Recent Developments Mediated by Semiconductor and metal-Semiconductor Catalyst/Photocatalysts
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 250
Special Issue Editor
Interests: nanoscience; photonics; photochemistry; photobiology; optics; femtosecond laser spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The design and synthesis of more advanced innovative semiconductor materials are needed at the present time. The objective is to accelerate the kinetics, the stability and yield of materials mediating photocatalytic reactions in chemical transformations. These innovative materials should present a practical potential in the field of heterogeneous catalysis/photocatalysis. The actual processes are too slow and inefficient when mediating a variety of industrial chemical processes and therefore, are not applied in large-scale processes. This research area includes semiconductors, solid solutions, heterojunction nanocomposites and metal/semiconductor (M/S) nanocomposites. Of special interest are M/S hybrid nanoparticles showing synergistic properties, leading to higher and more performing functionalities compared with the single components. The M/S nanocomposite photocatalysts lead charge separation in the semiconductors under light irradiation. But more is needed to sort-out further the details of these processes. Metal-semiconductor interfaces are known to absorb visible light absorption. The synthesis of second-generation composites is of topical/actual interest. Innovative routes leading to more advanced nanocomposites presenting absorption in the visible light region should be the focus of studies since they intervene in processes activated by solar energy. Diverse M/S nanocomposite photocatalysts with different structures have been developed for the application in environmental remediation, selective organic transformation, hydrogen evolution and disinfection. The photo-generated charge carriers generated in M/S-nanocomposites act as reduction or oxidation species after diffusing to the surface of the catalyst/photocatalysts. Studies addressing the design, synthesis, evaluation of the chemical kinetics and characterization of the surface properties of M/S photocatalysts may provide a more advanced understanding of the reactions in this area. This is lacking today. A rational design of advanced functional groups in innovative nanocomposites should lead to this important goal in the solar energy field.
Prof. Victor A. Nadtochenko
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.
