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C
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Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition)
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Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition)

A special issue of C (ISSN 2311-5629). This special issue belongs to the section "Carbon Materials and Carbon Allotropes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2026 | Viewed by 14933

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sergey Mikhalovsky

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Guest Editor
ANAMAD Ltd., Sussex Innovation Centre, Science Park Square, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9SB, UK
Interests: nanostructured carbon materials for biomedical and environmental applications; liquid-phase adsorption of biomolecules; mechanism of biocompatibility; medical devices for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering; tissue scaffolds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rosa Busquets

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University, Kingston Upon Thames, UK
Interests: carbon materials for water and soil applications; 6th SDG; emerging contaminants; adsorbents; catalysis; environmental monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Geoffrey D. Fowler

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Interests: contaminated land, particularly the application of Simultaneous Thermal Analysis - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (STA-FTIR) to investigate the organic pollution of contaminated soils
Dr. Joaquín Silvestre-Albero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Materiales Avanzados, Departamento de Química Inorgánica—Instituto Universitario de Materiales, Universidad de Alicante, E-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain
Interests: activated carbon materials; metal-organic frameworks; zeolites; gas adsorption; gas separation; heterogeneous catalysis; nanomaterials; biomedicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We aim to launch a second edition of the Special Issue entitled, “Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection”, dedicated to the use of carbon materials in environmental and biomedical applications. The first edition was a huge success, with 17 publications and more than 50,000 views thus far.

Among the great variety of carbons, there are biocompatible materials that can be used to protect our health and the environment. We are learning to control and enhance their properties for improved treatment, as well as greener and effective processes.

Carbon materials can be used for blood purification as oral adsorbents, or in pharmaceutical formulations. They also play an essential role in water treatment, soil amendment, air purification, and catalysis. All these globally important applications arise from the same fundamental element and its remarkable versatility of physical and physicochemical properties and chemical reactivity.

Carbons can be made from biomass, natural or synthetic precursors, or waste materials. Although they are considered safe, some forms can be toxic. During their synthesis, CO2 is emitted, but carbon adsorbents can capture CO2 and thus reduce its emission. Hence, carbon materials are very interesting, contrasting, and unusual.

This Special Issue of C aims to capture the diversity of carbon materials with a focus on their development for biomedical and environmental applications by reference research groups working with carbon. It will publish original papers, short communications, and reviews on recent advances within the field.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sergey Mikhalovsky
Dr. Rosa Busquets
Dr. Geoffrey D. Fowler
Dr. Joaquín Silvestre-Albero
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. C is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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

  • carbon materials
  • health
  • biomedical application
  • oral adsorbent
  • environment
  • soil
  • water
  • air
  • adsorption
  • catalysis

