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Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition
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Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 6744

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Liangliang Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China
Interests: photo-/electrocatalysis; inorganic synthesis; energy conversion materials; water splitting; fuel cell
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yipu Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: hydrogen evolution reaction; oxygen evolution reaction; oxygen reduction reaction; seawater electrolysis; high-throughput calculation; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photo-/electrocatalysis plays a pivotal role in bridging solar/electrical energy and valuable chemicals, further paving the way for renewable energy utilization and environmental protection. More specifically, some key reactions, such as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), and CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), should be carefully investigated to achieve an ideal water cycle, nitrogen cycle, and carbon cycle for sustainable energy conversions. For this purpose, cutting-edge research should focus on developing the corresponding nanosystems and nanocatalysts. Accordingly, this Special Issue mainly focuses on advanced photo-/electrocatalytic systems including water electrolyzers, fuel cells, metal-air batteries and degradation of organic pollutants, together with effective catalyst design and catalytic mechanism development. Topics of interest include but are not limited to anything from nanomaterials to devices, from freshwater to seawater, and from experimental efforts to theoretical calculations, which may substantially contribute to (i) identifying reasonable ‘structure–activity’ for catalysts and (ii) constructing long-lasting systems for practical application.

Prof. Dr. Liangliang Feng
Dr. Yipu Liu
Guest Editors

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

  • photo-/electrochemistry
  • water splitting
  • fuel cell
  • nitrogen reduction reaction
  • CO2 reduction reaction
  • photocatalytic degradation
  • gas sensor
  • nanomaterials

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2760 KiB  
Article
Self-Supported Ir-FeOOH on Iron Foam for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction
by Qinglin Ren, Jinshan Xia, Chengcheng Yang, Yinghao Tao, Jiawei Xie, Hui Wang, Hong Li and Jinchen Fan
Catalysts 2025, 15(5), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15050464 - 8 May 2025
Viewed by 262
Abstract
Developing high-performance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts remains a critical challenge for sustainable hydrogen production via water electrolysis. Herein, we present a self-supported atomic iridium-decorated FeOOH nanostructure on iron foam (Ir-FeOOH/IF) by a facile impregnation reduction method. The self-supported Ir-FeOOH/IF electrode integrates the [...] Read more.
Developing high-performance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts remains a critical challenge for sustainable hydrogen production via water electrolysis. Herein, we present a self-supported atomic iridium-decorated FeOOH nanostructure on iron foam (Ir-FeOOH/IF) by a facile impregnation reduction method. The self-supported Ir-FeOOH/IF electrode integrates the high electrical conductivity and outstanding mass transfer performance of IF. The FeOOH features abundant active sites, while the Ir modification regulated the electronic structure of FeOOH. As a result, the as-prepared Ir-FeOOH/IF catalyst (with the optimized synthesis time) achieves a low overpotential of 145 and 284 mV at current densities of 0.1 and 1 A cm−2, respectively, and exhibits excellent long-term catalytic stability for 135 h at 0.1 A cm−2 in a 1 M KOH solution. This work provides a new strategy for the design of low-cost and highly stable OER electrocatalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 5441 KiB  
Article
Regulation of Ni3S2@NiS Heterostructure Grown on Industrial Nickel Net for Improved Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
by Zihan Su, Dinghan Liu, Yuhang Li, Xiaoyi Li, Dewei Chu, Liyun Cao, Jianfeng Huang and Liangliang Feng
Catalysts 2025, 15(2), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15020136 - 1 Feb 2025
Viewed by 779
Abstract
A novel all-in-one catalytic electrode containing a Ni3S2@NiS heterostructure (Ni3S2@NiS/Ni-Net) was in situ synthesized on an industrial nickel net (Ni-Net) using a one-step solvothermal method, in which ethanol was the solvent and thioacetamide was the [...] Read more.
A novel all-in-one catalytic electrode containing a Ni3S2@NiS heterostructure (Ni3S2@NiS/Ni-Net) was in situ synthesized on an industrial nickel net (Ni-Net) using a one-step solvothermal method, in which ethanol was the solvent and thioacetamide was the sulfur source, respectively. The effects of the addition amount of the sulfur source on the composition, morphology, and electronic structure of the Ni3S2@NiS heterostructures and their electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities were investigated. When 2 mmol of sulfur source was introduced, the prepared Ni3S2@NiS/Ni-Net electrode with a nanorod-like structure required overpotentials of 207 and 322 mV to drive the current densities of 100 and 500 mA/cm2, respectively, in 1 M KOH solution, and only needed the overpotential of 429 mV to deliver 1000 mA/cm2. Meanwhile, the Ni3S2@NiS/Ni-Net electrode can operate stably at a high current density of 90 mA/cm2 under harsh alkaline conditions for at least 100 h. The results show that the Ni3S2@NiS/Ni-Net electrode has high activity and stable HER performance at a high current density, which provides a new idea for the development of high-efficiency electrodes for industrial alkaline hydrogen production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition)
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16 pages, 5450 KiB  
Article
A Unique Dual-Shell Structure with Highly Active Ni@SiC/CNT/CNF Microwave Catalysts
by Xizong Liu, Yulei Zhang, Heng Wu, Dongsheng Zhang, Jiaqi Liu and Haibo Ouyang
Catalysts 2025, 15(2), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15020132 - 30 Jan 2025
Viewed by 2458
Abstract
Microwave-assisted catalytic oxidation (MACO) is a novel wastewater treatment technology for the efficient treatment degradation of organic wastewater. However, a single carbon material or SiC has limited absorption of electromagnetic waves, and the efficiency of using it as a microwave-assisted organic catalyst is [...] Read more.
Microwave-assisted catalytic oxidation (MACO) is a novel wastewater treatment technology for the efficient treatment degradation of organic wastewater. However, a single carbon material or SiC has limited absorption of electromagnetic waves, and the efficiency of using it as a microwave-assisted organic catalyst is not satisfactory. To improve the absorption and microwave-assisted degradation performance of carbon matrix composites, a new carbon magnetic composite Ni@SiC/CNT/CNF microwave catalyst is constructed. By controlling the introduction of nickel, different numbers of carbon nanotubes are grown on the surface of carbon nanofibers, and C and SiC double-shell structures were formed on the top of the carbon nanotubes, which catalyzed the generation of active groups by the thermal effect generated by the plasma discharge under the action of microwave field, thus realizing the highly efficient catalytic degradation of wastewater dyes. The results show that the Ni@SiC/CNT/CNF with the lowest reflection loss of RLmin = −9.26 dB exhibit excellent degradation capabilities with a degradation efficiency of 99.9% for methylene blue within 90 s under 450 W microwave irradiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 12097 KiB  
Article
Insight into the Structural and Performance Correlation of Photocatalytic TiO2/Cu Composite Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering Method
by Kun Lu, Miao Sun, Yaohong Jiang, Xinmeng Wu, Lijun Zhao and Junhua Xu
Catalysts 2024, 14(9), 621; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14090621 - 14 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1333
Abstract
Photocatalysis technology, as an efficient and safe environmentally friendly purification technique, has garnered significant attention and interest. Traditional TiO2 photocatalytic materials still face limitations in practical applications, hindering their widespread adoption. The research prepared TiO2/Cu films with different Cu contents [...] Read more.
Photocatalysis technology, as an efficient and safe environmentally friendly purification technique, has garnered significant attention and interest. Traditional TiO2 photocatalytic materials still face limitations in practical applications, hindering their widespread adoption. The research prepared TiO2/Cu films with different Cu contents using a magnetron sputtering multi-target co-deposition technique. The incorporation of Cu significantly enhances the antibacterial properties and visible light response of the films. The effects of different Cu contents on the microstructure, surface morphology, wettability, antibacterial properties, and visible light response of the films were investigated using an X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope, confocal laser scanning microscope, Ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer, and contact angle goniometer. The results showed that the prepared TiO2/Cu films were mainly composed of the rutile TiO2 phase and face-center cubic Cu phase. The introduction of Cu affected the crystal orientation of TiO2 and refined the grain size of the films. With the increase in Cu content, the surface roughness of the films first decreased and then increased. The water contact angle of the films first increased and then decreased, and the film exhibited optimal hydrophobicity when the Cu target power was 10 W. The TiO2/Cu films showed good antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The introduction of Cu shifted the absorption edge of the films to the red region, significantly narrowed the band gap width to 2.5 eV, and broadened the light response range of the films to the visible light region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition)
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11 pages, 4302 KiB  
Article
Variations in Power Conversion Efficiency on n-Type Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Synthesized TiO2 Nanoparticle: A Thickness Effect of Active Layer
by Sang-Hun Nam, Dong-Woo Ju and Jin-Hyo Boo
Catalysts 2024, 14(9), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14090598 - 6 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1276
Abstract
Recently, many researchers have made progress in studies aimed at enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of n-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This paper presents a systematic investigation focused on improving the PCEs of n-type DSSCs by synthesizing TiO2 nanoparticle active layers [...] Read more.
Recently, many researchers have made progress in studies aimed at enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of n-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This paper presents a systematic investigation focused on improving the PCEs of n-type DSSCs by synthesizing TiO2 nanoparticle active layers and varying their thickness. The study found that increasing the TiO2 layer thickness up to 17 µm resulted in a steady 41% increase in PCE, primarily owing to the enhanced photocurrent density in the n-type DSSCs. This improvement is attributed to the enhanced light harvesting effect. As a result, n-type DSSC with 17 µm thick TiO2 layer demonstrates a relatively high Jsc value of 8.42 mA/cm2, achieving an overall PCE of 4.02%. In contrast, the n-type DSSC with a 6 µm thick TiO2 layer exhibits a much lower Jsc value of 5.55 mA/cm2, leading to a reduced PCE. This result represents at least a 52% increase in current density, indicating that the optimal thickness of the TiO2 active layer is a critical factor influencing the PCE of DSSCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tailored Nanosystems and Nanocatalysts for Photo-/Electrocatalytic Applications, 2nd Edition)
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