Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 8744

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
2. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: nanomaterials; energy materials; environmental materials; computational materials science; DFT

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: graphene; nanomaterials; batteries

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the excessive fossil fuel consumptions, climate change caused by global warming has been increasingly a threat to our life, with weather conditions such as drought, floods, heat waves, heavy rain and landslides becoming more frequent. Some other serious consequences of global warming include rising sea levels, ocean acidification and loss of biodiversity. In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, carbon neutrality by mid-21st century is essential, which is the target set in the Paris agreement signed by 195 countries.

This topic of the special issue of Nanomaterials is “Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality“, mainly focused on the design, synthesis/fabrications, and computational/theoretical studies of nanostructured materials for carbon neutrality. This special issue particularly welcomes experimental and theoretical work of interdisciplinary nature across basic science and engineering disciplines. The areas include but are not limited to nanostructured materials and composites for:

  • Novel carbon neutral science and technology to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Renewable energy technology to replace fossil-fuel consumptions;
  • Carbon capture, storage, and utilization;
  • Electrocatalytical/photocatalytical CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RR);
  • Novel Nitrogen reduction reactions (NRR) at ambient condition, oxygen reduction reactions (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER);
  • Rechargable battery materials including electrolytes, electodes, and separators.

Prof. Dr. Yan Zhao
Dr. Qiu He
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 2900 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

  • nanotechnology
  • biomaterials
  • hierarchical materials
  • electrochemistry
  • batteries
  • fuel cells
  • air pollution control
  • carbon capture
  • gas storage
  • fuel production
  • CO2 utilization
  • sustainability
  • catalysts
  • clean water
  • simulation
  • density functional theory
  • molecular dynamics

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.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (5 papers)

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

Research

17 pages, 31276 KiB  
Article
Disinfectant-Assisted Preparation of Hierarchical ZSM-5 Zeolite with Excellent Catalytic Stabilities in Propane Aromatization
by Peng Zhang, Jianguo Zhuang, Jisheng Yu, Yingjie Guan, Xuedong Zhu and Fan Yang
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(9), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14090802 - 5 May 2024
Viewed by 1077
Abstract
A series of quaternary ammonium or phosphonium salts were applied as zeolite growth modifiers in the synthesis of hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite. The results showed that the use of methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (MTBBP) could yield nano-sized hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite with a “rice crust” morphology feature, [...] Read more.
A series of quaternary ammonium or phosphonium salts were applied as zeolite growth modifiers in the synthesis of hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite. The results showed that the use of methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (MTBBP) could yield nano-sized hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite with a “rice crust” morphology feature, which demonstrates a better catalytic performance than other disinfect candidates. It was confirmed that the addition of MTBBP did not cause discernable adverse effects on the microstructures or acidities of ZSM-5, but it led to the creation of abundant meso- to marco- pores as a result of aligned tiny particle aggregations. Moreover, the generation of the special morphology was believed to be a result of the coordination and competition between MTBBP and Na+ cations. The as-synthesized hierarchical zeolite was loaded with Zn and utilized in the propane aromatization reaction, which displayed a prolonged lifetime (1430 min vs. 290 min compared with conventional ZSM-5) and an enhanced total turnover number that is four folds of the traditional one, owing to the attenuated hydride transfer reaction and slow coking rate. This work provides a new method to alter the morphological properties of zeolites with low-cost disinfectants, which is of great potential for industrial applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality)
Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 4277 KiB  
Article
A High-Performance and Durable Direct-Ammonia Symmetrical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with Nano La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.7Ni0.2Mo0.1O3−δ-Decorated Doped Ceria Electrode
by Hao Jiang, Zhixian Liang, Hao Qiu, Yongning Yi, Shanshan Jiang, Jiahuan Xu, Wei Wang, Chao Su and Tao Yang
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(8), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14080673 - 12 Apr 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2084
Abstract
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) offer a significant advantage over other fuel cells in terms of flexibility in the choice of fuel. Ammonia stands out as an excellent fuel choice for SOFCs due to its easy transportation and storage, carbon-free nature and mature [...] Read more.
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) offer a significant advantage over other fuel cells in terms of flexibility in the choice of fuel. Ammonia stands out as an excellent fuel choice for SOFCs due to its easy transportation and storage, carbon-free nature and mature synthesis technology. For direct-ammonia SOFCs (DA-SOFCs), the development of anode catalysts that have efficient catalytic activity for both NH3 decomposition and H2 oxidation reactions is of great significance. Herein, we develop a Mo-doped La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Ni0.2O3−δ (La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.7Ni0.2Mo0.1O3−δ, LSFNM) material, and explore its potential as a symmetrical electrode for DA-SOFCs. After reduction, the main cubic perovskite phase of LSFNM remained unchanged, but some FeNi3 alloy nanoparticles and a small amount of SrLaFeO4 oxide phase were generated. Such reduced LSFNM exhibits excellent catalytic activity for ammonia decomposition due to the presence of FeNi3 alloy nanoparticles, ensuring that it can be used as an anode for DA-SOFCs. In addition, LSFNM shows high oxygen reduction reactivity, indicating that it can also be a cathode for DA-SOFCs. Consequently, a direct-ammonia symmetrical SOFC (DA-SSOFC) with the LSFNM-infiltrated doped ceria (LSFNM-SDCi) electrode delivers a superior peak power density (PPD) of 487 mW cm−2 at 800 °C when NH3 fuel is utilised. More importantly, because Mo doping greatly enhances the reduction stability of the material, the DA-SSOFC with the LSFN-MSDCi electrode exhibits strong operational stability without significant degradation for over 400 h at 700 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality)
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 4507 KiB  
Article
Short-Chain Sulfur Confined into Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanospheres for High-Capacity Potassium Storage
by Wenhan Liu, Tengfei Shi, Fang Liu, Chen Yang, Fan Qiao, Kang Han, Chunhua Han, Jiashen Meng and Xuanpeng Wang
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(6), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14060550 - 20 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1320
Abstract
Carbon-based materials are one of the ideal negative electrode materials for potassium ion batteries. However, the limited active sites and sluggish diffusion ion kinetics still hinder its commercialization process. To address these problems, we design a novel carbon composite anode, by confining highly [...] Read more.
Carbon-based materials are one of the ideal negative electrode materials for potassium ion batteries. However, the limited active sites and sluggish diffusion ion kinetics still hinder its commercialization process. To address these problems, we design a novel carbon composite anode, by confining highly reactive short-chain sulfur molecules into nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanospheres (termed SHC-450). The formation process involves the controlled synthesis of hollow polyaniline (PANI) nanospheres as precursors via an Ostwald ripening mechanism and subsequent sulfuration treatment. The high content of constrained short-chain sulfur molecules (20.94 wt%) and considerable N (7.15 wt%) ensure sufficient active sites for K+ storage in SHC-450. Accordingly, the SHC-450 electrode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 472.05 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and good rate capability (172 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1). Thermogravimetric analysis shows that SHC-450 has impressive thermal stability to withstand a high temperature of up to 640 °C. Ex situ spectroscopic characterizations reveal that the short-chain sulfur provides high capacity through reversible formation of K2S. Moreover, its special hollow structure not only provides ample space for highly active short-chain sulfur reactants but also effectively mitigates volume expansion during the sulfur conversion process. This work offers new perspectives on enhanced K+ storage performance from an interesting anode design and the space-limited domain principle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

