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Crystals
Special Issues
Synthesis and Properties of Photocatalysts
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Synthesis and Properties of Photocatalysts

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials for Energy Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2025) | Viewed by 3017

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sulakshana Shenoy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Interests: nanoparticle synthesis; materials characterization; photocatalysis; environmental remediation; hydrogen generation
Dr. Chitiphon Chuaicham

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Interests: advanced oxidation processes; wastewater remediation; catalyst; photocatalyst; clay-based composites; waste utilization; material characterization; nanomaterials; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photocatalysts hold significant importance due to their transformative potential across a wide range of fields, from environmental remediation to sustainable energy production. They enable the direct conversion of solar energy into chemical energy by initiating photochemical reactions. This is particularly significant as it offers a sustainable and clean way to harness sunlight for various applications. Understanding the properties of photocatalysts allows researchers to fine-tune their composition, structure, and morphology to maximize their efficiency in converting light energy into chemical energy. Different applications require specific photocatalyst properties. Studying properties such as band gap, energy levels, and charge separation dynamics provides insights into how efficiently these carriers are utilized in catalytic processes.

By studying and manipulating these properties, researchers can design photocatalysts tailored to pollutant degradation, hydrogen generation, CO₂ reduction, and more. This customization leads to higher effectiveness and selectivity. We welcome submissions to this Special Issue, entitled "Synthesis and Properties of Photocatalysts," in the form of original research papers, reviews, or communications that highlight studying the properties of photocatalysts, which is the basis for developing efficient, selective, and sustainable materials with broad applications in energy, environment, chemistry, and beyond.

Dr. Sulakshana Shenoy
Dr. Chitiphon Chuaicham
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. Crystals 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 2100 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

  • photocatalysts
  • synthesis
  • properties
  • band gap energy tuning
  • environmental remediation
  • energy conversion

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 9112 KiB  
Article
Efficient Dye Contaminant Elimination and Simultaneous Electricity Production via a Carbon Quantum Dots/TiO2 Photocatalytic Fuel Cell
by Zixuan Feng, Xuechen Li, Yueying Lv and Jie He
Crystals 2024, 14(12), 1083; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14121083 - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 710
Abstract
Conventional wastewater treatment methods do not fully utilize the energy in wastewater. This study uses a photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) to remove dye impurities and generate electricity with that energy. Pt serves as the PFC’s cathode, while the carbon quantum dots (CQDs)/anatase TiO [...] Read more.
Conventional wastewater treatment methods do not fully utilize the energy in wastewater. This study uses a photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) to remove dye impurities and generate electricity with that energy. Pt serves as the PFC’s cathode, while the carbon quantum dots (CQDs)/anatase TiO2 (A-TiO2) serve as its photoanode. The visible light absorption range of A-TiO2 can be increased by combining CQDs with A-TiO2. The composite of CQD and A-TiO2 broadens the absorption edge from 364 nm to 538 nm. TiO2’s different crystal structures and particle sizes impact the PFC’s power generation and dye contaminant removal. The 30 min photodegradation rate of methylene blue by the 20 nm A-TiO2 was 97.3%, higher than that of the 5 nm A-TiO2 (75%), 100 nm A-TiO2 (92.1%), and A-TiO2 (93%). The photocurrent density of the 20 nm A-TiO2 can reach 4.41 mA/cm2, exceeding that of R-TiO2 (0.64 mA/cm2), 5 nm A-TiO2 (1.97 mA/cm2), and 100 nm A-TiO2 (3.58 mA/cm2). The photodegradative and electrochemical test results show that the 20 nm A-TiO2 delivers a better degradation and electrochemical performance than other samples. When the 20 nm A-TiO2 was used in the PFC photoanode, the photocurrent density, open-circuit voltage, and maximum power density of the PFC were found to be 0.6 mA/cm2, 0.41 V, and 0.1 mW/cm2, respectively. The PFC prepared in this study shows a good level of performance compared to recent similar systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Properties of Photocatalysts)
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14 pages, 3928 KiB  
Article
Fe-Loaded Montmorillonite/TiO2 Composite as a Promising Photocatalyst for Selective Conversion of Glucose to Formic Acid under Visible-Light Irradiation
by Assadawoot Srikhaow, Li Zhang, Chitiphon Chuaicham, Jirawat Trakulmututa, Sulakshana Shenoy and Keiko Sasaki
Crystals 2023, 13(12), 1609; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13121609 - 21 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1510
Abstract
The development of efficient and inexpensive photocatalysts for the production of high-value chemicals from the photoreforming of biomass is a highly attractive strategy to establish the production of chemicals from sustainable resources. In this work, Fe-loaded montmorillonite/TiO2 composite (Fe-Mt/TiO2), pure [...] Read more.
The development of efficient and inexpensive photocatalysts for the production of high-value chemicals from the photoreforming of biomass is a highly attractive strategy to establish the production of chemicals from sustainable resources. In this work, Fe-loaded montmorillonite/TiO2 composite (Fe-Mt/TiO2), pure TiO2, Mt/TiO2 and Mt/Fe-TiO2 were fabricated and further utilized as photocatalysts for the production of formic acid from glucose under visible-light irradiation. Among the as-prepared composites, the Fe-Mt/TiO2 exhibited the highest glucose conversion (83%), formic acid production (44%) and formic acid selectivity (53%). The effective heterojunction between Fe-Mt and TiO2 is proposed to describe the superior photocatalytic activity of Fe-Mt/TiO2, which effectively suppressed the recombination of the photogenerated electrons and holes during the reaction. Mechanism investigations suggested that the selective photocatalytic oxidation of glucose into formic acid by Fe-Mt/TiO2 mainly occurred through an α-scission reaction pathway, driven by the main active species as •O2− and 1O2. The research findings in this work suggested that the Fe-Mt/TiO2 composite can be applied as a low-cost, easy-to-prepare, reusable and selective photocatalyst for sustainable synthesis of high-value chemicals from biomass-derived substrates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Properties of Photocatalysts)
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