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Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 25516

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hongda Li

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Guest Editor

School of Electronic Engineering, Guangxi University of Science and Technology, Liuzhou, China
Interests: photocatalysis; electrocatalysis; lithium-ion battery; lithium–sulfur battery; fuel cells; two-dimensional materials; water treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Mohammed Baalousha

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Guest Editor

Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk (CENR), Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Interests: nanomaterials; environmental analysis; material characterization; materials; nanomaterials synthesis; polymers; thin films and nanotechnology; X-ray diffraction; SEM analysis; wastewater treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Victor A. Nadtochenko

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N.N. Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: nanoscience; photonics; photochemistry; photobiology; optics; femtosecond laser spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

A fast-growing industry and the rising global population in recent years have been the key factors contributing to the energy shortage and environmental pollution. As a green and sustainable technology, semiconductor-based heterogeneous photocatalysis has attracted wide attention in the past few decades because of its potential to solve both energy and environmental problems. Since the pioneering work on photocatalysis by Honda and Fujishima in 1972, various semiconductors have been designed and fabricated at the nanoscale to obtain efficient photocatalysts. These photocatalytic nanomaterials have important applications in the degradation of pollutants, water splitting, CO₂ reduction, nitrogen reduction, and so on.

Although nanomaterials have been widely investigated in different fields of photocatalysis owing to their unique properties, such as increased light-harvesting, charge separation, mass transport, and adsorption capacity, many challenges still remain in fabricating these photocatalysts through simple and facile synthesis strategies and in better understanding their photocatalytic enhancement mechanisms. This Special Issue should include a detailed discussion of the thermodynamics and kinetics of heterogeneous photocatalysis. Special emphasis is directed toward a better understanding of the design, controllable synthesis, reaction mechanisms, enhanced performance, and various applications of semiconductor photocatalysts.

We invite the submission of original research, reviews, and perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:

Scientific aspects of photocatalytic processes and basic understanding of photocatalysts as applied to environmental and human health problems;
Nanophotocatalysts with novel morphology, porous structure, nanohybrids, and exposed active sites;
Synthesis and characterization of nanostructural photocatalysts;
Photocatalytic pollutant degradation, water splitting, CO₂ reduction, and nitrogen reduction using nanostructural materials;
Theoretical calculations of photocatalysts and photocatalytic processes;
Photocatalytic reaction mechanism.

Dr. Hongda Li
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Baalousha
Prof. Dr. Victor A. Nadtochenko
Guest Editors

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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.

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Keywords

photocatalytic nanomaterials
pollutant degradation
water splitting
CO₂ reduction
nitrogen reduction

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 169 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Applications of Catalytic Nanomaterials in Energy and Environment

by Hongda Li, Shuai Jian and Mohammed Baalousha

Molecules 2023, 28(10), 4000; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28104000 - 10 May 2023

Viewed by 897

Abstract

Nanotechnology is a crucial technology for the development of science and technology [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

Research

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15 pages, 3977 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Studies of g-C₃N₄ and C₃N₃S₃ Organic Semiconductors—Synthesis, Properties, and Application in the Catalytic Oxygen Reduction

by Ewelina Wierzyńska, Marcin Pisarek, Tomasz Łęcki and Magdalena Skompska

Molecules 2023, 28(6), 2469; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28062469 - 8 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1619

Abstract

Exfoliated g-C₃N₄ is a well-known semiconductor utilized in heterogenous photocatalysis and water splitting. An improvement in light harvesting and separation of photogenerated charge carriers may be obtained by polymer doping with sulfur. In this work, we incorporate sulfur into the polymer chain by chemical polymerization of trithiocyanuric acid (C₃N₃S₃H₃) to obtain C₃N₃S₃. The XRD measurements and TEM images indicated that C₃N₃S₃, in contrast to g-C₃N₄, does not exist in the form of a graphitic structure and is not exfoliated into thin lamellas. However, both polymers have similar optical properties and positions of the conduction and valence bands. The comparative studies of electrochemical oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution indicated that the overpotentials for the two processes were smaller for C₃N₃S₃ than for g-C₃N₄. The RDE experiments in the oxygen-saturated solutions of 0.1 M NaOH have shown that O₂ is electrochemically reduced via the serial pathway with two electrons involved in the first step. The spectroscopic experiments using NBT demonstrated that both polymers reveal high activity in the photocatalytic reduction of oxygen to superoxide anion radical by the photogenerated electrons. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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14 pages, 5677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Z-Scheme CuO_x/Ag/TiO₂ Heterojunction as Promising Photoinduced Anticorrosion and Antifouling Integrated Coating in Seawater

by Xiaomin Guo, Guotao Pan, Lining Fang, Yan Liu and Zebao Rui

Molecules 2023, 28(1), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28010456 - 3 Jan 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1670

