Nanostructured Catalysts for Energy Conversion and Environmental Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 23 January 2026 | Viewed by 448

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coking Coal Resources Green Exploitation, Engineering Research Center of Advanced Functional Material Manufacturing of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: synthesis, crystal facet engineering, assembly, and characterization of semiconductor nanomaterials for energy harvesting and storage applications; synthesis of the nanostructured metal electrodes by an electrochemical method and studying new applications; electrochemical; photochemical; photoelectrochemical water splitting; CO2 reduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: nanostructured materials for electrochemical applications; water splitting and anti-corrosion; design and preparation of novel photocatalytic materials; fracture sensitivity of materials induced by hydrogen embrittlement in the environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The dual challenges of energy shortage and environmental crisis have intensified dramatically with the rapid expansion of the global economy and society. Developing green and renewable technologies for environmental remediation and sustainable energy production is now imperative to address these critical issues. Nanostructured catalysts have garnered worldwide attention for their applications in water splitting, CO2 reduction, N2 fixation, and organic pollutant degradation via photochemical, electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical approaches. The catalytic reactivity of these materials is inherently governed by their electronic configurations and surface atomic structures, which are profoundly influenced by their nanostructural features. Consequently, the rational regulation of catalyst architecture emerges as a pivotal strategy to optimize their catalytic performance. This Special Issue, titled "Nanostructured Catalysts for Energy  Conversion and Environmental Applications", aims at showcasing the latest advances in synthetic methodologies for nanostructured catalysts, including crystal facet engineering, heterostructure design, band gap tuning, morphology tailoring, plasmonic coupling, co-catalyst loading, and related strategies. These advancements are directed toward energy and environmental applications such as photo-/electro-/photoelectrochemical water splitting for hydrogen/oxygen evolution, CO2/N2 reduction to value-added chemicals, the photodegradation of organic contaminants, anti-corrosion technologies, and beyond. Both original research articles and comprehensive review papers are welcome. We invite contributions that may inspire innovative perspectives and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across these dynamic research domains.

Dr. Jin You Zheng
Dr. Songjie Li
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

  • nanostructured catalysts
  • crystal facet engineering surface modification
  • heterostructure
  • band gap engineering
  • electrocatalytic water splitting
  • photocatalytic water splitting
  • photoelectrochemical water splitting
  • photodegradation
  • anti-corrosion
  • CO2 reduction
  • N2 reduction

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 6034 KB  
Article
Tuning Ag Loading and Particle Size in Ag@g-C3N4 Photocatalysts for Selective CO2 Conversion to CO and CH4
by Shicheng Liu, Na Li and Qulan Zhou
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(18), 1443; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15181443 - 19 Sep 2025
Viewed by 239
Abstract
Elucidating the mechanisms of CO2 photocatalytic conversion systems is crucial for tackling the challenges of carbon neutrality. In this study, a series of Ag@g-C3N4 photocatalysts were constructed with metal particle size modulation as the core strategy to systematically reveal [...] Read more.
Elucidating the mechanisms of CO2 photocatalytic conversion systems is crucial for tackling the challenges of carbon neutrality. In this study, a series of Ag@g-C3N4 photocatalysts were constructed with metal particle size modulation as the core strategy to systematically reveal the modulation mechanism of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) size variation on the selectivity of CO2 photoreduction products. Systematic characterizations revealed that increasing Ag size enhanced visible light absorption, promoted charge separation, and improved CH4 selectivity. Photocatalytic tests showed Ag3.0%@CN achieved optimal activity and electron utilization. Energy band analyses indicated that Ag modification preserved favorable conduction band positions while increasing donor capacity. Further density-functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that Ag NPs size variations significantly affect the adsorption stability and conversion energy barriers of intermediates such as *COOH, CO and CHO, with small-sized Ag7 NPs favoring the CO pathway, while large-sized Ag NPs stabilize the key intermediates and drive the reaction towards the CH4 pathway evolution. The experimental and theoretical results corroborate each other and clarify the dominant role of Ag NPs size in regulating the reaction path between CO and CH4. This study provides mechanistic guidance for the selective regulation of the multi-electron reduction pathway, which is of great significance for the construction of efficient and highly selective CO2 photocatalytic systems. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop