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Application of Nanocatalysts in the Transformation and Degradation of Organic...
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Application of Nanocatalysts in the Transformation and Degradation of Organic Pollutants

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 12 September 2025 | Viewed by 2278

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shiping Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
Interests: nano-photocatalytic materials; organic pollutants; photocatalytic degradation
Dr. Huazhang Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Interests: nano-photocatalytic materials; carbon quantum dots; photocatalytic degradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Organic pollutants pervade a multitude of environmental media, including water, soil, and air. These substances pose a significant threat to both human health and the natural world, underscoring the critical need for their transformation and degradation to preserve ecological equilibrium. In more recent times, nanocatalysts have emerged as a beacon of hope, promising an efficient means to decompose and eliminate these pollutants. Nanocatalysts have revealed their immense potential in the treatment of organic pollutants within diverse environmental contexts. Their distinctive attributes, such as an expansive surface area and modifiable reactivity, render them exceedingly effective in facilitating the breakdown and conversion of organic contaminants. The integration of nanocatalysts into water purification, air pollution management, and soil decontamination presents an encouraging trajectory toward mitigating the escalating environmental challenges posed by organic pollutants. Undoubtedly, continued exploration and enhancement of nanocatalysts will yield more proficient and sustainable strategies for environmental pollution control.

This compilation seeks to assemble scholarly contributions that delve into the novel developments and breakthroughs in the utilization of nanocatalysts for the decomposition and conversion of organic pollutants. We extend an invitation to distinguished scholars worldwide to present their most recent, original, and innovative research to our journal, prior to the impending submission deadline.

Dr. Shiping Xu
Dr. Huazhang Guo
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • nanocatalysts
  • organic pollutants
  • photocatalysis
  • degradation
  • mechanism

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3194 KiB  
Article
Fluorescence Quenching of Graphene Quantum Dots from Orange Peel for Methyl Orange Detection
by Weitao Li, Yang Liu, Xinglong Pang, Yuanhao Huang, Zeyun Dong, Qian Niu, Yuping Xiong, Shang Li, Shuai Li, Lei Wang, Huazhang Guo, Saisai Cui, Shenpeng Hu, Yuenan Li, Tiantian Cha and Liang Wang
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(5), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15050376 - 28 Feb 2025
Viewed by 747
Abstract
Methyl orange (MO) is an organic synthetic dye widely used in laboratory and industrial applications. In laboratory settings, it serves as an acid–base indicator due to its distinct color change in both acidic and alkaline environments. Industrially, it is primarily utilized in the [...] Read more.
Methyl orange (MO) is an organic synthetic dye widely used in laboratory and industrial applications. In laboratory settings, it serves as an acid–base indicator due to its distinct color change in both acidic and alkaline environments. Industrially, it is primarily utilized in the textile industry for its ultraviolet (UV) absorption properties. However, the discharge and leakage of methyl orange into the environment can cause severe ecological damage and pose potential carcinogenic and teratogenic risks to human health. Therefore, detecting and quantifying the concentration of methyl orange in various matrices is crucial. This study reports the synthesis of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) from orange peel as a precursor, using ethanol and dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvents. Cyan (c-GQDs) and yellow (y-GQDs) graphene quantum dots were synthesized through a bottom-up hydrothermal method. The difference in color is attributed to the redshift caused by the varying ratio of pyridine nitrogen to pyrrole nitrogen. These GQDs exhibited notable optical properties, with c-GQDs emitting cyan fluorescence and y-GQDs emitting yellow fluorescence under UV light. To investigate fluorescence quenching effects, nine commonly used dyes were tested, and all were found to quench the fluorescence of y-GQDs, with methyl orange having the most significant effect. The fluorescence quenching of orange peel-derived GQDs in the presence of methyl orange is attributed to poor dispersion in DMF solution. Additionally, the GQDs possess high specific surface area, abundant surface functional groups, and excellent electronic conductivity, which contribute to their effective fluorescence quenching performance. The average thickness of y-GQDs (the vertical dimension from the substrate upwards) was 3.51 nm, confirming their graphene-like structure. They emitted yellow fluorescence within the wavelength range of 450–530 nm. Notably, a significant linear correlation was found between the concentration of methyl orange and the fluorescence intensity of y-GQDs (regression coefficient = 0.9954), indicating the potential of GQDs as effective sensing materials for organic pollutant detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Nanocatalysts in the Transformation and Degradation of Organic Pollutants)
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12 pages, 5008 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of TiO2-ZnO n-n Heterojunction with Excellent Visible Light-Driven Photodegradation of Tetracycline
by Ying Zhang, Xinkang Bo, Tao Zhu, Wei Zhao, Yumin Cui and Jianguo Chang
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(22), 1802; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14221802 - 11 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1181
Abstract
Zinc oxide-based photocatalysts with non-toxicity and low cost are promising candidates for the degradation of tetracycline. Despite the great success achieved in constructing n-n-type ZnO-based heterojunctions for the degradation of tetracycline under full-spectrum conditions, it is still challenging to realize rapid and efficient [...] Read more.
Zinc oxide-based photocatalysts with non-toxicity and low cost are promising candidates for the degradation of tetracycline. Despite the great success achieved in constructing n-n-type ZnO-based heterojunctions for the degradation of tetracycline under full-spectrum conditions, it is still challenging to realize rapid and efficient degradation of tetracycline under visible light using n-n-type ZnO-based heterojunctions, as they are constrained by the quick recombination of electron–hole pairs in ZnO. Here, we report highly efficient and stable n-n-type ZnO-TiO2 heterojunctions under visible light conditions, with a degradation efficiency reaching 97% at 1 h under visible light, which is 1.2 times higher than that of pure zinc oxide, enabled by constructing an n-n-type heterojunction between ZnO and TiO2 to form a built-in electric field. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of n-n TiO2-ZnO to tetracycline is also proposed in detail. The demonstration of efficient and stable heterojunction-type ZnO photocatalysts under visible light is an important step toward commercialization and opens up new opportunities beyond conventional ZnO technologies, such as composite ZnO catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Nanocatalysts in the Transformation and Degradation of Organic Pollutants)
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