Advanced Thin Films, Surface and Interface in Photocatalytic Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Engineering for Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 557

Special Issue Editor

School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China
Interests: photocatalysis; electrocatalysis (HER, OER, overall water splitting)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photocatalysis is currently one of the most rapidly developing disciplines, involving the degradation of environmental pollutants, chemical synthesis, hydrogen evolution, carbon dioxide reduction, and many other catalytic fields. The core focus of photocatalytic technology research is on the development of new, efficient, stable, and sustainable photocatalytic materials and their reaction mechanisms. The efficiency of photocatalytic processes is closely related to the absorption of photons by catalytic materials, the excitation and transfer of photo-generated electrons (holes), and the formation efficiency of various free radicals. These above important processes are all based on the surface/interface properties of photocatalytic materials. Therefore, it is extremely important to construct surfaces with high light absorption activity, an efficient separation efficiency of photo generated electrons (holes), and abundant free radicals formation.

Coatings covers coatings, surfaces, and interfaces in the broad sense, and "applied surface science" is included in its main focus scope. The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a platform to share the excellent research results of advanced thin films, surfaces and interfaces in the field of photocatalysis, including the synthesis and construction methods of new surface/interface photocatalytic materials, new photocatalytic applications (including environmental pollutant degradation, chemical synthesis, and green energy), the analysis of surface photocatalytic reaction mechanisms, and the theoretical calculation and analysis of surface photocatalytic processes, which are all welcome.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Construction of new photocatalytic heterojunction surfaces/interfaces (S-type heterojunction, Z-type heterojunction, pn heterojunction, etc.) and their applications;
  • Preparation and application of novel photocatalytic thin films and coatings;
  • New applications of photocatalytic surfaces/interfaces in the field of photocatalysis;
  • In-depth analysis of photocatalytic mechanism occurring around thin films, surfaces, and interfaces;
  • Theoretical study and analysis of surface photocatalytic process based on DFT (density functional theory).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Chen Chen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • photocatalysis surface
  • heterojunction interface
  • advanced photocatalytic thin films and coatings
  • new application of photocatalysis
  • photocatalytic DFT study
  • photoactive coating

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 19108 KiB  
Article
Construction of Advanced S-Scheme Heterojunction Interface Composites of Bimetallic Phosphate MnMgPO4 with C3N4 Surface with Remarkable Performance in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production and Pollutant Degradation
by Ting Cheng, Jiarui Zhu, Chen Chen, Yulin Hu, Liangliang Wu, Mengyi Zhang, Liwei Cui, Youzhi Dai, Xiao Zhang, Yuan Tian and Fei Wu
Coatings 2025, 15(1), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15010103 - 18 Jan 2025
Viewed by 432
Abstract
Novel S-scheme heterojunction interface composite (MnMgPO4@C3N4) of bimetallic phosphate MnMgPO4 and C3N4 with different proportions was successfully constructed in this work. The nanosheet surface structure and the integration interface of two materials endowed [...] Read more.
Novel S-scheme heterojunction interface composite (MnMgPO4@C3N4) of bimetallic phosphate MnMgPO4 and C3N4 with different proportions was successfully constructed in this work. The nanosheet surface structure and the integration interface of two materials endowed the composite heterojunctions with superior visible light absorption and improved photogenerated carrier transfer, boosting the photocatalytic hydrogen production and degradation performance. The interface composite (5C5MMP) with the optimal mass ratio (MnMgPO4/C3N4 = 5/5) achieved the strongest photocatalytic potency. The hydrogen evolution rate was about 3.595 mmol·g−1·h−1, and the pollutants of methylene blue (MB), oxytetracycline (OTC), and tetracycline (TE) were almost entirely degraded within 40 min. The degradation rates were approximately 97.1% (MB), 95.4% (OTC), and 99.7% (TE). Notably, the heterojunction interface composite displayed exceptional photocatalytic stability and structural durability. The photocatalytic mechanism revealed that the 5C5MMP heterojunction interface exhibited the strongest photocurrent response, the least electron transfer resistance, and the lowest carrier recombination rate, resulting in exceptional photocatalytic performance. Furthermore, both C3N4 and MgMnPO4 were identified as n-type semiconductors. The optimized band structure of the composite photocatalyst interface and the enhanced charge carrier separation enabled the 5C5MMP photocatalytic system to generate more reactive photogenerated electrons for reduction and holes for oxidation, significantly accelerating the photocatalytic hydrogen production and pollutant degradation. By proposing an S-scheme heterojunction interface composite, this research offers an innovative strategy for designing efficient composite photocatalysts and underscores the feasibility of using bimetallic phosphate composites to enhance hydrogen production and pollutant removal. Full article
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