Cutting-Edge Process Strategies for Eliminating Pharmaceutical Pollutants: Mechanistic Insights into Adsorption and Photoelectrocatalysis
A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 46
Special Issue Editors
2. Laboratory of Materials and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Université Ibn Zohr, Agadir 80000, Morocco
Interests: adsorption; photocatalysis; persulfate activation; water treatment; desalination; solar-driven interfacial evaporation; photodegradation; photoelectrochemistry; organic polymers; carbonaceous materials; biomaterials; catalysts; photothermal materials
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; polymers; polyoxometalates; porphyrins; phosphates; oxychlorides; natural clays; adsorption; photocatalysis; electrocatalysis; photoelectrocatalysis; photodegradation; photocatalytic reduction; electrochemistry; photoluminescence
Interests: catalyst; photocatalysis; MOFs; porous materials; environmental chemistry; analytical chemistry; nanomaterials; adsorption; green chemistry technology; polymer composites; CO2 hydrogenation clay minerals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Pharmaceutical pollutants have emerged as major environmental concerns due to their persistence, bioactivity, and potential toxicity. Antibiotics, analgesics, hormones, and psychiatric drugs are frequently detected in water bodies, posing threats to ecosystems and human health. Advanced remediation technologies, including photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and photoelectrocatalysis, are necessary for eliminating pharmaceutical residues that conventional wastewater treatment plants cannot effectively remove.
This Special Issue focuses on materials with dual functions for the efficient removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from aquatic environments by combining adsorption and photoelectrocatalysis. Adsorption enables the swift removal of pharmaceuticals from water, while photo(electro)catalysis promotes their mineralization into harmless byproducts under light irradiation. Special emphasis will be placed on the practical feasibility of these methods, including scalability, cost-effectiveness, regeneration potential, and real-world applications in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment.
We invite contributions that cover a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Novel adsorbent and photocatalyst materials for pharmaceutical pollutant removal;
- Synergistic effects between adsorption and photocatalysis;
- Kinetic and thermodynamic studies of pharmaceutical pollutant removal;
- Exploring the degradation and adsorption mechanisms of pharmaceutical contaminants;
- Sustainable and cost-effective approaches for environmental applications.
Dr. Abdelaziz Imgharn
Dr. Brahim Akhsassi
Dr. Redouane Haounati
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. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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
- adsorption
- photocatalysis
- electrocatalysis
- photoelectrocatalysis
- emerging pollutants
- pharmaceuticals
- organic pollutants
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