Photocatalytic Strategies for Sustainable Wastewater Remediation and Energy Generation

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Photocatalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 141

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Green Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technology; biophotocatalysis; membrane technology; bioenergy; process optimization; response surface methodology; green engineering; green catalysis; nanotechnology and magnetic separation technology
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Guest Editor
Green Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technologies; green engineering; membrane technology; process optimization; advanced oxidation process; nanotechnology; magnetic separation process
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
Interests: catalysis; renewable energy; environmental sustainability; energy transition; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria
Interests: development of supported/unsupported nanocomposites catalysts (Catalysis); production of biofuels; process modelling and simulation; wastewater treatment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The convergence of water scarcity, environmental pollution, and the growing prevalence of biorecalcitrant and emerging contaminants in global water systems underscores an urgent need for sustainable and energy-efficient wastewater treatment technologies. Simultaneously, the global transition towards clean energy, especially green hydrogen production and solar-driven energy processes, demands a scalable and innovative approach grounded in catalytic science. Herein, catalysis, particularly photocatalysis using solar energy, offers a dual solution by enabling both pollutant degradation and renewable energy generation.

Addressing both environmental impact and practical deployment, as a way of bridging the gap between laboratory-based research and scalable field applications, this Special Issue of MDPI Catalysis invites cutting-edge original research articles, critical reviews, and real-world case studies that explore advanced catalytic strategies to address converging challenges.

We seek contributions exploring metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), doped semiconductors, magnetic photocatalysis, reaction mechanisms, reactor design, AI-assisted process optimisation, synthesis and characterisation of nanocomposites, and solar-assisted degradation strategies, including their application in hybrid systems and circular economy models.

Furthermore, emphasis is placed on technologies that integrate wastewater purification with renewable energy generation for real-world adaption at the water–energy–environmental nexus. As this Special Issue aims to showcase transformative catalytic innovations that are not limited to shaping the future of sustainable catalysis with insight into economic feasibility, technological readiness, and environmental impact

We, therefore, look forward to your contributions and feedback to make this a leading platform for catalysis research at the interdisciplinary of water, energy, and environment with green technological solutions.

Dr. Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh
Prof. Dr. Sudesh Rathilal
Guest Editors

Dr. Ifeanyi Michael Smarte Anekwe
Dr. Sherif Ishola Mustapha
Guest Editor Assistants

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. Catalysts 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 2200 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

  • catalysis
  • metal–organic framework
  • semiconductors
  • nanotechnology
  • water splitting
  • photocatalysis
  • green hydrogen
  • renewable energy

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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