Abstract

In the marine environment, steel materials usually encounter serious problems with chemical or electrochemical corrosion and fouling by proteins, bacteria, and other marine organisms. In this work, a green bifunctional Z-scheme CuO_x/Ag/P25 heterostructure coating material was designed to achieve the coordination of corrosion prevention and antifouling by matching the redox potential of the reactive oxygen species and the corrosion potential of 304SS. When CuO_x/Ag/P25 heterostructure was coupled with the protected metal, the open circuit potential under illumination negatively shifted about 240 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) and the photoinduced current density reached 16.6 μA cm⁻². At the same time, more reactive oxygen species were produced by the Z-shape structure, and then the photocatalytic sterilization effect was stronger. Combined with the chemical sterilization of Ag and the oxide of Cu, the bacterial survival rate of CuO_x/Ag/P25 was low (0.006%) compared with the blank sample. This design provides a strategy for developing green dual-functional coating materials with photoelectrochemical anticorrosion and antifouling properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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14 pages, 5157 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Enhancement of Visible-Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline by Co-Doped TiO₂ Templated by Waste Tobacco Stem Silk

by Quanhui Li, Liang Jiang, Yuan Li, Xiangrong Wang, Lixia Zhao, Pizhen Huang, Daomei Chen and Jiaqiang Wang

Molecules 2023, 28(1), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28010386 - 2 Jan 2023

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2568

Abstract

In this study, Co-doped TiO₂ was synthesized using waste tobacco stem silk (TSS) as a template via a one-pot impregnation method. These samples were characterized using various physicochemical techniques such as N₂ adsorption/desorption analysis, diffuse reflectance UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The synthesized material was used for the photodegradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) under visible light (420–800 nm). No strong photodegradation activity was observed for mesoporous TiO₂ synthesized using waste TSS as a template, mesoporous Co-doped TiO₂, or TiO₂. In contrast, Co-doped mesoporous TiO₂ synthesized using waste TSS as a template exhibited significant photocatalytic degradation, with 86% removal of TCH. Moreover, owing to the unique chemical structure of Ti-O-Co, the energy gap of TiO₂ decreased. The edge of the absorption band was redshifted, such that the photoexcitation energy for generating electron–hole pairs decreased. The electron–hole separation efficiency improved, rendering the microstructured biotemplated TiO₂ a much more efficient catalyst for the visible-light degradation of TCH. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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12 pages, 3697 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhance ZnO Photocatalytic Performance via Radiation Modified g-C₃N₄

by Yayang Wang, Xiaojie Yang, Jiahui Lou, Yaqiong Huang, Jian Peng, Yuesheng Li and Yi Liu

Molecules 2022, 27(23), 8476; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238476 - 2 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1188

Abstract

Environmental pollution, especially water pollution, is becoming increasingly serious. Organic dyes are one type of the harmful pollutants that pollute groundwater and destroy ecosystems. In this work, a series of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄)/ZnO photocatalysts were facilely synthesized through a grinding method using ZnO nanoparticles and g-C₃N₄ as the starting materials. According to the results, the photocatalytic performance of 10 wt.% CN-200/Z-500 (CN-200, which g-C₃N₄ was 200 kGy, referred to the irradiation metering. Z-500, which ZnO was 500 °C, referred to the calcination temperature) with the CN-200 exposed to electron beam radiation was better than those of either Z-500 or CN-200 alone. This material displayed a 98.9% degradation rate of MB (20 mg/L) in 120 min. The improvement of the photocatalytic performance of the 10 wt.% CN-200/Z-500 composite material was caused by the improvement of the separation efficiency of photoinduced electron–hole pairs, which was, in turn, due to the formation of heterojunctions between CN-200 and Z-500 interfaces. Thus, this study proposes the application of electron-beam irradiation technology for the modification of photocatalytic materials and the improvement of photocatalytic performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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12 pages, 4024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Novel g-C₃N₄@Bi/Bi₂O₂CO₃ Z-Scheme Heterojunction with Meliorated Light Absorption and Efficient Charge Separation for Superior Photocatalytic Performance

by Hongxia Fan, Xiaohui Ma, Xinyang Li, Li Yang, Yongzhong Bian and Wenjun Li

Molecules 2022, 27(23), 8336; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238336 - 29 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1216

