Fabrication of Metallic Micro-/Nano-Composite Materials for Environmental Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The consistent high demand for various functional materials towards carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability has stimulated the exploration of innovative fabrication strategies based on laser-assisted processing and chemical synthesis for the synthesis of heterogeneous catalytic metallic nano-composites. In addition, micro/nano-textured filtration membranes have been extensively studied for use in water purification and wastewater treatment. To further advance these applications, the development of easy-to-use, low-cost, and high-throughput methods is desired for use in fabricating multifunctional filtration membranes with super-wettability, which also could be combined with photocatalytic/piezocatalytic/piezo-photocatalytic activity. Using laser surface treatment and chemical synthesis to create micro-/nano-scale hierarchical structures and elemental variations have been widely employed to generate the desired surface wettability of filtration membranes for water purification. The filtration membrane not only has the merits of high separation efficiency but also mitigates membrane fouling by forming a hydration layer composed of water molecules confined by surface micro/nano-structure. Meanwhile, the growth and modification of catalytic nanostructured materials on micro-/nano-structured filtration membrane surfaces via various coating techniques, such as laser ablation/cladding, the wet chemical technique, the hydrothermal reaction, chemical vapor deposition, etc., could equip them with the improved optoelectronic properties of photocatalysis/piezocatalysis/piezo-photocatalysis by creating a p-n heterostructure at the interfaces to further reduce the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs. Despite the enormous progress that has been made in this field, there is still lots area to be explored, especially concerning the rational deposition and growth of nanostructured catalyst coatings on micro-/nano-filters for highly-efficient, reliable, and synergic multifunctional composite materials. We warmly invite researchers to submit their contributions, in the form of both original research articles and review papers, which will inspire research towards the next generation of fabricating multifunctional composite materials for environmental applications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Laser-assisted or chemical synthesis of catalytic nanoparticles, the surface science of nanomaterials, and surface effects at nanoscale and applications;
• Laser surface treatment or chemical synthesis of filtration membrane surface for separation, surface engineering, and functionalization;
• Physical and chemical deposition of nanostructured coatings for photocatalysis, piezocatalysis or piezo-photocatalysis, and functional surfaces and coatings;
• Antimicrobial and antifouling metallic coatings/filters for water purifications, electrochemistry at surfaces, and corrosion protection strategies;
• Theories and simulations analyzing the kinetics and mechanisms of fundamental processes during the growth of nanostructured materials on filter support, and thermophysical aspects of surfaces and interfaces.

Dr. Rui Zhou
Prof. Dr. Hongjun Liu
Prof. Dr. Gang Han
Guest Editors

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