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Novel Catalytic Materials and Underlying Reaction Mechanisms for Air Purification...
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Novel Catalytic Materials and Underlying Reaction Mechanisms for Air Purification and CO2 Conversion

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 7512

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xinbo Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315832, China
Interests: plasma; catalyst; VOCs; NH3; soot oxidation; reaction mechanisms
Dr. Zijian Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: flue gas; coal combustion; catalyst; heavy metal; NOx; VOCs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The extensive combustion of various fossil fuels in power plants, chemical industries and mobile sources has resulted in the emission of major greenhouse gases and air pollutants, including CO, CO2, N2O and volatile organic compounds, leading to global warming and air quality issues. Heterogeneous catalysis has been proven as one of the most effective solutions to these issues, while great efforts have been made in the related fields. In particular, materials with special structures and carefully designed active sites could play a vital role in dealing with these issues. Moreover, the reaction pathways and underlying mechanisms of these novel materials in greenhouse gas and air pollutant control may be quite different from the conventional bulk materials. This Special Issue aims to gather a range of researchers and share their latest progress in air purification and CO2 conversion over novel catalytic materials.

Dr. Xinbo Zhu
Dr. Zijian Zhou
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • CO2 conversion
  • CO2 utilization
  • CO
  • VOCs
  • NOx

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5291 KiB  
Article
Theoretical Study on Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 on Anatase/Rutile Mixed-Phase TiO2
by Jieqiong Li, Shiyu Wei, Ying Dong, Yongya Zhang and Li Wang
Molecules 2024, 29(17), 4105; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29174105 - 29 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1085
Abstract
The construction of anatase/rutile heterojunctions in TiO2 is an effective way of improving the CO2 photoreduction activity. Yet, the origin of the superior photocatalytic performance is still unclear. To solve this issue, the band edges between anatase and rutile phases were [...] Read more.
The construction of anatase/rutile heterojunctions in TiO2 is an effective way of improving the CO2 photoreduction activity. Yet, the origin of the superior photocatalytic performance is still unclear. To solve this issue, the band edges between anatase and rutile phases were theoretically determined based on the three-phase atomic model of (112)A/II/(101)R, and simultaneously the CO2 reduction processes were meticulously investigated. Our calculations show that photogenerated holes can move readily from anatase to rutile via the thin intermediated II phase, while photoelectrons flowing in the opposite direction may be impeded due to the electron trapping sites at the II phase. However, the large potential drop across the anatase/rutile interface and the strong built-in electric field can provide an effective driving force for photoelectrons’ migration to anatase. In addition, the II phase can better enhance the solar light utilization of (112)A/(100)II, including a wide light response range and an intensive optical absorption coefficient. Meanwhile, the mixed-phase TiO2 possesses negligible hydrogenation energy (CO2 to COOH*) and lower rate-limiting energy (HCOOH* to HCO*), which greatly facilitate CH3OH generation. The efficient charge separation, strengthened light absorption, and facile CO2 reduction successfully demonstrate that the anatase/rutile mixed-phase TiO2 is an efficient photocatalyst utilized for CO2 conversion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Catalytic Materials and Underlying Reaction Mechanisms for Air Purification and CO2 Conversion)
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15 pages, 3174 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Catalytic Effects on Nitrogen Transformation during Biomass Pyrolysis: A Focus on Proline as a Model Compound
by Shan Cheng, Kehui Yao, Hong Tian, Ting Yang and Lianghui Chen
Molecules 2024, 29(13), 3118; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29133118 - 30 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1281
Abstract
To investigate the control mechanisms of NOx precursors and the synergistic effects of composite catalysts during proline pyrolysis, a systematic series of experiments was conducted utilizing composite catalysts with varying Fe-Ca ratios. Product distribution analysis was employed to elucidate the catalysts’ mechanisms in [...] Read more.