Abstract

Herein, a novel g-C₃N₄@Bi/Bi₂O₂CO₃ Z-scheme heterojunction was synthesized via simple methods. UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) revealed that the visible light absorption range of heterojunction composites was broadened from 400 nm to 500 nm compared to bare Bi₂O₂CO₃. The XRD, XPS and TEM results demonstrated that metal Bi was introduced into g-C₃N₄@Bi/Bi₂O₂CO₃ composites, and Bi may act as an electronic bridge in the heterojunction. Metal Bi elevated the separation efficiency of carriers, which was demonstrated by photocurrent and photoluminescence. The performance of samples was assessed via the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), and the results exhibited that g-C₃N₄@Bi/Bi₂O₂CO₃ possessed notably boosted photocatalytic activity compared with g-C₃N₄, Bi₂O₂CO₃ and other binary composites. The heterojunction photocatalysts possessed good photostability and recyclability in triplicate cycling tests. Radical trapping studies identified that h⁺ and •O₂⁻ were two primary active species during the degradation reaction. Based on the energy band position and trapping radical experiments, the possible reaction mechanism of the indirect Z-scheme heterojunction was also proposed. This work could provide an effective reference to design and establish a heterojunction for improving the photocatalytic activity of Bi₂O₂CO₃. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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10 pages, 3377 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tunable Ammonia Adsorption within Metal–Organic Frameworks with Different Unsaturated Metal Sites

by Dongli Zhang, Yujun Shen, Jingtao Ding, Haibin Zhou, Yuehong Zhang, Qikun Feng, Xi Zhang, Kun Chen, Jian Wang, Qiongyi Chen, Yang Zhang and Chaoqun Li

Molecules 2022, 27(22), 7847; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27227847 - 14 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1739

Abstract

Ammonia (NH₃) emissions during agricultural production can cause serious consequences on animal and human health, and it is quite vital to develop high-efficiency adsorbents for NH₃ removal from emission sources or air. Porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), as the most promising candidates for the capture of NH₃, offer a unique solid adsorbent design platform. In this work, a series of MOFs with different metal centers, ZnBTC, FeBTC and CuBTC, were proposed for NH₃ adsorption. The metal centers of the three MOFs are coordinated in a different manner and can be attacked by NH₃ with different strengths, resulting in different adsorption capacities of 11.33, 9.5, and 23.88 mmol/g, respectively. In addition, theoretical calculations, powder XRD patterns, FTIR, and BET for the three materials before and after absorption of ammonia were investigated to elucidate their distinctively different ammonia absorption mechanisms. Overall, the study will absolutely provide an important step in designing promising MOFs with appropriate central metals for the capture of NH₃. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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10 pages, 2567 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Combined Experimental and Computational Study on the Adsorption Sites of Zinc-Based MOFs for Efficient Ammonia Capture

by Dongli Zhang, Yujun Shen, Jingtao Ding, Haibin Zhou, Yuehong Zhang, Qikun Feng, Xi Zhang, Kun Chen, Pengxiang Xu and Pengyue Zhang

Molecules 2022, 27(17), 5615; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27175615 - 31 Aug 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1759

Abstract

Ammonia (NH₃) is a common pollutant mostly derived from pig manure composting under humid conditions, and it is absolutely necessary to develop materials for ammonia removal with high stability and efficiency. To this end, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have received special attention because of their high selectivity of harmful gases in the air, resulting from their large surface area and high density of active sites, which can be tailored by appropriate modifications. Herein, two synthetic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), 2-methylimidazole zinc salt (ZIF-8) and zinc-trimesic acid (ZnBTC), were selected for ammonia removal under humid conditions during composting. The two MOFs, with different organic linkers, exhibit fairly distinctive ammonia absorption behaviors under the same conditions. For the ZnBTC framework, the ammonia intake is 11.37 mmol/g at 298 K, nine times higher than that of the ZIF-8 framework (1.26 mmol/g). In combination with theoretical calculations, powder XRD patterns, FTIR, and BET surface area tests were conducted to reveal the absorption mechanisms of ammonia for the two materials. The adsorption of ammonia on the ZnBTC framework can be attributed to both physical and chemical adsorption. A strong coordination interaction exists between the nitrogen atom from the ammonia molecule and the zinc atom in the ZnBTC framework. In contrast, the absorption of ammonia in the ZIF-8 framework is mainly physical. The weak interaction between the ammonia molecule and the ZIF-8 framework mainly results from the inherent severely steric hindrance, which is related to the coordination mode of the imidazole ligands and the zinc atom of this framework. Therefore, this study provides a method for designing promising MOFs with appropriate organic linkers for the selective capture of ammonia during manure composting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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12 pages, 4932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Three-Dimensional Melamine Sponge Modified with MnOx Mixed Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Photothermal Catalysis of Formaldehyde

