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Novel and Emerging Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Production and Decontamination of Pollutants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 1712

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Global Nanotechnology Development Team, National Nanofab Center at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
Interests: hydrogen generation; photocatalysis; photoelectrochemical analysis; electrocatalysis; and sensors

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Guest Editor
Department of Global Nanotechnology Development Team, National Nanofab Center at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
Interests: real-time Images analysis TEM for photocatalytic water splitting by using a liquid cell device

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nano-Catalysis and Solar Fuels Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science & Nanotechnology, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa 516005, Andhra Pradesh, India
Interests: photocatalysis; hydrogen generation; and multi-function applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid industrial growth and an over-reliance on fossil fuels with high carbon content have led to a number of energy and environmental issues, including resource shortages, water pollution, air pollution, and global climate change. By employing CO2, water, and solar energy for photosynthesis, it is resolved naturally. It has long been believed that natural resources and their derivatives are a type of plentiful renewable carbon-based resource that is utilized as a crucial and reasonably priced feedstock for producing excellent chemicals of the highest grade. An alternative method would be to combine the water reduction process with the oxidation of molecules produced from biomass in order to generate both useful chemicals and green hydrogen energy. Modern technology must be developed to effectively eliminate organic pollutants. transforms garbage and carbon dioxide into compounds that are then used to create high-value renewable fuels. In this setting, solar-powered photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical technologies have become one of the most significant and promising ways to produce green energy and make environmental changes. Due to its low cost, favorable reaction conditions, and great efficiency, solar energy is also gaining popularity as a means of reducing CO2 emissions and waste.

This Special Issue intends to gather innovative thinking on the controlled synthesis of cutting-edge nanomaterials for extremely effective photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and photoelectrochemical and removal of organic pollutants and fuel generation such as water dissociation, reduction, and oxidation. Additionally, we would want to emphasize recent developments in research on the mechanisms underlying the reduction process, energy conversion, and the photodegradation of organic contaminants in both water and the atmosphere. To support the widespread use of solar photocatalysts technology, investigations that concentrate on the design of associated reaction cells and devices are especially encouraged. This Special Issue's focus includes combining photo electrocatalysis with other environmentally friendly and sustainable methods. This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews for publication.

For this Special Issue, “Novel and Emerging Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Production and Decontamination of Pollutants”, we kindly ask that you submit your original research or review papers on (but not limited to):

  • Design and synthesis of novel and emerging photocatalytic/photo-electrocatalytic materials;
  • Design strategies to improve materials performance;
  • Characterization methods for photocatalytic and photo-electrocatalytic properties;
  • Synthesis parameters significantly affect the surface properties of photocatalysts;
  • Nanocomposite photocatalyst for improved charge carrier separation;
  • Preparation of different heterojunction-based photocatalysts for efficient exciton shuttling;
  • Layered structures as efficient photocatalysts for energy and environmental applications;
  • Organic and inorganic hybrid photocatalysts for effective shuttling of electron/hole;  
  • Photocatalytic degradation of indoor gaseous pollutants and water-born pollutants;
  • Photocatalysis for self-cleaning surfaces, antiviral, antimicrobial, and antimould applications;
  • Parametric/mechanistic studies on photocatalytic hydrogen production and degradation of pollutants;
  • Photocatalytic hydrogen generation from biomass-derived crude glycerol and H2S-containing wastewater.

Dr. Vempuluru Navakoteswara Rao
Dr. Jun-Mo Yang
Dr. M. Mamatha Kumari
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • photocatalytic/photo electrocatalytic materials
  • surface-interface engineering
  • preparation methods
  • hydrogen generation
  • degradation of aqueous and gaseous pollutants
  • CO2 sequestration and nitrogen fixation
  • disinfection, antimicrobial, nitrogen fixation
  • mechanistic aspects

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 4722 KiB  
Article
Multi-Omics Study on Molecular Mechanisms of Single-Atom Fe-Doped Two-Dimensional Conjugated Phthalocyanine Framework for Photocatalytic Antibacterial Performance
by Shihong Diao, Yixin Duan, Mengying Wang, Yuanjiao Feng, Hong Miao and Yongju Zhao
Molecules 2024, 29(7), 1601; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29071601 - 3 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1092
Abstract
Currently, photocatalysis of the two-dimensional (2D) conjugated phthalocyanine framework with a single Fe atom (CPF-Fe) has shown efficient photocatalytic activities for the removal of harmful effluents and antibacterial activity. Their photocatalytic mechanisms are dependent on the redox reaction—which is led by the active [...] Read more.
Currently, photocatalysis of the two-dimensional (2D) conjugated phthalocyanine framework with a single Fe atom (CPF-Fe) has shown efficient photocatalytic activities for the removal of harmful effluents and antibacterial activity. Their photocatalytic mechanisms are dependent on the redox reaction—which is led by the active species generated from the photocatalytic process. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanism of CPF-Fe antimicrobial activity has not been sufficiently explored. In this study, we successfully synthesized CPF-Fe with great broad-spectrum antibacterial properties under visible light and used it as an antibacterial agent. The molecular mechanism of CPF-Fe against Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis was explored through multi-omics analyses (transcriptomics and metabolomics correlation analyses). The results showed that CPF-Fe not only led to the oxidative stress of bacteria by generating large amounts of h+ and ROS but also caused failure in the synthesis of bacterial cell wall components as well as an osmotic pressure imbalance by disrupting glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and TCA cycle pathways. More surprisingly, CPF-Fe could disrupt the metabolism of amino acids and nucleic acids, as well as inhibit their energy metabolism, resulting in the death of bacterial cells. The research further revealed the antibacterial mechanism of CPF-Fe from a molecular perspective, providing a theoretical basis for the application of CPF-Fe photocatalytic antibacterial nanomaterials. Full article
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