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Advanced Photocatalysts for Environmental Remediation and Contaminant Removal

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 372

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. School of Physics, Changchun Normal University, Changchun 130032, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Interests: optimal preparation methods for photocatalysts; monocrystal photocatalysts; complex photocatalysts; heterogenous junction catalysts; property characterization of nanocatalysts; photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants; degradative pathway of organic pollutants; research on degradation mechanisms
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nonbiodegradable organic contaminants such as antibiotics, dyes, and pesticide pollutants can be removed from industrial wastewater via advanced photocatalysts under visible light or ultraviolet light irradiation. Different preparation methods should be explored to produce novel advanced photocatalysts, and their photophysical and photochemical properties should be characterized. This includes determining the cell parameters and the position coordinates of elements that belong to advanced photocatalysts. Moreover, the intermediate products of nonbiodegradable organic contaminants should be detected via liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, and their degradation pathways should be identified. The energy gap values, which are derived from advanced photocatalysts, should be calculated. Concurrently, the granular appearance and chemical composition of advanced photocatalysts should be ascertained using a transmission electron microscope or a scanning electron microscope. Finally, various oxidic radicals, such as the hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anions, singlet oxygen, and photoinduced holes, should be investigated using trapping agents to reveal the degradation mechanism of nonbiodegradable organic contaminants. We welcome the submission of research papers that focus on environmental remediation and contaminant removal using advanced photocatalysts.

Prof. Dr. Jingfei Luan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nonbiodegradable organic contaminants
  • antibiotic contaminants
  • dye contaminants
  • pesticide pollutants
  • photocatalytic degradation
  • advanced photocatalysts
  • oxidic radicals
  • degradation pathways
  • degradation mechanism
  • photophysical property
  • photochemical property

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 3909 KB  
Article
Tuning of Photocatalytic and Piezophotocatalytic Activity of Bi3TiNbO9 via Synthesis-Controlled Surface Defect Engineering
by Farid F. Orudzhev, Asiyat G. Magomedova, Sergei A. Kurnosenko, Vladislav E. Beklemyshev, Wei Li, Chuanyi Wang and Irina A. Zvereva
Molecules 2025, 30(20), 4136; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30204136 - 20 Oct 2025
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Abstract
In this work, we investigate advanced photocatalyst Bi3TiNbO9 as promising piezophotocatalyst in terms of the effect of synthesis methods on the surface chemistry, structure, and catalytic performance in process of contaminant removal. Samples were prepared via solid-state reaction (BTNO-900) and [...] Read more.
In this work, we investigate advanced photocatalyst Bi3TiNbO9 as promising piezophotocatalyst in terms of the effect of synthesis methods on the surface chemistry, structure, and catalytic performance in process of contaminant removal. Samples were prepared via solid-state reaction (BTNO-900) and molten salt synthesis (BTNO-800), leading to distinct morphologies and defect distributions. SEM imaging revealed that BTNO-900 consists of agglomerated, irregular particles, while BTNO-800 exhibits well-faceted, plate-like grains. Nitrogen adsorption analysis showed that the molten-synthesized sample possesses a significantly higher specific surface area (5.9 m2/g vs. 1.4 m2/g) and slightly larger average pore diameter (2.8 nm vs. 2.6 nm). High-resolution XPS revealed systematic shifts in binding energies for Bi 4f, Ti 2p, Nb 3d, and O 1s peaks in BTNO-900, accompanied by a higher content of adsorbed oxygen species (57% vs. 7.2%), indicating an increased concentration of oxygen vacancies and surface hydroxylation due to the solid-state synthesis route. Catalytic testing demonstrated that BTNO exhibits enhanced piezocatalytic efficiency of Methylene Blue degradation (~78% for both samples), whereas BTNO-800 shows significantly reduced photocatalytic activity (45.6%) compared to BTNO-900 (84.1%), suggesting recombination effects dominate in the more defective material. Synergism of light and mechanical stress results in piezophotocatalytic degradation for both samples (92.4% and 93.4%, relatively). These findings confirm that synthesis-controlled defect engineering is a key parameter for optimizing the photocatalytic behavior of Bi3TiNbO9-based layered oxides and crucial role of its piezocatalytic activity. Full article
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