(Bio)nanomaterials in Catalysis

Dear Colleagues,

(Bio)nanomaterial, combining nanoscale nanomaterials and biomolecules, is a relatively new term in the field of nanotechnology. (Bio)nanomaterials are designed from synthetic or natural polymers, inorganic, organic, carbon-based, or composite-based materials, as well as those obtained from green and sustainable syntheses. In addition, they may be encapsulated and/or immobilized by biomolecules extracted using different methods from waste, plants, pathogens, and animals. The classification of (bio)nanomaterials accounts for their composition, dimensionality, and morphology. The conjugation of nanomaterials with specific biomolecules such as amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, enzymes, and other macromolecules such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA), or complex macromolecular assemblies brings complexity to tunable physico-chemical, catalytic, and biological properties. Waste utilization, energy saving, low cost, and non-toxic synthesis routes result in green, sustainable, and biodegradable products of a wide variety of properties such as biocompatibility/cytotoxicity, cellular interactions, drug loading, release kinetics, biodistribution, tissue penetration, and cellular uptake, which make (bio)nanotechnology an important and rising field of research in tissue engineering, biosensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, oncology, and as antibacterial and antifouling materials. Tunable structural and chemical complexities of hybrid (bio)nanomaterials reveal enhanced efficacy in catalytic reactions and in energy production. Remarkable progress was recently made in the formulation of hybrid (bio)nanomaterials. Both experimental and theoretical studies show evidence that biomolecules can act as functional or structural components, with the second component providing either structure or function to hybrid materials, with expanding potential for the complexity of properties and applications. 

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue of Catalysts, “(Bio)nanomaterials in Catalysis”, which expands on the knowledge of (bio)nanomaterials and their formulation and syntheses. This Special Issue also describes the properties and catalyzed processes of (bio)nanomaterials, their mechanisms of reactions and novel applications, novel experimental and theoretical methods of (bio)nanomaterial characterization, and structure–property relations.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• (Bio)nanomaterials design, engineering and modelling;
• (Bio)nanomaterials properties and their characterization;
• Novel methods of properties characterization;
• Catalytic processes and reactions;
• Catalysis on enzymes;
• Reaction engineering and modelling;
• Kinetics of catalytic reaction;
• Structure–property relations;
• Mechanism of catalytic processes and reactions;
• Green and sustainable.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. B. Lesiak-Orłowska
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 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.

• (bio)nanomaterials design and engineering
• catalytic processes and reactions
• properties and methods of characterization
• modelling
• mechanisms of catalytic processes and reactions
• structure-properties relation
• green and sustainable