Material Innovation and Technology Enhancement: Synergistic Pathways for Building Decarbonization

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 454

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China
Interests: recycled aggregate concrete; phase change concrete; low-carbon cementitious materials; solid waste utilization; building energy efficiency; green building

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China
Interests: low-carbon cementitious materials; carbon-mineralized cementitious materials; solid waste utilization; admixtures; filling materials; patching material
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global building sector contributes approximately 40% of energy consumption and carbon emissions, making its low-carbon transformation crucial for achieving carbon neutrality goals. This Special Issue will delve into core pathways for deep decarbonization across the entire building life cycle. Research focusing on the critical role of low-carbon building materials (such as alkali-activated cementitious materials, recycled aggregates, and phase-change materials) in reducing embodied carbon during the construction phase—alongside the fundamental value of advanced energy-saving technologies (including high-performance building envelopes, building integrated photovoltaics, and renewable energy integration) in cutting operational carbon during the use phase—is welcome. Significantly, this Special Issue encourages exploration of systemic synergies and integrated strategies between material-based source emission reduction and technology-driven long-term energy efficiency. We welcome original research and reviews focusing on material innovation, technology optimization, performance assessment, multi-scale modeling, policy–economic analysis, and practical engineering applications. Contributions should aim to advance comprehensive low-carbon solutions covering the entire building process—from planning and design to construction, operation, and maintenance—providing solid scientific foundations and practical guidance for deep decarbonization in the building sector.

Dr. Yichao Zhang
Dr. Yanfeng Fang
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. Buildings 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 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

  • alkali-activated cementitious materials
  • recycled aggregates
  • phase-change materials
  • high-performance building envelopes
  • building integrated photovoltaics
  • renewable energy integration
  • solid waste utilization
  • green building

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2148 KB  
Article
Impact of Urban Building-Integrated Photovoltaics on Local Air Quality
by Le Chang, Yukuan Dong, Yichao Zhang, Jiatong Liu, Juntong Cui and Xin Liu
Buildings 2025, 15(19), 3445; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15193445 - 23 Sep 2025
Viewed by 245
Abstract
Amidst the global energy structure transition and intensification of climate warming, the temperature control targets of the Paris Agreement and China’s “dual carbon” goals have driven the rapid development of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). However, solar cells in BIPV systems may produce exhaust gases [...] Read more.
Amidst the global energy structure transition and intensification of climate warming, the temperature control targets of the Paris Agreement and China’s “dual carbon” goals have driven the rapid development of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). However, solar cells in BIPV systems may produce exhaust gases that affect local urban air quality if exposed to extreme environmental conditions such as high temperatures during operation. In this study, eight air quality monitoring points were established around the BIPV system at Shenyang Jianzhu University as the experimental group, along with one additional air quality monitoring point serving as a control group. The concentrations of four air pollutant indicators (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2) were monitored continuously for 14 days. The weight of each indicator was calculated using the principle of information entropy, and the air quality evaluation grades were determined by combining the homomorphic inverse correlation function. The Entropy-Weighted Set Pair Analysis model was applied to evaluate the air quality of the BIPV system at Shenyang Jianzhu University. The results indicated that due to the high concentrations of SO2 and NO2, the Air Quality Index (AQI) grade at Shenyang Jianzhu University was classified as “light pollution.” Corresponding recommendations were proposed to promote the sustainable development of urban BIPV. Simultaneously, the evaluation results of the Entropy-Weighted Set Pair Analysis model were similar to those obtained using other methods, demonstrating the feasibility of this evaluation model for assessing the impact on air quality. Full article
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