Catalysis and New Energy Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 402

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: catalysis; new energy materials

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: energy storage; energy conversion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global transition toward a sustainable and carbon-neutral energy future constitutes one of the most urgent scientific and societal challenges of our era; advancing high-performance energy materials and the catalytic processes that underpin their function is essential for this transformation. Catalysis is crucial in enhancing the efficiency, selectivity, and feasibility of next-generation energy conversion and storage systems, ranging from renewable fuel production to advanced electrochemical storage technologies.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest advances and emerging trends at the dynamic intersection of catalysis and new energy materials. It seeks to cover a wide spectrum of applications where catalytic innovation is indispensable, including (but not limited to) the following areas:

  • Electrocatalysis: water splitting (HER, OER), CO2/N2 reduction, fuel cells, and metal–air batteries;
  • Photocatalysis: solar-driven hydrogen generation, artificial photosynthesis, and light-powered environmental remediation;
  • Thermocatalysis: biomass valorization, methane reforming, and sustainable chemical synthesis;
  • Catalytic Materials in Energy Storage: enhancing the efficiency, stability, and cycle life of batteries and supercapacitors.

The performance of these systems is determined by the physicochemical characteristics of the catalytic materials. Ongoing research is exploring rational design strategies that can be employed to manipulate key features, such as electronic structure, active site density and accessibility, porosity, and defect engineering. We particularly welcome contributions on novel material platforms, including single-atom catalysts, high-entropy alloys, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), MXenes, nano-heterostructures, and advanced carbon-based composites. Establishing robust structure–property correlations will be pivotal in developing catalysts with superior activity, selectivity, and long-term durability.

We warmly invite you to contribute original research articles or comprehensive reviews to this Special Issue and share your most recent findings with the broader scientific community.

If you would like to submit papers for publication in this Special Issue or have any questions, please contact the in-house Editor, Mr. Ives Liu (ives.liu@mdpi.com).

Dr. Pengcheng Dai
Dr. Xin Gu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • sustainable energy conversion
  • electrocatalysis
  • photocatalysis
  • thermocatalysis for green fuels
  • advanced energy storage materials
  • single-atom and nano-structured catalysts
  • high-entropy alloys and MXenes
  • structure-property relationships
  • in situ/operando characterization
  • computational modeling

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 5810 KB  
Article
Cobalt Nanoparticle-Modified Boron Nitride Nanobelts for Rapid Tetracycline Degradation via PMS Activation
by Pengcheng Dai, Xiangjian Wang, Yongxin Zhao, Huishan Chen, Hui Zhao, Longzhen Cheng, Longxi Xu and Zeyu Zhang
Catalysts 2025, 15(12), 1117; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15121117 - 1 Dec 2025
Viewed by 258
Abstract
Tetracycline (TC), a widely used antibiotic, persists in aquatic environments due to its chemical stability, bioaccumulation potential, and role in promoting antimicrobial resistance, posing significant ecological and public health risks. To address the pressing need for effective wastewater treatment technologies, a cobalt nanoparticle-embedded [...] Read more.
Tetracycline (TC), a widely used antibiotic, persists in aquatic environments due to its chemical stability, bioaccumulation potential, and role in promoting antimicrobial resistance, posing significant ecological and public health risks. To address the pressing need for effective wastewater treatment technologies, a cobalt nanoparticle-embedded boron nitride nanocomposite (Co/BN) was developed for efficient peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. Among the synthesized catalysts, Co/BN-1 exhibited outstanding performance, achieving near-complete TC degradation within 5 min under mild conditions, along with excellent stability and reusability over four consecutive cycles, accompanied by minimal cobalt leaching. Mechanistic studies combining radical scavenging assays and LC-MS analysis revealed the involvement of both radical species (SO4 and OH) and non-radical pathways (1O2), highlighting a synergistic effect between Co nanoparticles and the BN matrix. This work demonstrates the feasibility of Co/BN composites as highly efficient, stable, and eco-friendly catalysts for sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs), providing a promising strategy for the rapid and sustainable removal of antibiotic pollutants from water systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis and New Energy Materials)
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