Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Water and Air Remediation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 325

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut de Chimie et Procédés pour l’Energie, l’Environnement et la Santé (UMR7515-CNRS), Université de Strasbourg, Site de Saint-Avold-Université de Lorraine, 25 Rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg, France
Interests: heterogeneous photocatalysis; water and air treatment; materials for environment depollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photocatalysis, discovered in the early 20th century, has seen a major research surge for several decades now, leading to advancements in mechanisms, materials, and applications such as biomass valorization, microorganism inactivation, and hydrogen production. Despite extensive studies, photocatalysis remains crucial for addressing key challenges, such as environmental pollution (CECs, PPCPs, and microplastics), public health crises (e.g., COVID-19), and energy crises.

Further progress is needed to optimize surface and optical properties, enhance charge separation, and expand UV–visible absorption. This necessitates the development of advanced nanomaterials and nanocatalysts, which will be the focus of this Special Issue. Although water treatment was one of the first applications of photocatalysis and numerous catalysts have since been developed, more than 5000 international publications on this topic are recorded each year. This demonstrates that researchers are continuing to work intensively on this critical subject, especially in the context of today's environmental challenges

Dr. Didier Robert
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.

Keywords

  • nanophotocatalyst
  • photocatalyst
  • water treatment
  • semiconductor
  • environmental remediation
  • advanced oxidation technology
  • heterogeneous catalysis

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 4519 KB  
Article
Bandgap-Tunable ZnxCd1−xS Solid Solutions for Effective Photocatalytic Degradation of Norfloxacin Under Visible Light and Natural Sunlight
by Xiang Wang, Xidan Zhang, Yifei Qu, Tian Liu, Juejing Luo, Ting Long, Liang Wu, Chong Tian and Yu Hu
Catalysts 2025, 15(9), 819; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15090819 - 28 Aug 2025
Viewed by 173
Abstract
Due to its broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, norfloxacin (NOR) has been widely used over the past few decades. However, the residual NOR in aquatic ecosystems could pose risks to human health from bacteria with resistance genes that potentially cause serious infectious diseases. Herein, a [...] Read more.
Due to its broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, norfloxacin (NOR) has been widely used over the past few decades. However, the residual NOR in aquatic ecosystems could pose risks to human health from bacteria with resistance genes that potentially cause serious infectious diseases. Herein, a series of bandgap-tunable ZnxCd1−xS (x = 0~1) solid solutions were hydrothermally synthesized and used for NOR photodegradation under visible light and natural sunlight. Benefitting from the suitable bandgap, band structure, and unique tetrapod shape nanostructure, the Zn0.1Cd0.9S solid solution exhibited the best photocatalytic activity, with high degradation efficiencies of 83.23% and 86.28% under visible light and natural sunlight, respectively, within 60 min, which is remarkable among reported ZnxCd1−xS-based photocatalysts and other materials. The in situ reactive-species trapping experiment revealed that holes (h+) were the primary species, and a possible photodegradation mechanism was thus suggested. Moreover, Zn0.1Cd0.9S also exhibited decent reusability and stability after five cycles of experiments. This work provides a comprehensive exploration of the application of bandgap-tunable ZnxCd1−xS solid solutions for NOR photodegradation under visible light and natural sunlight, demonstrating the promising application of as-synthesized Zn0.1Cd0.9S in the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Water and Air Remediation)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop