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Advances in Catalytic Materials and Processes for the Energy and Environmental Applications in a Carbon-Neutral Society

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 412

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Sciences Institute, University of Seville-CSIC, 41092 Seville, Spain
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; CO2 reduction; hybrid and composite materials; MXenes and graphene-based composites; sustainable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
INL - International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal
Interests: electrocatalysis; OER; HER; advanced oxidation processes; environmental nanotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The pursuit of sustainable energy and environmental solutions is driving transformative advancements in catalysis and materials science and this Special Issue seeks to focus on recent innovations in catalytic materials, reaction engineering, and integrated processes that enable efficient and selective transformations of carbon feedstocks into sustainable energy carriers, fuels, and chemicals. Contributions are invited on cutting-edge catalyst designs and synthesis strategies, including advanced materials such as MXenes, graphene-based composites, and hybrid systems, as well as mechanistic insights into and the optimization of catalytic processes for carbon capture, conversion, and biofuel production. We also welcome studies on novel reactor engineering and computational approaches to enhancing catalytic efficiency and scalability, alongside environmental catalysis and nanotechnology solutions for wastewater treatment, pollutant remediation, and energy generation from bio-waste. Both experimental and theoretical studies, as well as reviews, exploring interdisciplinary approaches to carbon-neutral energy and chemical systems, are encouraged.

We welcome original research, reviews, mini reviews, and perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:

  1. Innovative Catalysts for Energy and Environmental Applications:
    • The design, synthesis, characterization, and optimization of heterogeneous, hybrid, and electrocatalysts;
    • The development of MXenes, graphene-based composites, and other advanced materials for CO₂ reduction, water splitting, and pollutant degradation.
  2. Materials for Carbon Capture, Conversion, and Sustainability:
    • Advanced materials for CO₂ sequestration, storage, and transformation into valuable products;
    • Functional nanostructures for sustainable energy systems and environmental protection.
  3. Catalytic Reactors, Process Engineering, and Computational Approaches:
    • Novel catalytic reactor designs and engineering for sustainable fuel and chemical production;
    • Computational modeling and simulation for catalyst optimization and process intensification.
  4. Biofuels and Green Energy Technologies:
    • Biofuel production from bio-waste, syngas, and CO₂ conversion processes;
    • Innovations in carbon-neutral and renewable energy technologies.
  5. Environmental Catalysis and Nanotechnology:
    • Catalysis-driven solutions for wastewater treatment, pollutant remediation, and biocorrosion mitigation;
    • Integration of catalytic processes with microbial fuel cells, electromicrobiology, and advanced oxidation processes for environmental sustainability.

Dr. Muhammad Asif Nawaz
Prof. Dr. Waqas Qamar Zaman
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

  • catalysis
  • CO₂ reduction
  • sustainable energy
  • electrocatalysis
  • advanced oxidation processes
  • graphene-based composites
  • MXenes
  • environmental nanotechnology
  • microbial fuel cells
  • reactor engineering

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 3029 KiB  
Article
Unveiling the Nitrogen-Doping Mechanism in Carbon Catalysts for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethanol to Acetaldehyde
by Lingxin Kong, Chenxi Guo, Wenkai Song, Yujie Liu, Guiyao Luo, Yan Xu, Yujun Zhao and Peng Jin
Materials 2025, 18(10), 2345; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18102345 - 18 May 2025
Viewed by 190
Abstract
Oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethanol to acetaldehyde is an important production process. However, it still suffers from low deactivation, selectivity, and high costs. Herein, we developed a new strategy for preparing mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts by carbonization of phenolic resin with silica as [...] Read more.
Oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethanol to acetaldehyde is an important production process. However, it still suffers from low deactivation, selectivity, and high costs. Herein, we developed a new strategy for preparing mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts by carbonization of phenolic resin with silica as a hard template. The catalyst demonstrated an impressive acetaldehyde selectivity of over 76% at 270 °C for 25 h during the ODH of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Mechanistic studies have shown that the two carbon atoms in adjacent C=O groups are replaced by nitrogen atoms in the N0-Gra-O structural unit. The C=O functional group on the surface of the catalyst is the active center for the ODH of ethanol to acetaldehyde, and the introduction of nitrogen atoms can reduce the adsorption capacity of acetaldehyde molecules at the active site (ΔG values can be reduced by 0.11–0.45 eV), enabling rapid desorption of the product and avoiding the problem of excessive oxidation, thereby improving the selectivity of acetaldehyde. This work reveals the structure–activity relationship between active sites and selective regulation of nitrogen-doped carbon-based catalysts for the ODH of ethanol, providing a theoretical basis for the development of efficient non-metallic carbon-based catalysts. Full article
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