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Advances in Functional Nanomaterials for Environmental Applications
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Advances in Functional Nanomaterials for Environmental Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 8213

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Simona Zuppolini

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Guest Editor
Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, 80055 Naples, Italy
Interests: design and synthesis of materials; functionalization of materials; bio-inspired materials; hydrogels; nanocomposites systems; sensing and biosensing surface
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Anna Borriello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, 80055 Portici, Naples, Italy
Interests: design; synthesis; functionalization of materials; bioinspired materials; electrically conductive polymers; hydrogels; nanocomposite systems; polymer electrolyte membranes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Armando Zarrelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
Interests: natural metabolites; phenolic compounds; silibinin; phosphodiester; oligoflavonoids; chlorination treatments; disinfection byproducts (DBPs)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the nanotechnology field, the demand for advanced materials with innovative and combined features is constantly growing, stimulating research to design and develop multifunctional structures with tailored properties. Advanced functional nanomaterials promptly respond to this need due to their enhanced and improved physical, chemical, and functional properties.

In particular, the attention dedicated on a global scale to environmental issues and to the safety of human health has driven research towards the development of green, highly innovative, and promising new approaches to meeting the increasing demands from society on water resources, pollution remediation, and ecofriendly processes.

In the last few years, many efforts have been made in terms of the design of advanced nanomaterials and their functionality as well as synthetic and use approaches. Polymer nanocomposites, semiconductor–metal nanocomposites, layered double hydroxides, metal–organic frameworks, carbon-based functional materials, and other photofunctional materials have been provided. Most of these materials show properties such as adsorption, redox potential, and photocatalytic activity, which are highly suitable for creating a better environment.  

In this context, the Special Issue aims to assemble and review a broad range of ideas with inter- and multidisciplinarity from leading experts in the fields of chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, materials science, and engineering. This Special Issue is focused on the emerging concepts in and improvement of environmental basic research, and will cover the following topics (but is not limited to these):

  • The design and synthesis of functional nanomaterials;
  • Environmental remediation (water treatment and pollutant removal);
  • Photocatalysis;
  • Novel transport/transformation of nanomaterials and contaminants;
  • Nature-inspired materials in environmental applications;
  • Solar-energy-driven photocatalysis;
  • Sustainable materials originating from safe and natural resources;
  • Environmental sensing and monitoring.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. Full papers, short communications, and reviews will be greatly appreciated.

Dr. Simona Zuppolini
Dr. Anna Borriello
Prof. Dr. Armando Zarrelli
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

  • functional nanomaterials
  • hybrid nanomaterials
  • photocatalysis
  • environmental remediation
  • sustainable nanomaterials
  • pollutant treatment/removal

