Advanced Functional Materials for Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Treatment

Dear Colleagues,

Efficient and sustainable water pollution control remains one of the most urgent global environmental challenges. With the rapid emergence of recalcitrant organic contaminants, heavy metals, antibiotics, microplastics, PFAS, and complex industrial effluents, conventional treatment technologies often face limitations in selectivity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. In recent years, advanced functional materials—ranging from engineered nanomaterials, catalytic composites, biochar derivatives, MOFs/COFs, and redox-active materials to engineered bio-materials, living materials, and smart responsive platforms—have shown unprecedented potential for addressing these challenges through enhanced adsorption, catalysis, redox transformation, membrane separation, and biological synergy.

This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research and transformative advances in functional materials for water pollution control and wastewater treatment. We welcome studies that develop innovative materials, elucidate interfacial mechanisms, integrate materials into treatment systems, or demonstrate pilot-scale and practical applications. Emphasis will be placed on materials-enabled solutions that promote efficiency, selectivity, sustainability, and environmental safety.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following: Advanced adsorbents and catalytic materials for emerging pollutants (e.g., nanomaterials, biochar-based composites, MOF/COF hybrids, and redox catalysts).

•  Photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and sonocatalytic materials for degradation and mineralization.
•  Functional membranes and membrane-assisted processes (nanofiltration, forward osmosis, and membrane distillation).
•  Magnetic, hierarchical, and multifunctional materials enabling enhanced separation and recovery.
•  Bio-inspired and living functional materials (e.g., enzyme-embedded systems, microalgae–bacteria composites, and 3D-printed bioactive materials).
•  Material–microbe interactions for pollutant transformation, nutrient recovery, and ARG mitigation.
•  Advanced materials for industrial wastewater treatment (textile, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, agricultural, and landfill leachate).
•  Mechanistic studies on adsorption, redox transformation, interfacial reactions, and catalytic pathways.
•  Sustainability assessment, environmental impacts, and safety evaluation of functional materials.
•  Pilot-scale demonstrations and engineering applications integrating advanced materials into treatment processes.

This Special Issue provides a platform for researchers, engineers, and industry practitioners to showcase recent scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations that push the boundaries of materials-enabled water treatment. We welcome original research articles, critical reviews, perspectives, and mini reviews that address the challenges and opportunities emerging at the interface of materials science, environmental chemistry, and water treatment engineering.

Dr. Mengmeng Wang
Dr. Lingchao Kong
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. Water 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 2600 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.