Functional Materials for Chemical Sensing and Environmental Sustainability: Trends, Concepts and Applications

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional materials are key enabling technologies for chemical sensing and environmental sustainability. In recent years, advanced materials (e.g., nanomaterials, thin films, thick films, composites, hybrid materials, organic/inorganic materials, polymers, metals, ceramics and 2D materials) have been integrated into innovative devices and sensor systems to achieve new functionalities, miniaturization and high performance. New proof concepts and demonstrators have been designed for chemical engineering, industrial process control, environmental sustainability, monitoring and remediation. Many practical applications have been implemented in different technological fields including the following:

• Chemical sensing (gas, VOCs, PM, and other emergent pollutants);
• Greenhouse gas monitoring;
• Wireless sensor networks;
• Water pollution detection;
• Soil remediation;
• Urban case studies;
• Indoor monitoring;
• IoT applications;
• Industrial process control;
• Smart materials by AI.

I widely encourage the submission of feature papers within the topic of functional materials for chemical sensing and environmental sustainability to build upon the recent advancements tackling global warning and air pollution, promoting sustainable development through green engineering and smart devices including new digital technologies for green transition.

Prof. Michele Penza
Prof. Dr. Guanying Chen
Dr. Anming Hu
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Chemosensors chemosensors	3.7	7.3	2013	19.1 Days	CHF 2000	Submit
Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing jmmp	3.3	5.2	2017	15.9 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Materials materials	3.2	6.4	2008	15.5 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Nanomaterials nanomaterials	4.3	9.2	2010	14 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Sensors sensors	3.5	8.2	2001	17.8 Days	CHF 2600	Submit

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Open AccessArticle

Copper Ion Detection Using Green Precursor-Derived Carbon Dots in Aqueous Media

by Chao-Sheng Chen, Miao-Wei Lin and Chin-Feng Wan

Chemosensors 2026, 14(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14010021 - 9 Jan 2026

Viewed by 253

Abstract

Highly accurate quantitative detection of heavy metals is crucial for preventing environmental pollution and safeguarding public health. To address the demand for sensitive and specific detection of Cu²⁺ ions, we have developed carbon dots using a simple hydrothermal process. The synthesized carbon [...] Read more.

Highly accurate quantitative detection of heavy metals is crucial for preventing environmental pollution and safeguarding public health. To address the demand for sensitive and specific detection of Cu²⁺ ions, we have developed carbon dots using a simple hydrothermal process. The synthesized carbon dots are highly stable in aqueous media, environmentally friendly, and exhibit strong blue photoluminescence at 440 nm when excited at 352 nm, with a quantum yield of 5.73%. Additionally, the size distribution of the carbon dots ranges from 2.0 to 20 nm, and they feature excitation-dependent emission. They retain consistent optical properties across a wide pH range and under high ionic strength. The photoluminescent probes are selectively quenched by Cu²⁺ ions, with no interference observed from other metal cations such as Ag⁺, Ca²⁺, Cr³⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Hg²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Sn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Sr²⁺, and Zn²⁺. The emission of carbon dots exhibits a strong linear correlation with Cu²⁺ concentration in the range of 0–14 μM via a static quenching mechanism, with a detection limit (LOD) of 4.77 μM in water. The proposed carbon dot sensor is low cost and has been successfully tested for detecting Cu²⁺ ions in general water samples collected from rivers in Taiwan. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Functional Materials for Chemical Sensing and Environmental Sustainability: Trends, Concepts and Applications)

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