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Nanomaterials
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Applications of Nanomaterials in Gas Capture, Adsorption, Separation and Storage
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Applications of Nanomaterials in Gas Capture, Adsorption, Separation and Storage

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 November 2025) | Viewed by 4096

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Zheng Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: nanoconfined hydrocarbon phase behavior; nanoconfined fluid flow mechanism; pore network modeling; numerical simulation on coalbed methane reservoirs; production data analysis method; shale gas/oil development; CO2 storage and utilization; condensate gas reservoir
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gas capture, adsorption, separation, and storage play critical roles in energy utilization efficiency, a key issue that must be addressed in traditional petrochemistry and emerging industries aiming at net-zero CO2 emissions. The development of industry and technology has brought higher requirements for and challenges to gas capture, separation, and storage materials and technologies.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China is a common aspiration of all countries along their routes to achieve the sustainable development of the environment, economy, society, and people's livelihoods. To mitigate global warming as well as carbon emissions and reach carbon neutrality, CO2 capture and geological storage, hydrogen production, transport and storage projects, and hydrocarbon/coal recovery must be realized. The development of nanomaterials with desired combination properties and corresponding methods for target applications, which can minimize the environmental impact via gas capture, separation, and storage, has attracted increasing attention over the last few decades. Green and eco-friendly techniques focus on relevant mechanisms and technology that reduce the use of hazardous substances and non-renewable sources. Nanomaterials for gas capture, separation, and storage are considered to be energy-efficient, low-cost, renewable, and environmentally friendly for a sustainable future.

This Special Issue shall present the latest research updates related to CO2 capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), petrophysics, geology, and other areas. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • CO2/CH4/H2 geo-storage;
  • Gas transport in nanoporous media;
  • Advanced nanomaterials for gas capture, adsorption, separation, and storage;
  • Mechanisms of gas capture, adsorption, separation, and storage.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Zheng Sun
Guest Editor

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials 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 2400 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
  • nanophenomenon
  • nanogeology
  • CO2/CH4/H2 geo-storage
  • transport in porous media
  • advanced nanomaterials for gas capture, separation, and storage
  • mechanisms of gas capture, separation, and storage

