Nanoscale Materials for Water Splitting
A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 74
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Water splitting driven by renewable energy has emerged as one of the most promising strategies for sustainable hydrogen production and carbon neutrality. In recent years, nanoscale materials have attracted tremendous attention in photocatalytic, electrocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting because of their unique physicochemical properties, including their high specific surface area, tunable electronic structures, abundant active sites and enhanced charge transfer capability. The rational design of nanoscale catalysts, such as semiconductor nanostructures, carbon-based nanocomposites, defect-engineered materials, heterojunction systems and single-atom catalysts, has significantly improved hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution efficiencies. Nevertheless, critical challenges remain, including sluggish reaction kinetics, the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, limited stability and an insufficient understanding of interfacial charge-transfer mechanisms. Therefore, the development of advanced nanoscale materials and the elucidation of their catalytic mechanisms are essential for achieving highly efficient and durable water-splitting systems.
This Special Issue, entitled “Nanoscale Materials for Water Splitting”, aims to provide a comprehensive platform for researchers to present recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, theoretical understanding and practical applications of nanoscale materials for photocatalytic, electrocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting. The issue will focus on innovative strategies for improving catalytic performance through nanostructure engineering, interface regulation, defect modulation, band structure tuning, heterojunction construction and surface functionalization. Both experimental and computational studies are welcome to deepen the understanding of charge separation, surface reaction pathways and catalytic mechanisms at the nanoscale.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- semiconductor nanomaterials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER)
- carbon-based nanocomposites
- nanoscale heterostructures
- defect and vacancy engineering, plasmonic nanomaterials
- cocatalyst design
- two-dimensional materials
- metal–organic framework-derived nanomaterials
- interface and band alignment engineering
- advanced in situ/operando characterization techniques
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Zhengzheng Xie
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- nanoscale materials
- water splitting
- photocatalysis
- hydrogen production
- oxygen evolution
- band gap engineering
- energy conversion
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