To investigate the control mechanisms of NOx precursors and the synergistic effects of composite catalysts during proline pyrolysis, a systematic series of experiments was conducted utilizing composite catalysts with varying Fe-Ca ratios. Product distribution analysis was employed to elucidate the catalysts’ mechanisms in reducing NOx precursor emissions. The synergistic interactions between Fe and Ca were quantitatively assessed through comparative theoretical and experimental release calculations. The results indicate that an increase in the Fe content in the catalyst led to a rise in amine concentrations from 0.9% to 2.95%, implying that Fe facilitates the generation of amine-N through ring-opening and substitution reactions. When the Fe to Ca ratio was balanced at 1:1, nitrogen predominantly participated in the formation of purines via cyclization and substitution reactions. Additionally, all composite catalysts exhibited a suppressive effect on the release of NOx precursors, attributed to their significant enhancement of solid product retention. Fe-Ca composite catalyst synergistically inhibits the release of gaseous nitrogen. Notably, the strongest synergistic effect was observed with a 1:3 Fe to Ca ratio, which reduced the release of NH3 by 38.7% and HCN by 53.6% during proline pyrolysis. This study offers valuable insights into the control of NOx precursors and the optimization of nitrogen-rich biomass pyrolysis processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Catalytic Materials and Underlying Reaction Mechanisms for Air Purification and CO2 Conversion)
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19 pages, 8999 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Promotion of Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange by Fluorine- and Silicon-Doped TiO2/AC Composite Material
by Jinyuan Zhu, Yingying Zhu, Yifan Zhou, Chen Wu, Zhen Chen and Geng Chen
Molecules 2023, 28(13), 5170; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28135170 - 2 Jul 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2571
Abstract
The direct or indirect discharge of organic pollutants causes serious environmental problems and endangers human health. The high electron–hole recombination rate greatly limits the catalytic efficiency of traditional TiO2-based catalysts. Therefore, starting from low-cost activated carbon (AC), a photocatalyst (F-Si-TiO2 [...] Read more.
The direct or indirect discharge of organic pollutants causes serious environmental problems and endangers human health. The high electron–hole recombination rate greatly limits the catalytic efficiency of traditional TiO2-based catalysts. Therefore, starting from low-cost activated carbon (AC), a photocatalyst (F-Si-TiO2/AC) comprising fluorine (F)- and silicon (Si)-doped TiO2 loaded on AC has been developed. F-Si-TiO2/AC has a porous structure. TiO2 nanoparticles were uniformly fixed on the surface or pores of AC, producing many catalytic sites. The band gap of F-Si-TiO2/AC is only 2.7 eV. In addition, F-Si-TiO2/AC exhibits an excellent adsorption capacity toward methyl orange (MO) (57%) in the dark after 60 min. Under the optimal preparation conditions, F-Si-TiO2/AC showed a significant photodegradation performance toward MO, reaching 97.7% after irradiation with visible light for 70 min. Even under the action of different anions and cations, its degradation efficiency is the lowest, at 64.0%, which has good prospects for practical application. At the same time, F-Si-TiO2/AC has long-term, stable, practical application potential and can be easily recovered from the solution. Therefore, this work provides new insights for the fabrication of low-cost, porous, activated, carbon-based photocatalysts, which can be used as high-performance photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Catalytic Materials and Underlying Reaction Mechanisms for Air Purification and CO2 Conversion)
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16 pages, 9395 KiB  
Article
Catalytic-CO2-Desorption Studies of BZA-AEP Mixed Absorbent by the Lewis Acid Catalyst CeO2-γ-Al2O3
by Shenghua Liu, Xudong Mao, Hao Chen, Xinbo Zhu and Guohua Yang
Molecules 2023, 28(11), 4438; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28114438 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1898
Abstract
Traditional organic amines exhibit inferior desorption performance and high regeneration energy consumption. The implementation of solid acid catalysts presents an efficacious approach to mitigate regeneration energy consumption. Thus, investigating high-performance solid acid catalysts holds paramount importance for the advancement and implementation of carbon [...] Read more.
Traditional organic amines exhibit inferior desorption performance and high regeneration energy consumption. The implementation of solid acid catalysts presents an efficacious approach to mitigate regeneration energy consumption. Thus, investigating high-performance solid acid catalysts holds paramount importance for the advancement and implementation of carbon capture technology. This study synthesized two Lewis acid catalysts via an ultrasonic-assisted precipitation method. A comparative analysis of the catalytic desorption properties was conducted, encompassing these two Lewis acid catalysts and three precursor catalysts. The results demonstrated that the CeO2-γ-Al2O3 catalyst demonstrated superior catalytic desorption performance. Within the desorption temperature range of 90 to 110 °C, the average desorption rate of BZA-AEP catalyzed by the CeO2-γ-Al2O3 catalyst was 87 to 354% greater compared to the desorption rate in the absence of the catalyst, and the desorption temperature can be reduced by approximately 10 °C. A comprehensive analysis of the catalytic desorption mechanism of the CeO2-γ-Al2O3 catalyst was conducted, and indicated that the synergistic effect of CeO2-γ-Al2O3 conferred a potent catalytic influence throughout the entire desorption process, spanning from the rich solution to the lean solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Catalytic Materials and Underlying Reaction Mechanisms for Air Purification and CO2 Conversion)
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