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Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability
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Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 4279

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dezhi Chen

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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Prevention Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, China
Interests: functional naomaterials; energy storage; water remediation; electrochemistry; adsorption; catalysis
Prof. Dr. Junfei Liang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Energy and Power Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China
Interests: energy storage materials and devices; nano materials; battery; supercapacitor
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wei Wei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Henan Engineering Center of New Energy Battery Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China
Interests: preparation of nanomaterials; new energy materials; secondary batteries

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the application of functional nanomaterials for energy storage and environmental purification. The articles in this issue explore functional nanomaterials with special structures that can be leveraged to improve the efficiency and sustainability of energy storage and consumption, as well as to address pressing environmental challenges such as pollution and climate change. Topics include the development of new nanomaterials for sustainable energy storage technologies, such as secondary batteries and supercapacitors, as well as their potential applications in water purification, carbon capture, VOC elimination, and other environmental remediation efforts. The Special Issue highlights the in-depth understanding of the relationship between the structure of functional nanomaterials and their electrochemical energy storage properties, activities, adsorption and catalytic characteristics, evaluation of device configuration, etc. We invite leading groups in the field to contribute their original research articles and review articles to promote the progress in the discipline.

Prof. Dr. Dezhi Chen
Prof. Dr. Junfei Liang
Dr. Wei Wei
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. Molecules 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 2700 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
  • resource recovery
  • secondary batteries
  • supercapacitors
  • water purification
  • carbon capture
  • VOC elimination