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

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16 pages, 1418 KB  
Article
Mesoporous Silica Xerogels Prepared by p-toluenesulfonic Acid-Assisted Synthesis: Piperazine-Modification and CO2 Adsorption
by Stela Grozdanova, Ivalina Trendafilova, Agnes Szegedi, Pavletta Shestakova, Yavor Mitrev, Ivailo Slavchev, Svilen Simeonov and Margarita Popova
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(19), 1459; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15191459 - 23 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 597
Abstract
p-toluenesulfonic acid (pTSA) was used for the synthesis of porous silica xerogels while applying different synthesis conditions. Key parameters included acid concentration, drying temperature and the method of acid removal. The resulting organic–inorganic composites were investigated by nitrogen physisorption, X-ray powder diffraction [...] Read more.
p-toluenesulfonic acid (pTSA) was used for the synthesis of porous silica xerogels while applying different synthesis conditions. Key parameters included acid concentration, drying temperature and the method of acid removal. The resulting organic–inorganic composites were investigated by nitrogen physisorption, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), solid-state NMR and thermal analysis. The results demonstrated that both the drying temperature and quantity of the pTSA significantly influenced the pore structure of the xerogels. The utilization of such strong acids like pTSA yielded high surface area and pore volume, as well as narrow pore size distribution. Environmentally friendly template removal by solvent extraction produced materials with superior textural properties compared to traditional calcination, enabling the recovery and reuse of pTSA with over 95% efficiency. A selected mesoporous silica xerogel was modified by a simple two-step post-synthesis procedure with 1-(2-Hydroxyethyl) piperazine (HEP). High CO2 adsorption capacity was determined for the HEP-modified material in dynamic conditions. The isosteric heat of adsorption revealed the stronger interaction between functional groups and CO2 molecules. Total CO2 desorption could be achieved at 60 °C. Leaching of the silica functional groups could not be detected even after four consecutive adsorption cycles. These findings provide valuable insights into the sustainable synthesis of tunable piperazine-modified mesoporous silica xerogels with potential applications in CO2 capture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Gas Capture, Adsorption, Separation and Storage)
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18 pages, 2110 KB  
Article
Wettability Effect on Nanoconfined Water’s Spontaneous Imbibition: Interfacial Molecule–Surface Action Mechanism Based on the Integration of Profession and Innovation
by Yanglu Wan, Wei Lu, Yang Jiao, Fulong Li, Mingfang Zhan, Zichen Wang and Zheng Sun
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(18), 1447; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15181447 - 19 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 580
Abstract
The effect of molecule–surface interaction strength on water becomes pronounced when pore size shrinks to the nanoscale, leading to the spatially varying viscosity and water slip phenomena that break the theoretical basis of the classic Lucas–Washburn (L-W) equation for the spontaneous imbibition of [...] Read more.
The effect of molecule–surface interaction strength on water becomes pronounced when pore size shrinks to the nanoscale, leading to the spatially varying viscosity and water slip phenomena that break the theoretical basis of the classic Lucas–Washburn (L-W) equation for the spontaneous imbibition of water. With the purpose of fulfilling the knowledge gap, the viscosity of nanoconfined water is investigated in relation to surface contact angle, a critical parameter manifesting microscopic molecule–surface interaction strength. Then, the water slip length at the nanoscale is determined in accordance with the mechanical balance of the first-layer water molecules, which enlarges gradually with increasing contact angle, indicating a weaker surface–molecule interaction. After that, a novel model for the spontaneous imbibition of nanoconfined water incorporating spatially inhomogeneous water viscosity and water slip is developed for the first time, demonstrating that the conventional model yields overestimations of 16.7–103.2%. Hydrodynamics affected by pore geometry are considered as well. The results indicate the following: (a) Enhanced viscosity resulting from the nanopore surface action reduces the water imbibition distance, the absolute magnitude of which could be 3 times greater than the positive impact of water slip. (b) With increasing pore size, the impact of water slip declines much faster than the enhanced viscosity, leading to the ratio of the nanoconfined water imbibition distance to the result of the L-W equation dropping rapidly at first and then approaching unity. (c) Water imbibition performance in slit nanopores is superior to that in nanoscale capillaries, stemming from the fact that the effective water viscosity in nano-capillaries is greater than that in slit nanopores by 5.1–22.1%, suggesting stronger hydrodynamic resistance. This research is able to provide an accurate prediction of spontaneous imbibition of nanoconfined water with microscopic mechanisms well captured, sharing broad application potential in hydraulic fracturing water analysis and water-flooding-enhanced oil/gas recovery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Gas Capture, Adsorption, Separation and Storage)
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26 pages, 5689 KB  
Article
Insights into the Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide in Zeolites ITQ-29 and 5A Based on Kinetic Measurements and Molecular Simulations
by Magdy Abdelghany Elsayed, Shixue Zhou, Xiaohui Zhao, Gumawa Windu Manggada, Zhongyuan Chen, Fang Wang and Zhijuan Tang
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(14), 1077; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15141077 - 11 Jul 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1564
Abstract
Understanding the adsorption mechanism is essential for developing efficient technologies to capture carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases. In this work, laboratory measurements, density functional theory calculations, and molecular dynamics simulations were employed to study CO2 adsorption and diffusion behavior in LTA-type [...] Read more.
Understanding the adsorption mechanism is essential for developing efficient technologies to capture carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases. In this work, laboratory measurements, density functional theory calculations, and molecular dynamics simulations were employed to study CO2 adsorption and diffusion behavior in LTA-type zeolites. The CO2 adsorption isotherms measured in zeolite 5A are best described by the Toth model. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic, with an enthalpy change of −44.04 kJ/mol, an entropy change of −115.23 J/(mol·K), and Gibbs free energy values ranging from −9.68 to −1.03 kJ/mol over the temperature range of 298–373 K. The isosteric heat of CO2 adsorption decreases from 40.35 to 21.75 kJ/mol with increasing coverage, reflecting heterogeneous interactions at Ca2+ and Na+ sites. The adsorption kinetics follow a pseudo-first-order model, with an activation energy of 2.24 kJ/mol, confirming a physisorption mechanism. The intraparticle diffusion model indicates that internal diffusion is the rate-limiting step, supported by a significant reduction in the diffusion rate. The DFT calculations demonstrated that CO2 exhibited a −35 kJ/mol more negative adsorption energy in zeolite 5A than in zeolite ITQ-29, attributable to strong interactions with Ca2+/Na+ cations in 5A that were absent in the pure silica ITQ-29 framework. The molecular dynamics simulations based on molecular force fields indicate that CO2 diffuses more rapidly in ITQ-29, with a diffusion coefficient measuring 2.54 × 10−9 m2/s at 298 K, whereas it was 1.02 × 10−9 m2/s in zeolite 5A under identical conditions. The activation energy for molecular diffusion reaches 5.54 kJ/mol in zeolite 5A, exceeding the 4.12 kJ/mol value in ITQ-29 by 33%, which accounts for the slower diffusion kinetics in zeolite 5A. There is good agreement between experimental measurements and molecular simulation results for zeolite 5A across the studied temperature and pressure ranges. This confirms the accuracy and reliability of the selected simulation parameters and allows for the study of zeolite ITQ under similar simulation conditions. This research provides insights into CO2 adsorption energetics and diffusion within LTA-type zeolite frameworks, supporting the rational design of high-performance adsorbents for industrial gas separation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Gas Capture, Adsorption, Separation and Storage)
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19 pages, 2547 KB  
Article
Experimental and Artificial Neuron Network Insights into the Removal of Organic Dyes from Wastewater Using a Clay/Gum Arabic Nanocomposite
by Malak F. Alqahtani, Ismat H. Ali, Saifeldin M. Siddeeg, Fethi Maiz, Sawsan B. Eltahir and Saleh S. Alarfaji
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(11), 857; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15110857 - 3 Jun 2025
Viewed by 891
Abstract
Organic dyes are pollutants that threaten aquatic life and human health. These dyes are used in various industries; therefore, recent research focuses on the problem of their removal from wastewater. The aim of this study is to examine the clay/gum arabic nanocomposite (CG/NC) [...] Read more.
Organic dyes are pollutants that threaten aquatic life and human health. These dyes are used in various industries; therefore, recent research focuses on the problem of their removal from wastewater. The aim of this study is to examine the clay/gum arabic nanocomposite (CG/NC) as an adsorbent to adsorb methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) dyes from synthetic wastewater. The CG/NC was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunaure–Emmett–Teller (BET). The effect of parameters that may influence the efficiency of removing MB and CV dyes was studied (dosage of CG/NC, contact time, pH values, initial concentration, and temperature), and the optimal conditions for removal were determined. Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was adopted in this study. The results indicated that the adsorption behavior adhered to the Langmuir model and conformed to pseudo-second-order kinetics. The results also indicated that the removal efficiency reached 99%, and qmax reached 66.7 mg/g and 52.9 mg/g for MB and CV, respectively. Results also proved that CG/NC can be reused up to four times with high efficiency. The ANN models proved effective in predicting the process of the removal, with low mean squared errors (MSE = 1.824 and 1.001) and high correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.945 and 0.952) for the MB and CV dyes, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Gas Capture, Adsorption, Separation and Storage)
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