UV/Vis/NIR Photocatalysis and Optical Properties

Dear Colleagues,

Photocatalysis is regarded as a promising green technique that addresses the challenges of increasing global energy demand and severe environmental pollution. Upon light excitation, electrons in semiconductor photocatalysts can be delocalized and migrate to the surface, generating oxidizing, and/or reducing species to convert photon energy into chemical energy. Production of hydrogen, carbon dioxide reduction, and nitrogen oxide degradation, as well as decomposition of organic pollutants, are well-known examples in which optical absorption plays an important role in determining photocatalytic efficiencies. In the past few decades, many studies have been devoted to improving the optical properties of semiconductor photocatalysts for enhanced solar energy harvesting efficiency. These approaches include heterojunction formation, plasmonic effect, quantum confinement effect, surface roughening, photonic crystals, and doping effects. For instance, the classic semiconductor photocatalyst TiO₂ has a wide bandgap that restricts its photo response to the UV region only. By coupling with an appropriate narrow bandgap material, the composite material can be a more efficient visible-light-responsive photocatalyst. Even though a few approaches have been demonstrated, many strategies still require further investigation. As 44% of solar irradiation is near‐infrared (NIR), NIR‐driven photocatalysts deserve more research effort in the years to come. Plasmonic photocatalysts with or without noble metal nanoparticles can be adopted to realize highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts.

This Special Issue will provide information on advancements and challenges in the design, synthesis, construction, and characterization of efficient photocatalytic systems with advanced optical properties and/or design. We welcome contributions to the field in the form of original research articles, communications, or short reviews that reflect the progress of the research of the proposed topics.

The proposed topics include, but are not limited to the following:

• UV/Vis/NIR photocatalysis
• Heterogeneous photocatalysis
• Environmental remediation
• Hydrogen production
• Z-scheme
• Semiconductor
• 0D/1D/2D nanomaterials
• Plasmonic photocatalysts
• Photonic crystal photocatalysts
• Photocatalytic synthesis
• Modeling/simulation of reactions and optical processes of photocatalysts
• Fundamental understanding of the optical properties of photocatalysts

Prof. Dr. Da‐Ren Hang
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.