by Rongyang Yin, Pengfei Sun, Lujun Cheng, Tingting Liu, Baocheng Zhou and Xiaoping Dong

Molecules 2022, 27(16), 5216; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27165216 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1507

Abstract

Much attention has been paid to developing effective visible light catalytic technologies for VOC oxidation without requiring extra energy. In this paper, a series of sponge-based catalysts with rich three-dimensional porosity are synthesized by combining MnOx and graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) with commercial melamine sponges (MS) coated with polydopamine (PDA), demonstrating excellent photothermal catalytic performance for formaldehyde (HCHO). The three-dimensional porous framework of MS can provide a good surface for material modification and a reliable interface for gas-solid interaction. The grown layer of PDA framework not only increases the near-infrared wavelength absorption for improving the light-to-heat conversion of catalysts, but also brings excellent adhesion for the subsequent addition of MnO_X and GCN. The efficient formaldehyde oxidation is attributed to the sufficient oxygen vacancies generated by co-loaded MnO_X and GCN, which is conducive to the activation of more O²⁻ in the oxidation process. As the surface temperature of catalyst rapidly increases to its maximum value at ca. 115 °C under visible light irradiation, the HCHO concentration drops from 160 ppm to 46 ppm within 20 min. The reaction mechanism is certified as a classical Mars-van Krevelen mechanism based on the photo-induced thermal catalysis process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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9 pages, 2751 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production by the Sensitization of Sn(IV)-Porphyrin Embedded in a Nafion Matrix Coated on TiO₂

by Sung-Hyun Kim and Hee-Joon Kim

Molecules 2022, 27(12), 3770; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27123770 - 11 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1366

Abstract

Efficient utilization of visible light for photocatalytic hydrogen production is one of the most important issues to address. This report describes a facile approach to immobilize visible-light sensitizers on TiO₂ surfaces. To effectively utilize the sensitization of Sn(IV) porphyrin species for photocatalytic hydrogen production, perfluorosulfonate polymer (Nafion) matrix coated-TiO₂ was fabricated. Nafion coated-TiO₂ readily adsorbed trans-diaqua[meso-tetrakis(4-pyridinium)porphyrinato]tin(IV) cation [(TPy^HP)Sn(OH₂)₂]⁶⁺ via an ion-exchange process. The uptake of [(TPy^HP)Sn(OH₂)₂]⁶⁺ in an aqueous solution completed within 30 min, as determined by UV-vis spectroscopy. The existence of Sn(IV) porphyrin species embedded in the Nafion matrix coated on TiO₂ was confirmed by zeta potential measurements, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, TEM combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Sn(IV)-porphyrin cationic species embedded in the Nafion matrix were successfully used as visible-light sensitizer for photochemical hydrogen generation. This photocatalytic system performed 45% better than the uncoated TiO₂ system. In addition, the performance at pH 7 was superior to that at pH 3 or 9. This work revealed that Nafion matrix coated-TiO₂ can efficiently produce hydrogen with a consistent performance by utilizing a freshly supplied cationic Sn(IV)-porphyrin sensitizer in a neutral solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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11 pages, 5503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Co Doping on the Growth and Photocatalytic Properties of ZnO Particles

by Lanqin Tang, Yin Jia, Zhishang Zhu, Yue Hua, Jun Wu, Zhigang Zou and Yong Zhou

Molecules 2022, 27(3), 833; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27030833 - 27 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2209

