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Gels
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Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd Edition)
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Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2024 | Viewed by 3329

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luca Burratti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University of Rome, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: material science; hydrogels; water remediation; optical properties of materials; noble metal nanomaterials; 3D photo-printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paolo Prosposito

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Cracovia n.50, 00133 Roma, Italy
Interests: optical sensors; silver nanoparticles; surface plasmon resonance; optical absorption; heavy metal ions; hybrid solgel based films; fluorescencent waveguides; 3D printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Iole Venditti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University of Rome via della Vasca navale 79, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; inorganic chemistry; drug delivery; sensing; optical materials; photonics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As Guest Editors of the Special Issue “Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd edition)” in Gels, we would like to invite you to contribute to its success. Based on your valuable expertise in this research field, we are confident that you can submit a manuscript that meets the journal’s criteria for significance and scientific excellence.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the synthesis, characterization, and application of functionalized or doped matrices (e.g., hydrogels, aerogels, or sol–gels) for environmental purposes such as the sensing or removal of different toxic analytes. The chemical functional groups or the doping materials such as noble metal nanostructures, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, etc., play several roles, donating further features to the host matrix, such as particular optical, mechanical, or electrical properties, and interacting with the surrounding environment. In addition, the employment of hosting matrices increases the handling and portability, and opens new horizons for in situ environmental applications.

Experimental and theoretical scientific research in environmental applications are warmly welcome.

Dr. Luca Burratti
Dr. Paolo Prosposito
Dr. Iole Venditti
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.

Keywords

  • functionalized matrices
  • doped matrices
  • gels
  • noble metal nanoparticles
  • noble metal nanoclusters
  • quantum dots
  • sensing
  • remediation of environment
  • heavy metal ions
  • pesticides
  • toxic gaseous compounds

