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Sustainable Development of Nanomaterials for Advanced Energy Fuels and Environmental Protection

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D1: Advanced Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 October 2025 | Viewed by 907

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia in Katowice, Szkolna 9, 40-006 Katowice, Poland
Interests: nanomaterials; synthesis; nanoparticles; heterogeneous catalysis; catalyst characterization; catalyst synthesis; oxidation; green chemistry technologies; nanocatalysis
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia in Katowice, Szkolna 9, 40-006 Katowice, Poland
Interests: removing pollutants from air and industrial gases; catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide; hydrogen production in catalytic processes; synthesis of fuels from wastes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia in Katowice, Szkolna 9, 40-006 Katowice, Poland
Interests: catalytic organic synthesis; preparation of nanostructures; nanocatalysts; catalytic synthesis in gases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the beginning of the 21st century, nanomaterials and their applications in catalytic processes have been an intensively growing field of science and knowledge and the rapid development of new methods of synthesis, scaling up and the characterization of nanostructures has directly influenced the expansion of achievable limits, especially in fields such as chemistry and materials engineering. Currently, the central point of interest of research teams, and, in particular, the R&D departments of companies in the energy sector and automotive industry, is a focus on the challenges of sustainable energy production, storage, and its controlled release. This last issue plays a key role in ensuring stable and uninterrupted supply in energy networks and the automotive industry. These ideas especially include the use of H2, NH3 and CH4 to store and manage energy sources in order to optimize the use of energy from renewable sources. According to the concept of sustainable development, these processes should also include the use of greenhouse gases in order to protect the natural environment. Biofuels from renewable sources of the third and, in the future, fourth generation particularly fit into these assumptions. Nanometallic catalysts enable the selective and waste-free production of products that meet environmental protection standards through the use of technologies aimed at adhering to green chemistry guidelines. This necessitates a global look at the chemical processes affecting the natural environment. Nanocatalysts designed for these processes fit into the concept of applying the principles of nuclear economics by increasing the efficiency of individual processes while reducing multi-stage processes and reducing the amount of harmful waste. In the long term, the growing use of nanomaterials in the economy will contribute to a faster energy transformation by reducing the consumption and rational use of energy, as well as reducing the emission of harmful pollutants.

In this special issue on the “Sustainable Development of Nanomaterials for Advanced Energy Fuels and Environmental Protection”, we strongly encourage you to submit original articles, reviews, and short communications, especially those focusing on the use of nanocatalysts in the fields of energy storage, biofuel synthesis, clean energy and resource production processes based on zero-waste technologies, pollution reduction processes and the application of synthesis products in environmental protection.

Dr. Maciej Kapkowski
Dr. Tomasz Siudyga
Dr. Piotr Bartczak
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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

  • environmental catalysis
  • nanomaterials synthesis and application
  • power to gas
  • energy storage
  • hydrogen energy
  • CO2 methanation
  • NOx reduction
  • biomass conversion
  • fuel additives
  • biofuels in automotive industry

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 9567 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Zno:Al Nanolayers Produced by ALD for Clean Energy Applications
by Marek Szindler, Magdalena Szindler, Krzysztof Matus, Błażej Tomiczek and Barbara Hajduk
Energies 2025, 18(11), 2860; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18112860 - 30 May 2025
Viewed by 404
Abstract
The rising demand for sustainable energy solutions has spurred the development of advanced materials for photovoltaic devices. Among these, transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) play a pivotal role in enhancing device efficiency, particularly in silicon-based solar cells. However, the reliance on indium-based TCOs like [...] Read more.
The rising demand for sustainable energy solutions has spurred the development of advanced materials for photovoltaic devices. Among these, transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) play a pivotal role in enhancing device efficiency, particularly in silicon-based solar cells. However, the reliance on indium-based TCOs like ITO raises concerns over cost and material scarcity, prompting the search for more abundant and scalable alternatives. This study focuses on the fabrication and characterization of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al, AZO) thin films deposited via Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), targeting their application as transparent conductive oxides in silicon solar cells. The ZnO:Al thin films were synthesized by alternating supercycles of ZnO and Al2O3 depositions at 225 °C, allowing precise control of composition and thickness. Structural, optical, and electrical properties were assessed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and four-point probe measurements. The results confirmed the formation of uniform, crack-free ZnO:Al thin films with a spinel-type ZnAl2O4 crystalline structure. Optical analyses revealed high transparency (more than 80%) and tunable refractive indices (1.64 ÷ 1.74); the energy band gap was 2.6 ÷ 3.07 eV, while electrical measurements demonstrated low sheet resistance values, reaching 85 Ω/□ for thicker films. This combination of optical and electrical properties underscores the potential of ALD-grown AZO thin films to meet the stringent demands of next-generation photovoltaics. Integration of Zn:Al thin films into silicon solar cells led to an optimized photovoltaic performance, with the best cell achieving a short-circuit current density of 36.0 mA/cm2 and a power conversion efficiency of 15.3%. Overall, this work highlights the technological relevance of ZnO:Al thin films as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional TCOs, offering pathways toward more accessible and efficient solar energy solutions. Full article
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