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Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials

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A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 11508

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Silvania Lanfredi

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Technology and Sciences, Laboratory of Composites and Ceramics Functional, Presidente Prudente 19060-900, Brazil
Interests: synthesis; porous nanomaterials; photocatalysts; photoelectrocatalysts

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Porous nanomaterials, an important family of functional materials, have attractive properties concerning advanced energy storage and conversion technologies. Porous materials have extensive application in nanoreactors, gas sensors, drug delivery, rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, solar cells, photocatalysis, and fuel cells. The intrinsic nature of porous materials offers advantages such as large specific surface area, high loading capacity, fast ion and charge transport, and robust structure. The hollow structure (i.e., the structure with well-defined boundaries and interior cavities) offers additional advantages such as low density, relief of volume changes, sustaining the stability of the structure, and allowing the ions and electrons to diffuse in a shorter time. Thus, the large specific surface area of structures has been promising to improve the power/energy density of active materials by providing abundant active sites on surface redox reactions, insertion, adsorption/desorption, and heterogeneous catalysis. The structural properties of nanomaterials, such as their morphology, particle size, porosity, and specific surface area, are mainly determined by synthetic methods and experimental conditions. In this sense, the synthesis of porous and hollow nanomaterials has been explored over several synthetic routes. Despite this progress, there is a need to develop high-efficiency, low-cost, and environmentally friendly porous nanomaterials for conversion technologies.

The goal of this Special Issue is to discuss the functionalization chemistry of important porous nanomaterials in order to give a new perspective of the applications of these materials in the frontiers of knowledge, including the potential topics:

Synthesis of porous nanomaterials.
Photocatalytic semiconducting porous nanomaterials.
Photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic splitting of water to yield H₂.
Self-cleaning surfaces for the built environment.
Self-cleaning/disinfecting surfaces for healthcare applications.
Energy recovery from wastewater by the reforming of pollutants to yield H₂.
Carbon dioxide reduction/artificial photosynthesis.
New technology trends and applications for solar fuels.

Dr. Silvania Lanfredi
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 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

synthesis route
porous materials
photocatalytic nanomaterials
hydrogen
energy storage
depollution
water purification

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 6845 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Densification of Two Forms of Nanostructured TATB under Uniaxial Die Pressures: A USAXS–SAXS Study

by Yan Zhou, Jing Shi, Mark Julian Henderson, Xiuhong Li, Feng Tian, Xiaohui Duan, Qiang Tian and László Almásy

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(5), 869; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13050869 - 26 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1344

Abstract

Sequential ultra-small-angle and small-angle and X-ray scattering (USAXS and SAXS) measurements of hierarchical microstructure of a common energetic material, the high explosive 2,4,6-Triamino-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TATB), were performed to follow the microstructure evolution upon applied pressure. The pellets were prepared by two different routes—die pressed from a nanoparticle form and a nano-network form of TATB powder. The derived structural parameters, such as void size, porosity, and the interface area, reflected the response of TATB under compaction. Three populations of voids were observed in the probed q range from 0.007 to 7 nm⁻¹. The inter-granular voids with size larger than 50 nm were sensitive to low pressures and had a smooth interface with the TATB matrix. The inter-granular voids with size of ~10 nm exhibited a less volume-filling ratio at high pressures (>15 kN) as indicated by a decrease of the volume fractal exponent. The response of these structural parameters to external pressures implied that the main densification mechanisms under die compaction were the flow, fracture, and plastic deformation of the TATB granules. Compared to the nanoparticle TATB, the applied pressure strongly influenced the nano-network TATB due to its more uniform structure. The findings and research methods of this work provide insights into the structural evolution of TATB during densification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials)

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14 pages, 4085 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Easy Handling and Cost-Efficient Processing of a Tb³⁺-MOF: The Emissive Capacity of the Membrane-Immobilized Material, Water Vapour Adsorption and Proton Conductivity

by Estitxu Echenique-Errandonea, Ricardo Faria Mendes, Flávio Figueira, Paula Barbosa, Sara Rojas, Duane Choquesillo-Lazarte, Javier Cepeda, Duarte Ananias, Filipe Figueiredo, Filipe A. Almeida Paz, Antonio Rodríguez-Diéguez and José Manuel Seco

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(24), 4380; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12244380 - 08 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1140

Abstract

The development of convenient, non-complicated, and cost-efficient processing techniques for packing low-density MOF powders for industry implementation is essential nowadays. To increase MOFs’ availability in industrial settings, we propose the synthesis of a novel 3D Tb-MOF (1) and a simple and non-expensive method for its immobilization in the form of pellets and membranes in polymethacrylate (PMMA) and polysulphone (PSF). The photoluminescent properties of the processed materials were investigated. To simulate industrial conditions, stability towards temperature and humidity have been explored in the pelletized material. Water-adsorption studies have been carried out in bulk and processed materials, and because of the considerable capacity to adsorb water, proton-conduction studies have been investigated for 1. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials)

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15 pages, 2627 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nanoporous Alumina Support Covered by Imidazole Moiety–Based Ionic Liquids: Optical Characterization and Application

by Manuel Algarra, Mª Cruz López Escalante, Mª Valle Martínez de Yuso, Juan Soto, Ana L. Cuevas and Juana Benavente

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(23), 4131; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12234131 - 23 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1269

Abstract

This work analyzes chemical surface and optical characteristics of a commercial nanoporous alumina structure (NPAS) as a result of surface coverage by different imidazolium-based ionic liquids (1-butyl-3-metylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, 3-methyl-1-octylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, or 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate). Optical characteristics of the IL/NPAS samples were determined by photoluminescence (at different excitation wavelengths (from 300 nm to 400 nm), ellipsometry spectroscopy, and light transmittance/reflectance measurements for a range of wavelengths that provide information on modifications related to both visible and near-infrared regions. Chemical surface characterization of the three IL/NPAS samples was performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which indicates almost total support coverage by the ILs. The IL/NPAS analyzed samples exhibit different photoluminescence behavior, high transparency (<85%), and a reflection maximum at wavelength ~380 nm, with slight differences depending on the IL, while the refractive index values are rather similar to those shown by the ILs. Moreover, the illuminated I–V curves (under standard conditions) of the IL/NPAS samples were also measured for determining the efficiency energy conversion to estimate their possible application as solar cells. On the other hand, a computational quantum mechanical modeling method (DFT) was used to establish the most stable bond between the ILs and the NPAS support. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials)

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18 pages, 2606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Removal of Benzene and Toluene from Synthetic Wastewater by Adsorption onto Magnetic Zeolitic Imidazole Framework Nanocomposites

by George Z. Kyzas, Gordon McKay, Tariq J. Al-Musawi, Sabereh Salehi and Davoud Balarak

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(17), 3049; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12173049 - 02 Sep 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2467

Abstract

Considering the risk associated with exposure to benzene and toluene in water resources, researchers have been motivated to conduct studies to remove them from aqueous solutions. Thus, by performing the present study, the potential of Fe₃O₄/zeolite imidazolate framework nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8) was evaluated for the adsorption of benzene and toluene. Accordingly, the solution pH, Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 dosage, mixing time, concentration of benzene and toluene, and temperature, were the parameters considered for conducting the batch experiments, for which their effect on adsorption efficiency was evaluated. Our conducted experiments introduced the neutral pH as the best pH range to obtain the maximum removal. Fitting the adsorption data into the various models revealed the aptness of the Langmuir isotherm equation in describing experimental information and highest adsorption capacity; for benzene it was 129.4, 134.2, 137.3, and 148.2 mg g⁻¹, but for toluene it was 118.4, 125.2, 129.6, and 133.1 mg g⁻¹, for temperature 20, 30, 40, and 50 °C, respectively. Using obtained optimal conditions, the adsorption efficiencies of benzene and toluene were obtained to be 98.4% and 93.1%, respectively. Kinetic studies showed acceptable coefficients for PSO kinetics and confirmed its suitability. Also, the recyclability results showed that for six consecutive periods of the adsorption-desorption process, the percentage of removal decreased by only 6% for benzene and toluene. Moreover, calculating thermodynamic parameter changes for benzene and toluene removal confirmed the favorability and spontaneity of the studied process and its endothermic nature. Considering the above findings, Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 was found to be an operative adsorbent for removing pollutants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials)

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Review

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17 pages, 3856 KiB

Open AccessReview

Gene Therapy Using Efficient Direct Lineage Reprogramming Technology for Neurological Diseases

by Yujung Chang, Sungwoo Lee, Jieun Kim, Chunggoo Kim, Hyun Soo Shim, Seung Eun Lee, Hyeok Ju Park, Jeongwon Kim, Soohyun Lee, Yong Kyu Lee, Sungho Park and Junsang Yoo

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(10), 1680; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13101680 - 19 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1975

Abstract

Gene therapy is an innovative approach in the field of regenerative medicine. This therapy entails the transfer of genetic material into a patient’s cells to treat diseases. In particular, gene therapy for neurological diseases has recently achieved significant progress, with numerous studies investigating the use of adeno-associated viruses for the targeted delivery of therapeutic genetic fragments. This approach has potential applications for treating incurable diseases, including paralysis and motor impairment caused by spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease, and it is characterized by dopaminergic neuron degeneration. Recently, several studies have explored the potential of direct lineage reprogramming (DLR) for treating incurable diseases, and highlighted the advantages of DLR over conventional stem cell therapy. However, application of DLR technology in clinical practice is hindered by its low efficiency compared with cell therapy using stem cell differentiation. To overcome this limitation, researchers have explored various strategies such as the efficiency of DLR. In this study, we focused on innovative strategies, including the use of a nanoporous particle-based gene delivery system to improve the reprogramming efficiency of DLR-induced neurons. We believe that discussing these approaches can facilitate the development of more effective gene therapies for neurological disorders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials)

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31 pages, 7894 KiB

Open AccessReview

Evolutionary Progress of Silica Aerogels and Their Classification Based on Composition: An Overview

by Puttavva Meti, Qi Wang, D. B. Mahadik, Kyu-Yeon Lee, Young-Dae Gong and Hyung-Ho Park

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(9), 1498; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13091498 - 27 Apr 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2577

Abstract

Aerogels are highly porous materials with fascinating properties prepared using sol-gel chemistry. Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, aerogels are recognized as potential candidates for diverse applications, including thermal insulation, sensor, environmental remediation, etc. Despite these applications, aerogels are not routinely found in our daily life because they are fragile and have highly limited scale-up productions. It remains extremely challenging to improve the mechanical properties of aerogels without adversely affecting their other properties. To boost the practical applications, it is necessary to develop efficient, low-cost methods to produce aerogels in a sustainable way. This comprehensive review surveys the progress in the development of aerogels and their classification based on the chemical composition of the network. Recent achievements in organic, inorganic, and hybrid materials and their outstanding physical properties are discussed. The major focus of this review lies in approaches that allow tailoring of aerogel properties to meet application-driven requirements. We begin with a brief discussion of the fundamental issues in silica aerogels and then proceed to provide an overview of the synthesis of organic and hybrid aerogels from various precursors. Organic aerogels show promising results with excellent mechanical strength, but there are still several issues that need further exploration. Finally, growing points and perspectives of the aerogel field are summarized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization Chemistry in Porous Nanomaterials)

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