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 5826 KiB  
Article
Heavy Metal Removal from Wastewater Using Poly(Gamma-Glutamic Acid)-Based Hydrogel
by Fujie Chen, Yanbin Zhao, Hang Zhao, Xuan Zhou and Xiuying Liu
Gels 2024, 10(4), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040259 - 11 Apr 2024
Viewed by 355
Abstract
The removal of toxic heavy metal ions from wastewater is of great significance in the protection of the environment and human health. Poly(gamma-glutamic acid) (PGA) is a non-toxic, biodegradable, and highly water-soluble polymer possessing carboxyl and imino functional groups. Herein, water-insoluble PGA-based hydrogels [...] Read more.
The removal of toxic heavy metal ions from wastewater is of great significance in the protection of the environment and human health. Poly(gamma-glutamic acid) (PGA) is a non-toxic, biodegradable, and highly water-soluble polymer possessing carboxyl and imino functional groups. Herein, water-insoluble PGA-based hydrogels were prepared, characterized, and investigated as heavy metal adsorbents. The prepared hydrogels were recyclable and exhibited good adsorption effects on heavy metal ions including Cu2+, Cr6+, and Zn2+. The effects of adsorption parameters including temperature, solution pH, initial concentration of metal ions, and contact time on the adsorption capacity of the hydrogel for Cu2+ were investigated. The adsorption was a spontaneous and exothermic process. The process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, implying a physical and monolayer adsorption. The adsorption mechanisms investigation exhibited that Cu2+ adsorbed on the hydrogel via electrostatic interactions with anionic carboxylate groups of PGA in addition to the coordination interactions with the –NH groups. Importantly, the PGA hydrogel exhibited good reusability and the adsorption capability for Cu2+ remained high after five consecutive cycles. The properties of PGA hydrogel make it a potential candidate material for heavy metal ion removal in wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd Edition))
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15 pages, 10297 KiB  
Article
Gel-Embedded Biochar and Hydroxyapatite Composite for the Improvement of Saline-Alkali Soil and Plant Growth Promotion
by Xin Hu, Weiqin Ma, Lhamo Pasang, Jiansheng Li and Haoming Chen
Gels 2024, 10(4), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040222 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 554
Abstract
Soil amendments play a crucial role in modern agriculture, as they effectively enhance the planting environment. This study innovatively proposes the use of gel as a crosslinking agent to embed biochar and hydroxyapatite (HAP), thereby preparing a novel soil amendment. Furthermore, this study [...] Read more.
Soil amendments play a crucial role in modern agriculture, as they effectively enhance the planting environment. This study innovatively proposes the use of gel as a crosslinking agent to embed biochar and hydroxyapatite (HAP), thereby preparing a novel soil amendment. Furthermore, this study investigates the soil improvement effects of this amendment as well as its influence on plant growth. This study employed a hydrothermal method to combine corn stalk (CB) or sludge (SB) biochar with HAP at different ratios (0–20%). Subsequently, sodium alginate gel (SA) was utilized to encapsulate the biochar and minerals, successfully forming a ternary composite gel material (corn stalk biochar/sludge biochar–sodium alginate gel-hydroxyapatite: CB/SB-SA-HAP). Finally, the practical effectiveness of this amendment was verified through potted soil experiments. The results indicate that the CB/SB-SA-HAP composite materials exhibited a micrometre-scale spherical structure with well-developed micropores and possess the functional groups of CB/SB, SA, and HAP, along with unique mineral properties. Through pot experiments, it was verified that the composite material effectively enhances multiple soil properties. After 21 days of cultivation, the soil pH values stabilized within the neutral range (pH = 7 ± 0.3) across all treatment groups. Except for the CB0 (CB:HAP = 1:0) and CB2.0 (CB:HAP = 1:2) treatments, the remaining treatments significantly reduced the soil EC values by 3.27% to 47.92%. All treatments significantly increased the contents of alkali-hydrolysable nitrogen (AHN) (34.89~57.91%), available phosphorus (AP) (35.93~56.55%), and available potassium (AK) (36.41~56.80%) in the soil. In comparison, although the SB treatment was more effective in regulating the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of saline–alkali soil than the CB treatment, it was less effective in promoting plant growth in the short term. Through correlation analysis and redundancy analysis, a significant positive correlation was found between soil pH and ryegrass germination rate and plant height, particularly with the most pronounced impact on soil pH observed in the CB1.0 and SB0 (SB:HAP = 1:0) treatments. This study underscores the potential of CB/SB-SA-HAP composite materials in soil improvement and plant growth promotion, providing valuable insights for soil remediation, enhancement, and plant cultivation advancements in the agricultural sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd Edition))
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12 pages, 4882 KiB  
Article
Aerogel for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation
by Xue-Chun Yang and Jing-Tai Zhao
Gels 2024, 10(2), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10020100 - 26 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1127
Abstract
Photocatalysis is one of the effective ways to degrade pollutant antibiotics. Agar is used as the adsorption module to provide abundant pore structure. Carbon dots (CDs) are selected as light energy conversion components. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is used [...] Read more.
Photocatalysis is one of the effective ways to degrade pollutant antibiotics. Agar is used as the adsorption module to provide abundant pore structure. Carbon dots (CDs) are selected as light energy conversion components. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is used as the main material of the catalyst. Agar/CDs/g-C3N4-functionalized aerogel with a unique 3D pore structure is assembled. The Agar/CDs/g-C3N4 aerogel shows the highest photocurrent density, which is 3.7 times that of agar, 2.4 times that of 3-g-C3N4 and 1.6 times that of Agar/g-C3N4 aerogel. Compared with 3-g-C3N4 and Agar/g-C3N4 aerogel, which can completely remove AMX after 75 min, Agar/CDs/g-C3N4 aerogel can degrade amoxicillin (AMX) completely after 45 min of illumination. The reason is that Agar/CDs/g-C3N4 aerogel has a larger specific surface area, richer functional groups, a wider spectral range, higher photocurrent density and better carrier migration and separation efficiency. It is a good strategy with which to combine the effects of each component in the ternary system for the efficient photocatalysis of organic pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd Edition))
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11 pages, 3664 KiB  
Article
Copper Ion Removal Using a Waste-Plastic-Derived Hydrogel Adsorbent Prepared via Microwave-Assisted PET Aminolysis
by Kayee Chan, Masami Kawai, Mina Yamake and Anatoly Zinchenko
Gels 2023, 9(11), 874; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9110874 - 03 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1052
Abstract
Despite the tremendous progress in the development of functional materials from plastic waste to promote its recycling, only a few examples of hydrogel materials from plastic waste were reported. In this study, microwave-assisted depolymerization of waste PET plastic using polyamine was performed to [...] Read more.
Despite the tremendous progress in the development of functional materials from plastic waste to promote its recycling, only a few examples of hydrogel materials from plastic waste were reported. In this study, microwave-assisted depolymerization of waste PET plastic using polyamine was performed to prepare short aminophthalamide oligomers followed by chemically cross-linking into a hydrogel material. Catalyst-free microwave-assisted aminolysis of PET was completed within 30–40 s, demonstrating high efficiency of the depolymerization reaction. Subsequent epoxy cross-linking of the oligomers yielded a hydrogel with a swelling degree of ca. 92.1 times in pure water. The application of the obtained hydrogel for the removal of copper ions (Cu2+) from water was demonstrated. Efficient complexation of NH2 groups of the hydrogel with Cu2+ resulted in high adsorption capacities of the hydrogel material toward Cu2+ removal, which were the highest at neutral pHs and reached ca. 213 mg/g. The proposed type of environmental material is beneficial owing to its waste-derived nature and functionality that can be applied for the high-efficiency removal of a broad scope of known environmental pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Gels for Environmental Applications (2nd Edition))
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