Applications of Nanocomposites in the Adsorption and Degradation of Pollutants

Dear Colleagues,

Porous nano-mineral materials have unique potential applications in electronics, optics, and catalysis due to their porous structure, high chemical stability, and simple processing requirements. Porous nano-materials are being used to improve the quality of environments due to their efficient adsorption properties, controllability, surface activity, and environmental friendliness. They not only adsorb pollutants but can also be utilized for catalysis, separation, energy storage, and other applications.

According to previous reports, the porous nano-mineral materials that have a wide range of effects include alginate sodium/montmorillonite composite beads, halloysite, hydrotalcite, etc. The limited large-scale application of some of these high-performance natural nano-minerals is due to their composition defects, relatively low surface activity, small reserves, and scattered distribution. Synthetic or modified nano-mineral materials enable us to regulate the composition, structure, and morphology of mineral materials, optimize the performance of nano-mineral materials, and avoid the limitations of scarce natural nano-mineral reserves and their distribution.

In terms of current water pollution treatment technologies, adsorption, membrane technology, biological treatments, and chemical precipitation are those most often used to remove target pollutants. Precipitation technology relies on the redissolution phenomenon. The quality of the effluent after using membrane technology is restricted by the membrane’s pollution and other factors. Biological treatments take a long time and lead to the accumulation of toxic biomasses. In contrast, the adsorption method has low selectivity and can be applied to a wide range of target pollutants.

The research interests of this Special Issue on the applications of porous nanomaterials in pollutant removal include, but are not limited to, the following: natural clay minerals; organic and inorganic modifications, including modifications with biochar; and the use of nanomaterials in the removal of a wide range of water pollutants (both inorganic and organic), including contaminants of emerging concern, from the environment.

Prof. Dr. Po-Hsiang Chang
Guest Editor

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