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2549 KiB  
Article
Coupling of 3-Aminopropyl Sulfonic Acid to Cellulose Nanofibers for Efficient Removal of Cationic Dyes
by Naglaa Salem El-Sayed, Ahmed Salama and Vincenzo Guarino
Materials 2022, 15(19), 6964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196964 - 7 Oct 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2075
Abstract
A novel anionic nanostructured cellulose derivate was prepared through the coupling of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers with 3-aminopropyl sulfonic acid (3-APSA). 3-APSA grafting was variously investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, confirming a high reaction degree. The surface morphology investigated [...] Read more.
A novel anionic nanostructured cellulose derivate was prepared through the coupling of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers with 3-aminopropyl sulfonic acid (3-APSA). 3-APSA grafting was variously investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, confirming a high reaction degree. The surface morphology investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a more uniform organization of the nanofibers after the 3-APSA coupling, with improvements in terms of fiber packing and pore interconnectivity. This peculiar morphology contributes to improving methylene blue (MB) adsorption and removal efficiency at different operating conditions (pH, initial time, and initial concentration). The results indicated a maximum adsorption capacity of 526 mg/g in the case of 3-APSA grafted nanofibers, over 30% more than that of non-grafted ones (370 mg/g), which confirm a relevant effect of chemical modification on the adsorbent properties of cellulose nanofibers. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of the current adsorbents match with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. This study suggests the use of chemical grafting via 3-APSA is a reliable and facile post-treatment to design bio-sustainable and reusable nanofibers to be used as high-performance adsorbent materials in water pollutant remediation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Nanomaterials for Environmental Applications)
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11 pages, 4816 KiB  
Article
Nanoporous–Crystalline Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene)oxide Aerogels with Selectively Sulfonated Amorphous Phase for Fast VOC Sorption from Water
by Marina Pellegrino, Adriano Fiumarella, Alma Moretta, Christophe Daniel, Marco Trifuoggi, Anna Borriello and Vincenzo Venditto
Materials 2022, 15(5), 1947; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051947 - 5 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1882
Abstract
This paper describes the preparation and characterization of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene)oxide (PPO) highly porous monolithic aerogels with a hydrophobic nanoporous–crystalline phase and a hydrophilic sulfonated amorphous phase. The sulfonated aerogels were obtained by the sulfonation of PPO physical gels, followed by the supercritical CO2 [...] Read more.
This paper describes the preparation and characterization of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene)oxide (PPO) highly porous monolithic aerogels with a hydrophobic nanoporous–crystalline phase and a hydrophilic sulfonated amorphous phase. The sulfonated aerogels were obtained by the sulfonation of PPO physical gels, followed by the supercritical CO2 extraction of solvents. WAXD and FTIR analysis showed that the nanoporous–crystalline phase was preserved for a degree of sulfonation up to c.a. 35%, allowing a highly volatile organic compound (VOC) sorption capacity. The sulfonated PPO aerogels exhibited a high water sorption capacity, with a water uptake of up to 500 wt%, and faster VOC sorption kinetics from water with respect to unsulfonated aerogels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Nanomaterials for Environmental Applications)
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17 pages, 5234 KiB  
Article
Application of Bi12ZnO20 Sillenite as an Efficient Photocatalyst for Wastewater Treatment: Removal of Both Organic and Inorganic Compounds
by Oussama Baaloudj, Noureddine Nasrallah, Hamza Kenfoud, Faisal Algethami, Abueliz Modwi, Ahlem Guesmi, Aymen Amine Assadi and Lotfi Khezami
Materials 2021, 14(18), 5409; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185409 - 18 Sep 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3393
Abstract
This work aims to synthesize and characterize a material that can be used as an effective catalyst for photocatalytic application to remove both organic and inorganic compounds from wastewater. In this context, sillenite Bi12ZnO20 (BZO) in a pure phase was [...] Read more.
This work aims to synthesize and characterize a material that can be used as an effective catalyst for photocatalytic application to remove both organic and inorganic compounds from wastewater. In this context, sillenite Bi12ZnO20 (BZO) in a pure phase was synthesized using the sol–gel method. Before calcination, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis was done to determine the temperature of the formation of the sillenite phase, which was found to be 800 °C. After calcination, the phase was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and then refined using the Rietveld refinement technique. The results prove that BZO crystals have a cubic symmetry with the space group I23 (N°197); the lattice parameters of the structure were also determined. From the crystalline size, the surface area was estimated using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, which was found to be 11.22 m2/g. The formation of sillenite was also checked using the Raman technique. The morphology of the crystals was visualized using electron scanning microscope (SEM) analysis. After that, the optical properties of BZO were investigated by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL); an optical gap of 2.9 eV was found. In the final step, the photocatalytic activity of the BZO crystals was evaluated for the removal of inorganic and organic pollutants, namely hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) and Cefixime (CFX). An efficient removal rate was achieved for both contaminants within only 3 h, with a 94.34% degradation rate for CFX and a 77.19% reduction rate for Cr(VI). Additionally, a kinetic study was carried out using a first-order model, and the results showed that the kinetic properties are compatible with this model. According to these findings, we can conclude that the sillenite BZO can be used as an efficient photocatalyst for wastewater treatment by eliminating both organic and inorganic compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Nanomaterials for Environmental Applications)
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