Emerging Materials for Photonic and Solar-Driven Applications
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 15
Special Issue Editors
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; photocatalytic water splitting; photocatalytic CO2 reduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: photocatalysis; CO2 conversion; hydrogen; electrocatalyst
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The rapid advancement of global sustainability goals has underscored the need for emerging materials that can address the dual challenges of environmental remediation and the energy transition. This Special Issue, “Emerging Materials for Photonic and Solar-Driven Applications”, aims to highlight recent advances in the design, synthesis, and application of innovative materials for light-driven processes, including photovoltaic energy harvesting, photocatalytic reactions, and solar-fueled environmental technologies.
We particularly welcome studies exploring new material architectures, heterojunction interfaces, nanostructuring strategies, and band structure modulation, which can significantly enhance photon absorption, charge carrier dynamics, and reaction selectivity. The scope also includes hybrid systems, co-catalysts, and the integration of solar materials into scalable devices.
This Special Issue serves as an interdisciplinary platform bridging materials science, environmental chemistry, nanotechnology, and renewable energy engineering, aiming to deliver transformative solutions for carbon neutrality, pollutant degradation, and clean fuel generation.
We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that provide insights into the fundamental mechanisms, advanced fabrication techniques, and practical deployment of next-generation solar-driven technologies.
We look forward to receiving your contributions, which will be published in open access and disseminated widely to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration in this dynamic field.
Dr. Tongming Su
Dr. Xingwang Zhu
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. Materials 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 remediation
- solar energy conversion
- photovoltaics
- photocatalysis
- light-harvesting materials
- charge separation
- green catalysis
- energy storage
- heterojunctions
- nanomaterials
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