**Short Biography of Author**

**Ioan Balint.** Dr. Ioan Balint is a Senior Researcher and currently, the Director of the "Ilie Murgulescu" Institute of Physical-Chemistry of the Romanian Academy. Dr. Balint obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 1996 at the same institute. He obtained three postdoctoral stays, one of them at the Pierre et Marie Marie Curie University in France (1998–1999), and another two at the Department of Environmental Chemistry and Catalysis in the group of Prof. Ken-ichi Aika, of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan (2000–2005). He was several times, an invited professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo Technical University, in Japan and also gained an UNESCO Scholarship at the same institute. Dr. Balint has an extensive research background encompassing various topics such as surface science: non-isothermal gas desorption kinetic from supported-metal catalysts; solid defect chemistry; water–gas shift reaction on surface of simple and doped ionic oxides; material synthesis: mesoporous nano oxides; mono/bimetallic metal nanoparticles; catalysis: catalytic combustion of hydrocarbons; oxidative coupling of methane; hydrogenation and oxidative conversion of conversion hydrocarbons; structure-sensitive reactions; nitrate and nitrite abatement; photocatalysis/light harvesting: water and air depollution; water splitting; light-induced reactive oxygen species generation; solar cell. He was project director for 5 national grants, and has

been as expert member in many national/international committees. Dr. Balint has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in well-recognized scientific journals, and has an H-index of 21.

**Monica Pavel.** Dr. Monica Pavel is a senior researcher at the "Ilie Murgulescu" Institute of Physical-Chemistry of the Romanian Academy. She obtained a BSc degree in chemistry and physics in 2005 at the University of Pitesti, Romania, and a MSc degree (2006) in materials science, nanomaterials and multimaterials from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France. From October 2007 to November 2010, she carried out her PhD studies in materials chemistry at the University of Lyon 1—Institute of Researches for Catalysis and Environment of Lyon in France under the supervision of Dr. Pavel Afanasiev. She continued as a postdoctoral researcher (2011–2013) at the University of Bucharest, Romania, with a short internship at the Institute Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, France. Her research focuses on the controllable synthesis of transition-mixed oxides and 2D materials by various methods (e.g., molten salts, organic solvents, co-precipitation, solid state reactions, ion-exchange reactions); the photocatalytic removal of pollutants (chlorinated/organic compounds, antibiotics, etc.); combustion of light alkanes, and the total oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

**Disclaimer/Publisher's Note:** The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
