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Catalysts
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Plasma Catalysis for Environmental Pollution Remediation
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Plasma Catalysis for Environmental Pollution Remediation

A Special Issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344) belonging to the section "Environmental Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2026 | Viewed by 2890

Editor

Dr. He Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Ecology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: advanced oxidation technology; cold plasma-catalysis; ozonation-catalysis; photocatalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental pollution demands advanced remediation technologies. Plasma catalysis, a synergistic combination of non-thermal plasma (NTP) and heterogeneous catalysis, has emerged as a powerful and versatile solution for eliminating recalcitrant air and water pollutants. While NTP generates reactive species at ambient conditions, its integration with catalysts unlocks a powerful synergy, enhancing degradation efficiency, energy yield, and product selectivity beyond the capability of either process alone.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest advancements in plasma catalysis for environmental applications. We welcome original research and reviews addressing fundamental mechanisms, novel catalyst design (e.g., metal oxides, zeolites, and MOFs), reactor innovation, process modeling, and the abatement of specific pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), NOx, and greenhouse gases. It will serve as a platform to drive innovation in this dynamic field, paving the way for more efficient and sustainable environmental technologies.

Dr. He Guo
Guest Editor

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-anonymized 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

  • non-thermal plasma
  • plasma catalysis
  • catalyst design
  • environmental remediation
  • advanced oxidation processes

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3308 KB  
Article
Enhanced Degradation of Acid Black 1 Dye Using Sequential Nano-Ferrate(VI) and Gliding Arc Plasma: Synergistic Performance and Mechanism
by Seong Yeop Han, Bimo Tri Goutomo, Dian Majid and Il-Kyu Kim
Catalysts 2026, 16(5), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16050438 - 8 May 2026
Viewed by 438
Abstract
Acid Black 1 (AB1), a recalcitrant disazo dye from the textile industry, poses a severe threat to aquatic ecosystems owing to its resistance to biological treatment. Although ferrate(VI) (K2FeO4) and plasma-based advanced oxidation processes have shown promise [...] Read more.
Acid Black 1 (AB1), a recalcitrant disazo dye from the textile industry, poses a severe threat to aquatic ecosystems owing to its resistance to biological treatment. Although ferrate(VI) (K2FeO4) and plasma-based advanced oxidation processes have shown promise for dye remediation, the effect of treatment sequence on synergistic mineralization remains largely unaddressed. Nano-ferrate(VI) (nano-Fe(VI), K2FeO4) synthesized via the Solution Plasma Process (SPP) was integrated with Gliding Arc Plasma (GAP) in a sequential hybrid system, with nanoscale morphology and K2FeO4 composition confirmed by FE-SEM and EDS. pH, molar ratio, and temperature were systematically optimized for the standalone nano-Fe(VI) process, and synergistic performance was evaluated via Synergy Effect Factor (SEF) analysis. Optimization identified pH 7.0, [AB1]:[Fe(VI)] = 1:0.9, and 45 °C as optimal, achieving 90.24% decolorization within 12 min. The sequential nano-Fe(VI)–GAP configuration achieved the highest mineralization efficiency of 58.7%, outperforming standalone nano-Fe(VI) (36.0%), standalone GAP (16.0%), and simultaneous application (37.8%), with SEF values of 1.3 and 1.2 for mineralization and decolorization. This is the first study to quantify treatment sequence effects in a nano-Fe(VI)–GAP system via SEF analysis. The proposed system eliminates intermediate pH adjustment while achieving superior mineralization, offering a practical AOP framework for refractory textile wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Catalysis for Environmental Pollution Remediation)
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Review

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46 pages, 2160 KB  
Review
From Plasma-Generated Radicals to Value-Added Products: A Critical Review of Methane Valorisation
by Niaz Wali, Muhammad Sabir, Muhammad Bilal, Akif Naqeeb Qadri, Abdullah Khan, Yao Guangrui, Yanfang Ji, Salamat Ullah and Najeeb Ur Rehman
Catalysts 2026, 16(9), 777; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16090777 - 27 Aug 2026
Abstract
Methane is an abundant carbon resource with significant potential for the sustainable production of hydrogen, syngas, light hydrocarbons, oxygenates, and carbon nanomaterials. However, its efficient utilization remains challenging because of the high stability of the C–H bond, requiring energy-intensive thermocatalytic processes that often [...] Read more.
Methane is an abundant carbon resource with significant potential for the sustainable production of hydrogen, syngas, light hydrocarbons, oxygenates, and carbon nanomaterials. However, its efficient utilization remains challenging because of the high stability of the C–H bond, requiring energy-intensive thermocatalytic processes that often suffer from limited selectivity, carbon deposition, and high CO2 emissions. Plasma-assisted technologies have emerged as a promising alternative by activating methane through energetic electrons and reactive species under non-equilibrium conditions. Although considerable progress has been achieved, existing reviews have primarily focused on individual plasma sources, reaction pathways, or catalyst systems, with limited attention to the coupled interactions among plasma characteristics, radical chemistry, reactor engineering, and product selectivity. This review provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of plasma-assisted methane valorisation by integrating the fundamental mechanisms of electron-impact activation, radical generation, and plasma kinetics with reactor design and process performance. The major plasma reactor technologies, including dielectric barrier discharge, gliding arc, microwave, and plasma jet systems, are critically compared in terms of methane conversion pathways, energy efficiency, operating conditions, reactor configuration, and product distribution. Finally, current challenges and emerging opportunities, including plasma catalysis, advanced reactor architectures, operando diagnostics, and reactor scale-up, are discussed to provide future perspectives for the industrial implementation of plasma-assisted methane valorisation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Catalysis for Environmental Pollution Remediation)
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27 pages, 5528 KB  
Review
Plasma-Activated Homogeneous Catalysis for Water Decontamination: Mechanisms, Synergies, and Future Perspectives
by Liangrui Xiang, Shuang Yang and He Guo
Catalysts 2025, 15(12), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15121138 - 4 Dec 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1970
Abstract
The pervasive contamination of water bodies by refractory organic pollutants necessitates the development of advanced purification technologies. Plasma has emerged as a promising solution, capable of generating a broad spectrum of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), UV photons, and electrons in situ, [...] Read more.
The pervasive contamination of water bodies by refractory organic pollutants necessitates the development of advanced purification technologies. Plasma has emerged as a promising solution, capable of generating a broad spectrum of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), UV photons, and electrons in situ, thereby directly degrading contaminants. However, the practical application of plasma-alone systems is often constrained by limited energy efficiency and insufficient mineralization capacity. To overcome these challenges, the integration of plasma with homogeneous advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) has been established as a highly effective strategy. By coupling plasma with catalysts such as peroxymonosulfate (PMS), peracetic acid (PAA), periodate (PI), and Fenton reagents (Fe2+/Fe3+), a remarkable synergistic effect is achieved. This synergy arises from the multi-modal activation of catalysts by plasma via energetic electrons, UV photolysis, and radical-induced reactions, while the catalysts, in turn, consume long-lived plasma products and regulate reaction pathways. The resultant ‘plasma/catalytic’ system significantly enhances the degradation rate and mineralization efficiency of pollutants, broadens the operational pH window, and improves overall energy utilization. This review systematically examines the mechanisms, performance, and influencing factors of these hybrid systems, and discusses current challenges and future prospects to guide the development of this synergistic technology for sustainable water remediation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Catalysis for Environmental Pollution Remediation)
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