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 10104 KB  
Article
One-Stage Microwave-Assisted Carbonization and Phosphoric Acid Activation of Peanut Shell and Spruce Cone Biomass for Crystal Violet Adsorption
by Przemysław Pączkowski, Viktoriia Kyshkarova, Sergii Guzii, Inna Melnyk and Barbara Gawdzik
C 2025, 11(4), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/c11040086 - 20 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 553
Abstract
This study focuses on a single-step microwave-assisted carbonization and activation method for biomasses derived from peanut shells and spruce cones. Using phosphoric acid as the activating agent, this process leads to carbon materials with a micro-mesoporous structure, favoring dye adsorption. Elemental and surface [...] Read more.
This study focuses on a single-step microwave-assisted carbonization and activation method for biomasses derived from peanut shells and spruce cones. Using phosphoric acid as the activating agent, this process leads to carbon materials with a micro-mesoporous structure, favoring dye adsorption. Elemental and surface analyses confirmed that the physicochemical properties of the obtained carbons are strongly dependent on the biomass’ source. The carbon materials obtained in this way, differing in porous structure and the presence of functional groups on their surfaces, were used for static adsorption of hazardous dye crystal violet from water. The adsorption behavior of both materials fits well with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, indicating a combination of monolayer and heterogeneous surface adsorption, driven primarily by physical interactions. Of these two materials, carbon derived from spruce cones was characterized by better porosity, higher surface functionality, and higher adsorption capacity, demonstrating its potential as a cost-effective and sustainable material for wastewater treatment applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition))
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28 pages, 4534 KB  
Article
Mechanistic Evaluation of Pb(II) Adsorption on Magnetic Activated Carbon/Fe3O4 Composites: Influence of Hydrothermal and Ultrasonic Synthesis Routes
by Gaukhar Smagulova, Aigerim Imash, Akniyet Baltabay, Aruzhan Keneshbekova, Alisher Abdisattar, Ramazan Kazhdanbekov, Aidos Lesbayev and Zulkhair Mansurov
C 2025, 11(4), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/c11040083 - 4 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1299
Abstract
This study presents a comparative analysis of two synthesis approaches for fabricating magnetic sorbents based on activated carbon (AC) incorporated with magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles: hydrothermal synthesis and ultrasonic treatment. The results demonstrate that ultrasonic-assisted synthesis yields a magnetically responsive [...] Read more.
This study presents a comparative analysis of two synthesis approaches for fabricating magnetic sorbents based on activated carbon (AC) incorporated with magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles: hydrothermal synthesis and ultrasonic treatment. The results demonstrate that ultrasonic-assisted synthesis yields a magnetically responsive composite, us-AC/Fe3O4, exhibiting a Pb2+ removal efficiency of 92.84%, which is comparable to that of pristine activated carbon (99.0%). A key advantage of the synthesized composite lies in its facile recovery via magnetic separation following adsorption, rendering it a promising candidate for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated water. Kinetic modeling suggests a dual adsorption mechanism: initial stages are governed by physisorption, while chemisorption dominates in the later phases. Adsorption isotherm modeling demonstrated that the Langmuir model provided the best description of Pb2+ adsorption on AC and us-AC/Fe3O4, with the highest sorption capacities observed for pristine activated carbon, followed by the ultrasonically modified composite, and comparatively lower values for the hydrothermally treated material. These findings underscore the potential of ultrasonic processing as an effective route for developing magnetically separable sorbents with high performance in aqueous heavy metal removal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition))
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13 pages, 3960 KB  
Article
NaOH-Modified Activated Carbon Materials for Hydrogen Sulfide Removal
by Meriem Abid, Manuel Martínez-Escandell and Joaquín Silvestre-Albero
C 2025, 11(3), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/c11030068 - 3 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1805
Abstract
A high-surface-area activated carbon material (RG) is used as a platform to create highly concentrated NaOH composites. These materials are tested for the removal of H2S under industrially relevant conditions (800 ppm H2S in CO2-, H2 [...] Read more.
A high-surface-area activated carbon material (RG) is used as a platform to create highly concentrated NaOH composites. These materials are tested for the removal of H2S under industrially relevant conditions (800 ppm H2S in CO2-, H2O- and O2-containing streams). The experimental results show that the breakthrough performance highly depends on the amount of NaOH incorporated and the experimental conditions used (e.g., relative humidity). The most promising material (RG-NaOH-30) reaches a saturation uptake of up to 800 mgH2S/g at 25 °C and atmospheric pressure. This value is among the most promising results reported in the literature for H2S removal, and it is well above traditional commercial samples. Breakthrough column tests confirm the promoting role of humidity in the reaction mechanism. Analysis of the adsorbents after H2S confirms the formation of well-defined sulfur (Sn) microcrystals as the main reaction product. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition))
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17 pages, 2264 KB  
Article
Towards Photothermal Acid Catalysts Using Eco-Sustainable Sulfonated Carbon Nanoparticles—Part II: Thermal and Photothermal Catalysis of Biodiesel Synthesis
by María Paula Militello, Luciano Tamborini, Diego F. Acevedo and Cesar A. Barbero
C 2024, 10(4), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/c10040094 - 4 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1949
Abstract
The main goal of this work is to evaluate the ability of sulfonated carbon nanoparticles (SCNs) to induce photothermal catalysis of the biodiesel synthesis reaction (transesterification of natural triglycerides (TGs) with alcohols). Carbon nanoparticles (CNs) are produced by the carbonization of cross-linked resin [...] Read more.
The main goal of this work is to evaluate the ability of sulfonated carbon nanoparticles (SCNs) to induce photothermal catalysis of the biodiesel synthesis reaction (transesterification of natural triglycerides (TGs) with alcohols). Carbon nanoparticles (CNs) are produced by the carbonization of cross-linked resin nanoparticles (RNs). The RNs are produced by condensation of a phenol (resorcinol or natural tannin) with formaldehyde under ammonia catalysis (Stober method). The method produces nanoparticles, which are carbonized into carbon nanoparticles (CNs). The illumination of CNs increases the temperature proportionally (linear) to the nanoparticle concentration and exposure time (with saturation). Solid acid catalysts are made by heating in concentrated sulfuric acid (SEAr sulfonation). The application of either light or a catalyst (SCNs) (at 25 °C) induced low conversions (<10%) for the esterification reaction of acetic acid with bioethanol. In contrast, the illumination of the reaction medium containing SCNs induced high conversions (>75%). In the case of biodiesel synthesis (transesterification of sunflower oil with bioethanol), conversions greater than 40% were observed only when light and the catalyst (SCNs) were applied simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to use sulfonated carbon nanoparticles as photothermally activated catalysts for Fischer esterification and triglyceride transesterification (biodiesel synthesis). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition))
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Review

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18 pages, 1777 KB  
Review
Biochar in Agriculture: A Review on Sources, Production, and Composites Related to Soil Fertility, Crop Productivity, and Environmental Sustainability
by Md. Muzammal Hoque, Biplob Kumar Saha, Antonio Scopa and Marios Drosos
C 2025, 11(3), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/c11030050 - 11 Jul 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 8011
Abstract
Due to soil nutrient depletion and rising food demand from an increasing global population, it is essential to find sustainable ways to boost crop yields, improve soil health, and address the environmental issues induced by agriculture. The most appropriate approach is to consider [...] Read more.
Due to soil nutrient depletion and rising food demand from an increasing global population, it is essential to find sustainable ways to boost crop yields, improve soil health, and address the environmental issues induced by agriculture. The most appropriate approach is to consider sustainable amendments, such as biochar and its derivatives, which are vital constituents of soil health due to their affordability, low reactivity, large surface area, and reduced carbon footprint. In this context, biochar and its derivatives in farming systems focus on improving soil structure, nutrient holding capacity, microbial activities, and the perpetuation of soil fertility. Despite its benefits, biochar, if it is used in high concentration, can sometimes become highly toxic, causing soil erosion due to reducing surface area, increasing pH levels, and altering soil properties. This review highlights the production methods and sources of feedstocks, emphasizing their important contribution to the soil’s physicochemical and biological properties. Furthermore, it critically evaluates the environmental applications and their impacts, providing data built upon the literature on contaminant removal from soil, economic factors, heavy metal immobilization, carbon sequestration, and climate resilience. This review emphasizes the main challenges and future prospects for biochar use in comparison to modified biochar (MB) to propose the best practices for sustainable farming systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbons for Health and Environmental Protection (2nd Edition))
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