Abstract

The present work reports on the synthesis of ZnO photocatalysts with different Co-doping levels via a facile one-step solution route. The structural and optical properties were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The morphology of Co-doped ZnO depends on the reaction temperature and the amount of Co and counter-ions in the solution. Changes with the c-axis lattice constant and room temperature redshift show the replacement of Zn with Co ions without changing the wurtzite structure. Photocatalytic activities of Co-doped ZnO on the evolution of H₂ and the degradation of methylene blue (MB) reduce with the doping of Co ions. As the close ionic radii of Co and Zn, the reducing photocatalytic activity is not due to the physical defects but the formation of deep bandgap energy levels. Photocurrent response experiments further prove the formation of the recombination centers. Mechanistic insights into Co-ZnO formation and performance regulation are essential for their structural adaptation for application in catalysis, energy storage, etc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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15 pages, 2373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rationally Designed Bi₂M₂O₉ (M = Mo/W) Photocatalysts with Significantly Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

by Fangzhi Wang, Xiaoyan Zhou, Jing Li, Qiuyue He, Ling Zheng, Qing Liu, Yan Chen, Guizhai Zhang, Xintong Liu and Hongda Li

Molecules 2021, 26(23), 7334; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26237334 - 2 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1871

Abstract

Novel Bi₂W₂O₉ and Bi₂Mo₂O₉ with irregular polyhedron structure were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Compared to ordinary Bi₂WO₆ and Bi₂MoO₆, the modified structure of Bi₂W₂O₉ and Bi₂Mo₂O₉ were observed, which led to an enhancement of photocatalytic performance. To investigate the possible mechanism of enhancing photocatalytic efficiency, the crystal structure, morphology, elemental composition, and optical properties of Bi₂WO₆, Bi₂MO₆, Bi₂W₂O₉, and Bi₂Mo₂O₉ were examined. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed the visible-light absorption ability of Bi₂WO₆, Bi₂MO₆, Bi₂W₂O₉, and Bi₂Mo₂O₉. Photoluminescence (PL) and photocurrent indicated that Bi₂W₂O₉ and Bi₂Mo₂O₉ pose an enhanced ability of photogenerated electron–hole pairs separation. Radical trapping experiments revealed that photogenerated holes and superoxide radicals were the main active species. It can be conjectured that the promoted photocatalytic performance related to the modified structure, and a possible mechanism was discussed in detail. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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Review

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18 pages, 3583 KiB

Open AccessReview

Application of Photocatalysis and Sonocatalysis for Treatment of Organic Dye Wastewater and the Synergistic Effect of Ultrasound and Light

by Guowei Wang and Hefa Cheng

Molecules 2023, 28(9), 3706; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28093706 - 25 Apr 2023

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2335

Abstract

Organic dyes play vital roles in the textile industry, while the discharge of organic dye wastewater in the production and utilization of dyes has caused significant damage to the aquatic ecosystem. This review aims to summarize the mechanisms of photocatalysis, sonocatalysis, and sonophotocatalysis in the treatment of organic dye wastewater and the recent advances in catalyst development, with a focus on the synergistic effect of ultrasound and light in the catalytic degradation of organic dyes. The performance of TiO₂-based catalysts for organic dye degradation in photocatalytic, sonocatalytic, and sonophotocatalytic systems is compared. With significant synergistic effect of ultrasound and light, sonophotocatalysis generally performs much better than sonocatalysis or photocatalysis alone in pollutant degradation, yet it has a much higher energy requirement. Future research directions are proposed to expand the fundamental knowledge on the sonophotocatalysis process and to enhance its practical application in degrading organic dyes in wastewater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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23 pages, 3705 KiB

Open AccessReview

Two-Dimensional Black Phosphorus: Preparation, Passivation and Lithium-Ion Battery Applications

by Hongda Li, Chenpu Li, Hao Zhao, Boran Tao and Guofu Wang

Molecules 2022, 27(18), 5845; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27185845 - 9 Sep 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2301

Abstract

As a new type of single element direct-bandgap semiconductor, black phosphorus (BP) shows many excellent characteristics due to its unique two-dimensional (2D) structure, which has great potential in the fields of optoelectronics, biology, sensing, information, and so on. In recent years, a series of physical and chemical methods have been developed to modify the surface of 2D BP to inhibit its contact with water and oxygen and improve the stability and physical properties of 2D BP. By doping and coating other materials, the stability of BP applied in the anode of a lithium-ion battery was improved. In this work, the preparation, passivation, and lithium-ion battery applications of two-dimensional black phosphorus are summarized and reviewed. Firstly, a variety of BP preparation methods are summarized. Secondly, starting from the environmental instability of BP, different passivation technologies are compared. Thirdly, the applications of BP in energy storage are introduced, especially the application of BP-based materials in lithium-ion batteries. Finally, based on preparation, surface functionalization, and lithium-ion battery of 2D BP, the current research status and possible future development direction are put forward. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Nanomaterials: Energy and Environment)

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