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4098 KiB  
Article
Efficient Preparation of Li2FeSiO4/C with High Purity and Excellent Electrochemical Performance in Li-Ion Batteries
by Jinhai Cui, Dezhi Chen, Mengna Xie, Yongheng Zhou, Shuai Dong and Wei Wei
Molecules 2025, 30(4), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30040808 - 10 Feb 2025
Viewed by 530
Abstract
One method to enhance the electrochemical performance of carbon-coated Li2FeSiO4 cathode material in lithium-ion batteries is to produce an ideal Li2FeSiO4 precursor with minimal impurities. A novel precursor for Li2FeSiO4 (Li2O·FeCO3 [...] Read more.
One method to enhance the electrochemical performance of carbon-coated Li2FeSiO4 cathode material in lithium-ion batteries is to produce an ideal Li2FeSiO4 precursor with minimal impurities. A novel precursor for Li2FeSiO4 (Li2O·FeCO3·CH3OSiO2H) was synthesized through a methanol solvothermal reaction under stringent conditions (180 °C and 2.7 MPa), achieving a purity level of 93.2%. During synthesis, the new Li2FeSiO4 precursor exhibits unique self-purification properties and maintains a fine morphology after annealing. The resulting carbon-coated Li2FeSiO4 composites demonstrate a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area of 102.4 m2/g and approximately 81% mesoporous volume, with 90% of the pore sizes measuring less than 39 nm. As a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, this carbon-coated Li2FeSiO4 exhibits initial specific capacities of 172.3 mAh/g (charge) and 159.3 mAh/g (discharge). Remarkably, nearly 50% of the theoretical specific capacity remains after 1300 cycles at a rate of 0.1 C. The excellent electrochemical performance of the carbon-coated Li2FeSiO4 materials is demonstrated by their high lithium-ion diffusivity (DLi+) value of 1.26 × 10−11 cm2/s. Additionally, the enormous capacities-controlled diffusion contribution, which accounts for 70% of the total diffusion at a rate of 1C, is noteworthy. This performance can be attributed to the high purity of the carbon-free Li2FeSiO4 composite, which contains 91% Li2FeSiO4, as well as its favorable morphology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability)
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14 pages, 3489 KiB  
Article
Tuning Electrical Conductivity and Ultrafast Optical Nonlinearity of Reduced-GO Films Ablated by Femtosecond Laser Direct Writing
by Youliang Tao, Xuefeng Zhang, Han Wang, Zhongquan Nie and Deng Pan
Molecules 2025, 30(2), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30020348 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 567
Abstract
Carbon-based nanomaterials with excellent electrical and optical properties are highly sought after for a plethora of hybrid applications, ranging from advanced sustainable energy storage devices to opto-electronic components. In this contribution, we examine in detail the dependence of electrical conductivity and the ultrafast [...] Read more.
Carbon-based nanomaterials with excellent electrical and optical properties are highly sought after for a plethora of hybrid applications, ranging from advanced sustainable energy storage devices to opto-electronic components. In this contribution, we examine in detail the dependence of electrical conductivity and the ultrafast optical nonlinearity of graphene oxide (GO) films on their degrees of reduction, as well as the link between the two properties. The GO films were first synthesized through the vacuum filtration method and then reduced partially and controllably by way of femtosecond laser direct writing with varying power doses. Subsequently, the four-point probe measurements of the reduced-GO (r-GO) films were demonstrated to exhibit superior resistivity and electrical conductivity compared with the pristine-GO counterpart. It was found that the conductivity of the film increases and then decreases with increasing ablation laser power (P), and GO was completely reduced at P = 100 mW, with a resistivity and electrical conductivity of 1.09 × 10−3 Ω·m and 9.19 × 102 S/m, respectively. GO was over-reduced at P = 120 mW, with its resistivity and electrical conductivity being 3.72 × 10−3 Ω·m and 2.69 × 102 S/m, respectively. We further tested the ultrafast optical nonlinearity (ONL) of the as-prepared pristine and reduced GO with the femtosecond Z-scan technique. The results show that the behavior of ONL is reversed whenever GO is reduced in a controlled manner. More interestingly, the higher the ablation laser power is, the stronger the optical nonlinearity of r-GO is. In particular, the nonlinear absorption and refraction coefficients of the r-GO films reach up to 3.26 × 10−8 m/W and −1.12 × 10−13 m2/W when P = 120 mW. The nonlinear absorption and refraction coefficients reach 1.9 × 10−8 m/W and −3 × 10−13 m2/W, respectively, for P = 70 mW. GO/r-GO thin films with tunable photovoltaic response properties have potential for a wide range of applications in microelectronic circuits, energy, and environmental sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability)
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14 pages, 16525 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Piezocatalytic Performance of γ-AlON Particles for Dye-Pollutant Degradation Under Ultrasonic Vibration
by Dan Zhu, Yanyan Wang, Le Xiao, Yu Dai and Jian Wu
Molecules 2024, 29(23), 5698; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29235698 - 2 Dec 2024
Viewed by 836
Abstract
Piezocatalytic materials have attracted widespread attention in the fields of clean energy and water treatment because of their ability to convert mechanical energy directly into chemical energy. In this study, γ-AlON particles synthesised using carbothermal reduction and nitridation (CRN) were used for the [...] Read more.
Piezocatalytic materials have attracted widespread attention in the fields of clean energy and water treatment because of their ability to convert mechanical energy directly into chemical energy. In this study, γ-AlON particles synthesised using carbothermal reduction and nitridation (CRN) were used for the first time as a novel piezocatalytic material to degrade dye solutions under ultrasonic vibration. The γ-AlON particles exhibited good performance as a piezocatalytic material for the degradation of organic pollutants. After 120 min under ultrasonic vibration, 40 mg portions of γ-AlON particles in 50 mL dye solutions (10 mg/L) achieved 78.06%, 67.74%, 74.29% and 64.62% decomposition rates for rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) solutions, respectively; the fitted k values were 13.35 × 10−3, 10.79 × 10−3, 12.09 × 10−3 and 8.00 × 10−3 min−1, respectively. The piezocatalytic mechanism of γ-AlON particles in the selective degradation of MO was further analysed in free-radical scavenging activity experiments. Hydroxyl radicals (•OH), superoxide radicals (•O2−), holes (h+) and electrons (e−) were found to be the main active substances in the degradation process. Therefore, γ-AlON particles are an efficient and promising piezocatalytic material for the treatment of dye pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability)
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11 pages, 2518 KiB  
Article
First-Principles Study of 3R-MoS2 for High-Capacity and Stable Aluminum Ion Batteries Cathode Material
by Bin Wang, Tao Deng, Quan Zhou, Chaoyang Zhang, Xingbao Lu and Renqian Tao
Molecules 2024, 29(22), 5433; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29225433 - 18 Nov 2024
Viewed by 960
Abstract
Currently, exploring high-capacity, stable cathode materials remains a major challenge for rechargeable Aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs). As an intercalator for rechargeable AIBs, Al3+ produces three times the capacity of AlCl4− when the same number of anions is inserted. However, the cathode [...] Read more.
Currently, exploring high-capacity, stable cathode materials remains a major challenge for rechargeable Aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs). As an intercalator for rechargeable AIBs, Al3+ produces three times the capacity of AlCl4− when the same number of anions is inserted. However, the cathode material capable of producing Al3+ intercalation is not a graphite material with AlCl4− intercalation but a transition metal sulfide material with polar bonding. In this paper, the insertion mechanism of Al3+ in 3R-MoS2 is investigated using first-principles calculations. It is found that Al3+ tends to insert into different interlayer positions at the same time rather than occupying one layer before inserting into another, which is different from the insertion mechanism of AlCl4− in graphite. Ab initio, molecular dynamics calculations revealed that Al3+ was able to stabilize the insertion of 3R-MoS2. Diffusion barriers indicate that Al3+ preferentially migrates to nearby stabilization sites in diffusion pathway studies. According to the calculation, the theoretical maximum specific capacity of Al3+ intercalated 3R-MoS2 reached 502.30 mAg h−1, and the average voltage of the intercalation was in the range of 0.75–0.96 V. Therefore, 3R-MoS2 is a very promising cathode material for AIBs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability)
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17 pages, 4271 KiB  
Article
Efficient Removal of Cationic Dye by Biomimetic Amorphous Calcium Carbonate: Behavior and Mechanisms
by Renlu Liu, Weizhen Ji, Jie Min, Pengjun Wen, Yan Li, Jialu Hu, Li Yin and Genhe He
Molecules 2024, 29(22), 5426; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29225426 - 18 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1020
Abstract
The search for efficient, environmentally friendly adsorbents is critical for purifying dye wastewater. In this study, we produced a first-of-its-kind effective biomimetic amorphous calcium carbonate (BACC) using bacterial processes and evaluated its capacity to adsorb a hazardous organic cationic dye—methylene blue (MB). BACC [...] Read more.
The search for efficient, environmentally friendly adsorbents is critical for purifying dye wastewater. In this study, we produced a first-of-its-kind effective biomimetic amorphous calcium carbonate (BACC) using bacterial processes and evaluated its capacity to adsorb a hazardous organic cationic dye—methylene blue (MB). BACC can adsorb a maximum of 494.86 mg/g of MB, and this excellent adsorption performance was maintained during different solution temperature (10–55 °C) and broad pH (3–12) conditions. The favorable adsorption characteristics of BACC can be attributable to its hydrophobic property, porosity, electronegativity, and perfect dispersity in aqueous solution. During adsorption, MB can form Cl-Ca, S-O, N-Ca, and H-bonds on the surface of BACC. Since BACC has excellent resistance to adsorption interference in different water bodies and in real dye wastewater, and can also be effectively recycled six times, our study is an important step forward in dye wastewater treatment applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability)
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