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Gels
Special Issues
Designing Gels as Adsorbents and Catalysts
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Designing Gels as Adsorbents and Catalysts

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2026) | Viewed by 2181

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michael Arkas

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Guest Editor
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos", 15310 Athens, Greece
Interests: dendritic polymers; xerogels; water purification; liquid crystals; metal nanoparticle catalysts; antimicrobial coatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ioannis Pashalidis

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 2109, Cyprus
Interests: nuclear chemistry; radiochemistry; analytical chemistry
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Dr. Ioannis Anastopoulos

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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, UoI Kostakii Campus, 47040 Arta, Greece
Interests: soil pollution; soil fertility; water pollution; adsorption; biomass valorization
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Dr. Dimitrios Giannakoudakis

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Guest Editor
Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Maria Curie-Sklodowska Sq. 3, 20031 Lublin, Poland
Interests: nanotechnology; green chemistry; air & water purification; (photo)catalysis; porous nanomaterials
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Dr. Ioannis Ioannidis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 2109, Cyprus
Interests: nuclear chemistry; radiochemistry; radionuclides; microplastics; biochars; xerogels; ad(de)sorption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gels come in various types, such as aerogels, xerogels, hydrogels, organogels, and composite gels, and forms, like films, monoliths, and powders. They are notorious for their ability to retain both inorganic and organic compounds, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic. As a result, they are utilized in environmental engineering techniques including filtration, catalytic decomposition, general catalysis, adsorption, membrane separation, and recovery.

Authors are encouraged to submit letters, review papers, and case studies focused on optimized synthetic processes, advanced raw materials, functionalities, and structure–property relationships. Most importantly, this Special Issue centers on the use of gels to mitigate water and air pollution, recover valuable materials, and promote greener catalytic technologies that require less energy and are free from toxic substances.

Dr. Michael Arkas
Prof. Dr. Ioannis Pashalidis
Dr. Ioannis Anastopoulos
Dr. Dimitrios Giannakoudakis
Dr. Ioannis Ioannidis
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Gels 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 2100 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

  • water purification
  • catalysis 
  • catalytic decomposition 
  • air detoxification
  • recovery
  • adsorption 
  • composite gels

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 3770 KB  
Article
Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of Solar-Driven Hybrid Adsorption Desalination–HDH Using Silica Gel/Cacl2 Under Saudi Arabian Climate
by Ehab S. Ali, Ahmed S. Alsaman, Ridha Ben Mansour and Rached Ben-Mansour
Gels 2026, 12(3), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12030226 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 23
Abstract
This study explores a solar-driven hybrid desalination approach developed for Saudi Arabian climatic conditions, combining adsorption desalination (AD) based on a silica gel/CaCl2 composite with an ejector (EJ) and a HDH system. The proposed integration aims to enhance vapor utilization and reuse [...] Read more.
This study explores a solar-driven hybrid desalination approach developed for Saudi Arabian climatic conditions, combining adsorption desalination (AD) based on a silica gel/CaCl2 composite with an ejector (EJ) and a HDH system. The proposed integration aims to enhance vapor utilization and reuse condenser heat to generate additional distillate. Two operating modes are examined, including a productivity-focused strategy that activates evaporator/condenser heat recovery (HR) when cooling is not required. Compared to raw silica gel (SG), the composite adsorbent improves adsorption cycle performance, raising the COP from about 0.38–0.43 to 0.55–0.63, and increasing SCP from roughly 130–240 W/kg to 320–675 W/kg. Without HR, the full AD–EJ–HDH system achieves SDWP of 52–100 m3/ton·day with GOR of 2.40–2.75 over the year. In HR-enabled operation, SDWP increases to 81–140 m3/ton·day and GOR rises to 2.7–2.95, reflecting stronger internal heat reuse and improved vapor management. Techno-economic results show that the solar-driven unit cost for AD–EJ–HDH decreases from winter values (2.7–2.9 $/m3) to a minimum around June (1.53 $/m3), while waste heat operation reduces the cost further to 0.49 $/m3 in June (rising to ~0.76–0.80 $/m3 in winter). With HR, the full AD–HR–EJ–HDH reaches around 1.44 $/m3 (solar, June) and 0.38–0.40 $/m3 (waste heat, summer), confirming the advantage of desalination-focused HR operation when cooling is not required. Finally, compared with SWRO, the AD–HR–EJ–HDH configuration delivers an approximately 90% lower carbon footprint on the same environmental assessment basis. The study highlights the environmental benefit of the intensified SG/CaCl2 hybrid configuration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Gels as Adsorbents and Catalysts)
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17 pages, 7235 KB  
Article
Nanofiber Mats as Amine-Functionalized Heterogeneous Catalysts in Continuous Microfluidic Reactor Systems
by Katja Rumpke, Naresh Killi, Barbara Dittrich, Andreas Herrmann and Dirk Kuckling
Gels 2026, 12(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12010055 - 6 Jan 2026
Viewed by 610
Abstract
The development of sustainable catalysts is the main objective in green chemistry approaches. In this study, a catalytically active polymer based on a tertiary amine was synthesized, functionalized with a photo-crosslinker, and structured into nanofibers via electrospinning technique with polycaprolactone (PCL) as a [...] Read more.
The development of sustainable catalysts is the main objective in green chemistry approaches. In this study, a catalytically active polymer based on a tertiary amine was synthesized, functionalized with a photo-crosslinker, and structured into nanofibers via electrospinning technique with polycaprolactone (PCL) as a stabilizing additive. Subsequent photo-crosslinking yielded hierarchically porous polymers with high swelling properties and increased surface areas, thereby improving the accessibility of the immobilized catalytically active sites. The nanofiber mats were incorporated into a microfluidic reactor (MFR) setup and utilized as heterogeneous catalysts for the Knoevenagel reaction of malononitrile with different aldehydes. It was observed that the system demonstrated a substantial improvement in NMR yields (40–60%) and turnover frequencies (50–80 h−1) in comparison to catalytical systems that had been previously published. Reusability studies showed reproducibility of NMR yields over up to three cycles. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of electrospun, photo-crosslinked nanofibers as efficient heterogeneous catalysts in microfluidic synthesis, thus contributing to more sustainable production of valuable malononitrile derivatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Gels as Adsorbents and Catalysts)
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