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Catalysts for Energy and Environmental Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 8405

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rodica Zavoianu

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Guest Editor

Department of Inorganic & Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 4-12, Blvd. Regina Elisabeta, 030018 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: layered double hydroxides; mixed oxides; nickel molybdate; red mud; catalytic oxidation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, humankind has been confronted with two important issues: (i) the increased need for cheap and sustainable energy sources and (ii) the intensification of environmental pollution. Therefore, all around the world, researchers are constantly trying to transform renewable raw materials into fuels with high caloric power and to eliminate pollutants from air, water, and soil by designing and applying selective catalytic processes. Oxides, mixed oxides, composites containing oxide components, and metals supported on oxide carriers are among the most utilized catalysts for these processes.

This Special Issue aims to update the findings related to oxide-containing materials employed as catalysts for the production of ecological fuels and in the environmental protection, respectively. Special attention is directed at the development of such catalysts by waste valorization, since this sustainable approach would enable both an economy of natural resources and a diminution of energy consumption in the synthesis of these materials. The design of modified layered double hydroxides and perovskite structures, including thin-film heterostructures, also leads to a wide range of new materials which can act as catalysts for the production of hydrogen and other ecological fuels, as well as for the degradation of organic pollutants from liquid and gaseous effluents. Moreover, progresses in the synthesis of supported metal catalysts with nanodispersed metal active species are thought to bring important contributions to the increase of the catalytic efficiency.

Taking into account the aforementioned aspects, I cordially invite you to contribute your recent work (review articles, original papers, and communications) to this Special Issue on oxide catalysts for energy and environmental applications, but not limited to, the following materials-oriented categories:

LDH-derived mixed oxides and/or LDHs-composites;
Perovskites and/or perovskite composites;
Oxide catalysts from waste materials;
Oxometallate based materials;
Supported metal catalysts.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rodica Zavoianu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Ecologic fuels
Decontamination
Metal oxides catalysts
Supported metal catalysts
Waste valorization

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3969 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Particle Size and Crystal Surface of CeO₂ on the Catalytic Combustion of Benzene

by Zhuo Wang, Zhu Chen, Jie Zheng and Shufeng Zuo

Materials 2020, 13(24), 5768; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13245768 - 17 Dec 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1890

Abstract

In this study, three kinds of CeO₂ were synthesized, and supported PdO_x (x = 0,1) catalysts were prepared for benzene catalytic combustion. The samples were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption/desorption, HRTEM, XPS and H₂-TPR. The results show that three kinds of CeO₂ with different structures can be formed by different preparation methods. This is mainly reflected in the differences in pore structure, particle size and crystal plane. CeO₂-DC obtained from directly calcined Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O had the largest pore volume and pore diameter and smallest particle size. CeO₂-DC was mainly exposed to the (200) plane. Combined with the results of the ability test, it could be concluded that when Pd²⁺ and Pd⁰ exist at the same time, the activity increases with an increase in the proportion of Pd²⁺. Meanwhile, the structure of CeO₂ affects the formation of oxygen vacancies, thereby affecting the adsorption and degradation of benzene. This article reveals that the particle size, crystal planes, oxygen vacancies and proportion of Pd²⁺ have a great impact on the catalytic combustion of benzene and allow a more comprehensive understanding of the structure–activity relationship, which can guide us to design high-efficiency catalysts targeted to obtain suitable CeO₂-based catalysts for the catalytic combustion of benzene. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysts for Energy and Environmental Applications)

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16 pages, 5578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancement of Titania Photoanode Performance by Sandwiching Copper between Two Titania Layers

by Fan Yang, Ruizhuang Yang, Lin Yan, Jiankun Wu, Xiaolin Liu, Lirong Yang, Minglong Zhong, Xuan Luo and Lin Zhang

Materials 2020, 13(19), 4326; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194326 - 28 Sep 2020

Viewed by 2281

Abstract

Vacancies in semiconductors can play a versatile role in boosting their photocatalytic activity. In this work, a novel TiO₂/Cu/TiO₂ sandwich structure is designed and constructed. Abundant vacancies were introduced in TiO₂ lattice by Cu reduction under heat treatment. Meanwhile, Cu atom could diffuse into TiO₂ to form Cu-doped TiO₂. The synergistic effect between oxygen vacancies and Cu atoms achieved about 2.4 times improved photocurrent of TiO₂/Cu/TiO₂ sandwich structure compared to bare TiO₂ thin film. The enhanced photoactivity may be attributed to regulated electron structure of TiO₂ by oxygen vacancies and Cu dopant from experimental results and density functional theory calculations. Oxygen vacancies and Cu dopant in TiO₂ formed through copper metal reduction can introduce impurity levels and narrow the band gap of TiO₂, thus improve the visible light response. More importantly, the Cu²⁺ and oxygen vacancies in TiO₂ lattice can dramatically increase the charge density around conduction band and promote separation of photo-induced charge carriers. Furthermore, the oxygen vacancies on the surface may serve as active site for sufficient chemical reaction. This work presents a novel method to prepare doped metal oxides catalysts with abundant vacancies for improving photocatalytic activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysts for Energy and Environmental Applications)

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Review

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57 pages, 5081 KiB

Open AccessReview

Complex Catalytic Materials Based on the Perovskite-Type Structure for Energy and Environmental Applications

by Florin Andrei, Rodica Zăvoianu and Ioan-Cezar Marcu

Materials 2020, 13(23), 5555; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13235555 - 5 Dec 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3648

Abstract

This review paper focuses on perovskite-type materials as (photo)catalysts for energy and environmental applications. After a short introduction and the description of the structure of inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites, the methods of preparation of inorganic perovskites both as powders via chemical routes and as thin films via laser-based techniques are tackled with, for the first, an analysis of the influence of the preparation method on the specific surface area of the material obtained. Then, the (photo)catalytic applications of the perovskites in energy production either in the form of hydrogen via water photodecomposition or by methane combustion, and in the removal of organic pollutants from waste waters, are reviewed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysts for Energy and Environmental Applications)

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