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Green Synthesis and Environmental Application of Biomass-Based Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 430

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
Interests: biomass torrefaction; solid biofuel production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
Interests: synthesis of value-added chemicals and materials from lignocellulosic biomass; biomass-derived porous carbons for catalysis; adsorption and energy storage; environmental catalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Addressing global environmental challenges demands innovative and sustainable material solutions. This Special Issue focuses on the forefront of research in biomass-derived materials, emphasizing green synthesis pathways and their pivotal role in environmental remediation and protection.

We invite original research and review articles exploring the entire lifecycle of biomass-based materials. Key areas of interest include the following:

  1. Green Synthesis and Functionalization: Development of eco-friendly, low-energy, and low-toxicity methods (e.g., hydrothermal, solvothermal, microwave-assisted, mechanochemical, biological, enzymatic, solvent-free) for converting diverse biomass feedstocks (lignocellulosic waste, agricultural residues, algae, chitosan, etc.) into functional materials (e.g., biochar, hydrogels, aerogels, nanocomposites, activated carbon, cellulose nanocrystals, membranes).
  2. Material Characterization and Design: Advanced characterization of physicochemical properties (surface area, porosity, functional groups, stability) and rational design strategies to tailor materials for specific environmental applications.
  3. Environmental Applications: Demonstrated efficacy of biomass-based materials in the following areas:
    1. Pollutant Remediation: Adsorption, degradation, or filtration of contaminants (heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, nutrients, microplastics) from water/wastewater.
    2. Catalysis: Green catalytic processes for environmental benefit (e.g., pollutant degradation, fuel production).
    3. Waste Valorization and Resource Recovery: Technologies for converting waste streams into valuable materials or recovering resources.
    4. Soil Improvement: Applications in soil remediation, amendment, and fertility enhancement.
    5. Environmental Sensing: Development of (bio)sensors for pollutant detection.
    6. Carbon Sequestration: Materials contributing to long-term carbon storage.
  4. Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Evaluation of the environmental footprint, economic viability, scalability, and overall sustainability of synthesis processes and applications, including circular economy approaches.

This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research that bridges sustainable chemistry, materials science, and environmental engineering. We seek contributions highlighting the scientific novelty, practical applicability, and environmental benefits of utilizing renewable biomass resources to create advanced materials for a cleaner planet. Submissions should clearly articulate the green aspects of the synthesis and the demonstrated environmental impact of the developed materials.

Dr. Congyu Zhang
Prof. Dr. Xinhua Qi
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

  • biomass
  • biochar
  • functional material
  • environmental application
  • green synthesis
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2557 KB  
Article
Composite Material Formation Based on Biochar and Nickel (II)-Copper (II) Ferrites
by Nina P. Shabelskaya, Alexandr V. Vyaltsev, Neonilla G. Sundukova, Vera A. Baranova, Sergej I. Sulima, Elena V. Sulima, Yulia A. Gaidukova, Asatullo M. Radzhbov, Elena V. Vasileva and Elena A. Yakovenko
Molecules 2025, 30(19), 3900; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30193900 - 26 Sep 2025
Viewed by 297
Abstract
This paper studies the formation process of a composite material based on an organic substance, biochar from sunflower husks, and an inorganic substance, nickel (II)-copper (II) ferrites of the composition CuxNi1−xFe2O4 (x = 0.0; 0.5; 1.0). [...] Read more.
This paper studies the formation process of a composite material based on an organic substance, biochar from sunflower husks, and an inorganic substance, nickel (II)-copper (II) ferrites of the composition CuxNi1−xFe2O4 (x = 0.0; 0.5; 1.0). The obtained materials were characterized by X-ray phase analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. It is shown that when replacing copper (II) cations with nickel (II) cations, the average parameters and volume of the unit cell gradually decrease, and the cation–anion distances in both the tetrahedral and octahedral spinel grids also decrease with regularity. The oxide materials were found to form a film on the surface of biochar, repeating its porous structure. The obtained materials exhibit high catalytic activity in the methyl orange decomposition reaction under the action of hydrogen peroxide in an acidic medium; the degradation of methyl orange in an aqueous solution occurs 30 min after the start of the reaction. This result may be associated with the formation of the Fenton system during the oxidation–reduction process. A significant increase in the reaction rate in the system containing mixed nickel–copper ferrite as a catalyst may be associated with the formation of a more defective structure due to the Jahn–Teller effect manifestation, which creates additional active centers on the catalyst surface. Full article
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