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Design and Application of Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Degradation

A Special Issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049) belonging to the section "Nanochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 501

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia
Interests: materials; catalysts; heterogeneous catalysts; photocatalysts; metal oxides; composites

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia
Interests: materials; catalysts; heterogeneous catalysts; photocatalysts; metal oxides; composites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photocatalysis is one of the most promising approaches for addressing current environmental challenges. Designing more efficient photocatalytic materials is crucial for promoting sustainability. Given their unique physicochemical properties, nanomaterials represent an excellent choice for the development of advanced photocatalysts.

This Special Issue will highlight cutting-edge research on nanomaterials and their applications in photocatalytic degradation processes. We invite you to submit your original research articles and reviews focusing on the design, synthesis, and application of nanomaterials for photocatalytic degradation.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Design, synthesis, and characterization of nanomaterial-based photocatalysts;
  • Applications of nanomaterial photocatalysts in degradation processes;
  • Optimization of photocatalytic and photodegradation processes.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Prof. Dr. Aleksandra R. Zarubica
Guest Editor

Dr. Radomir B. Ljupković
Guest Editor Assistant

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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

  • nanomaterials design
  • nanomaterial photocatalysts
  • nanomaterials synthesis
  • photocatalysis
  • environmental pollution
  • photodegradation
  • material characterization

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 6724 KB  
Article
Nitrogen Vacancy Rich Tubular g-C3N4 Modified with FePc for Efficient and Reusable Photo-Fenton Degradation of Oxytetracycline
by Xinyi Yang, Yuxin Tang, Fei Qi, Zhihan Xue, Huiying Zhang, Zhaohai Ni, Bo Feng, Ziyang Yue and Guangbo Che
Molecules 2026, 31(18), 3229; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183229 - 12 Sep 2026
Viewed by 117
Abstract
Efficient and reusable photo-Fenton catalysts require the rational integration of photocatalytic platforms, effective H2O2 activation sites, and practical immobilization strategies. Herein, nitrogen-vacancy-rich tubular g-C3N4 (HCNT) was prepared as the photocatalytic platform. Iron (II) phthalocyanine (FePc) was then [...] Read more.
Efficient and reusable photo-Fenton catalysts require the rational integration of photocatalytic platforms, effective H2O2 activation sites, and practical immobilization strategies. Herein, nitrogen-vacancy-rich tubular g-C3N4 (HCNT) was prepared as the photocatalytic platform. Iron (II) phthalocyanine (FePc) was then loaded onto HCNT to form the FePc/HCNT composite for antibiotic degradation. The FePc/HCNT composite was further immobilized in a poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane, denoted as FePc/HCNT-PVDF, to facilitate catalyst recovery and reuse. Benefiting from the micrometer-scale tubular morphology, the FePc/HCNT remained exposed on the membrane surface, preserving accessible catalytic interfaces and reducing encapsulation within the polymer matrix. The tubular architecture facilitated reactant transport, while surface nitrogen vacancies enhanced photogenerated-carrier separation and utilization. Component-dependent experiments revealed that FePc served as the primary center for H2O2 activation, whereas HCNT functioned as a defect-engineered tubular photocatalytic platform that promoted photogenerated-carrier separation and reactive oxygen species formation. The optimized FePc/HCNT achieved 94% oxytetracycline degradation within 60 min, with an apparent rate constant of 0.04462 min−1, approximately 11 times higher than bulk g-C3N4, and exhibited broad-spectrum degradation capability toward various organic pollutants, including rhodamine B, tetracycline, amoxicillin, and ciprofloxacin. The FePc/HCNT-PVDF membrane removed 90% of oxytetracycline within 60 min and maintained stable performance over ten cycles. This work provides insights into the integrated roles of nitrogen vacancy regulation, FePc-mediated H2O2 activation, and morphology-assisted membrane immobilization in the development of reusable g-C3N4-based photo-Fenton catalysts. Full article
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