic Dyes
Molecules 2023, 28(19), 6834; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196834 - 27 Sep 2023
Viewed by 721
Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles have been extensively studied for catalyzing the photo-degradation of organic pollutants, the photocatalyst being nonselective to the substrate. We, however, found that TiO2 nanoparticles prepared via the sol-gel and hydrothermal synthetic routes each possess a definite [...] Read more.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles have been extensively studied for catalyzing the photo-degradation of organic pollutants, the photocatalyst being nonselective to the substrate. We, however, found that TiO2 nanoparticles prepared via the sol-gel and hydrothermal synthetic routes each possess a definite specificity to the charge of the substrate for photodegradation. The nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, and UV-visible spectra, and the photocatalytic degradation under UV-B (285 nm) irradiation of two model compounds, anionic methyl Orange (MO) and cationic methylene blue (MB) was monitored by a UV-visible spectrophotometer. Untreated sol-gel TiO2 nanoparticles (Tsg) preferentially degraded MO over MB (90% versus 40% in two hours), while after calcination at 400 °C for two hours (Tsgc) they showed reversed specificity (50% MO versus 90% MB in one hour). The as-prepared hydrothermal TiO2 nanoparticles (Tht) behaved in the opposite sense of Tsg (41% MO versus 91% MB degraded in one and a half hours); calcination at 400 °C (Thtc) did not reverse the trend but enhanced the efficiency of degradation. The study indicates that TiO2 nanoparticles can be made to degrade a specific class of organic pollutants from an effluent facilitating the recycling of a specific class of pollutants for cost-effective effluent management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Composite Photocatalysts)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop