Solar-Light-Activated Materials, Photonics, and Emerging Technologies: From Fundamentals to Real-World Impact

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid evolution of solar-light-activated processes marks an exciting moment for the global research and innovation community. What began with classical UV-induced photochemical reactions has now expanded into a multidimensional field where photochemistry, materials science, photonics, plasmonics, metamaterials, and device engineering converge. This cross-disciplinary landscape is redefining how we harness the broad solar spectrum—from UV to visible and near-infrared (NIR)—to drive chemical, environmental, and technological transformations with unprecedented efficiency.

With increasing societal demand for clean water, cleaner air, renewable energy, antimicrobial protection, sustainable manufacturing, and smart sensing, solar-activated technologies are becoming central to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Breakthroughs in photocatalysts, light-harvesting interfaces, nano-engineered surfaces, and photonic architectures enable reactions and functionalities that were once considered unattainable under natural sunlight alone. At the same time, innovations in optical engineering, plasmonic enhancement, and metamaterial design are providing new ways to control absorption, scattering, spectral selectivity, and electromagnetic confinement—opening pathways to highly efficient, scalable solar-driven systems.

This Special Issue of Photochem aims to bring together a vibrant collection of contributions from established researchers, early-career scientists, engineers, industrial R&D teams, and emerging technology developers. Our goal is to showcase the full spectrum of advances—from theoretical insights and materials synthesis to device prototyping, field demonstrations, and industrial translation.

We welcome submissions that address (but are not limited to):

• Solar-active photocatalysts, photosensitizers, and hybrid materials operating across the UV–Vis–NIR spectrum
• Nanophotonic and plasmonic systems that enhance or modulate solar-driven reactions
• Metamaterials and structured surfaces for spectral management, light trapping, and directional energy flow
• Photoelectrochemical and solar-fuel generation technologies
• Environmental applications, including sunlight-driven degradation of pollutants in water, air, and soil
• Solar-activated antimicrobial, antiviral, and self-cleaning surfaces, textiles, and coatings
• Light-harvesting architectures, including waveguiding structures, fiber-based systems, and solar concentrators
• Outdoor photoreactors, demonstrators, and scale-up strategies
• Advanced characterization, modeling, and spectroscopy for understanding solar-induced processes
• Techno-economic considerations, durability and aging studies, and pathways to industry implementation

To support a broad and inclusive dialog, this Special Issue welcomes letters, full-length research articles, invited reviews, perspectives, and opinion. We particularly encourage collaborations that bridge academia and industry, highlight emerging methodologies, or propose forward-looking insights into the future of solar-light-activated technologies.

As solar-driven processes continue to expand into new scientific domains and application areas, the need for integrative thinking and cross-sector collaboration has never been greater. By gathering contributions from the global community, this Special Issue aims to inspire new ideas, foster partnerships, and accelerate the development of transformative solar-light-enabled materials and technologies.

We warmly invite you to contribute your latest research, vision, and innovation to this edition of Photochem.

Dr. Mirela Petruta Suchea
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Photochem is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1200 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.