11 pages, 3253 KiB  
Article
Construction of Porous Carbon Nanosheet/Cu2S Composites with Enhanced Potassium Storage
by Meiqi Mu, Bin Li, Jing Yu, Jie Ding, Haishan He, Xiaokang Li, Jirong Mou, Jujun Yuan and Jun Liu
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(17), 2415; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13172415 - 25 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1111
Abstract
Porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites were prepared using a simple self-template method and vulcanization process. The Cu2S nanoparticles with an average diameter of 140 nm are uniformly distributed on porous carbon nanosheets. When used as the anode of a potassium-ion [...] Read more.
Porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites were prepared using a simple self-template method and vulcanization process. The Cu2S nanoparticles with an average diameter of 140 nm are uniformly distributed on porous carbon nanosheets. When used as the anode of a potassium-ion battery, porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites exhibit good rate performance and cycle performance (363 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 after 100 cycles; 120 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 after 1000 cycles). The excellent electrochemical performance of porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites can be ascribed to their unique structure, which can restrain the volume change of Cu2S during the charge/discharge processes, increase the contact area between the electrode and the electrolyte, and improve the electron/ionic conductivity of the electrode material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality)
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 4178 KiB  
Article
Bi2MoO6 Embedded in 3D Porous N,O-Doped Carbon Nanosheets for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction
by Xue Bai, Lang He, Wenyuan Zhang, Fei Lv, Yayun Zheng, Xirui Kong, Du Wang and Yan Zhao
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(9), 1569; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13091569 - 6 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2462
Abstract
Artificial photosynthesis is promising to convert solar energy and CO2 into valuable chemicals, and to alleviate the problems of the greenhouse effect and the climate change crisis. Here, we fabricated a novel photocatalyst by directly growing Bi2MoO6 nanosheets on [...] Read more.
Artificial photosynthesis is promising to convert solar energy and CO2 into valuable chemicals, and to alleviate the problems of the greenhouse effect and the climate change crisis. Here, we fabricated a novel photocatalyst by directly growing Bi2MoO6 nanosheets on three-dimensional (3D) N,O-doped carbon (NO-C). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that the designed photocatalyst ensured the close contact between Bi2MoO6 and NO-C, and reduced the stacking of the NO-C layers to provide abundant channels for the diffusion of CO2, while NO-C can allow for fast electron transfer. The charge transfer in this composite was determined to follow a step-scheme mechanism, which not only facilitates the separation of charge carriers but also retains a strong redox capability. Benefiting from this unique 3D structure and the synergistic effect, BMO/NO-C showed excellent performance in photocatalytic CO2 reductions. The yields of the best BMO/NO-C catalysts for CH4 and CO were 9.14 and 14.49 μmol g−1 h−1, respectively. This work provides new insights into constructing step-scheme photocatalytic systems with the 3D nanostructures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Carbon Neutrality)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop