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Inorganic/Organic Catalysts: Moving towards an Efficient, Green, and Sustainable Future

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 1491

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Interests: zero/two-dimensional nanomaterials; photoelectric property regulation; photocatalysis; electrocatalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Interests: nano-photocatalytic materials; carbon quantum dots; photocatalytic degradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Inorganic and organic catalysts play crucial role in photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. They promote and accelerate these reactions, making them more efficient. However, traditional catalysts often have drawbacks such as environmental pollution and high costs. To address these challenges, researchers are increasingly focusing on the development of new inorganic or organic catalysts. These catalysts can provide high catalytic activity, stability, and environmental friendliness. They can also be designed to be easily recoverable and recyclable, thereby further enhancing their sustainability. As we move towards a greener and more sustainable future, the development of efficient, green, and sustainable new catalysts is essential. This Special Issue will collect the latest advancements in new inorganic/organic catalysts, mainly covering the synthesis of carbon quantum dots (graphene quantum dots), carbon nitrides, and composite materials, as well as organic molecules, polymers, and their applications in photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. We invite you to submit research on all topics related to this Special Issue in the form of full papers, reviews, or communications.

Prof. Dr. Liang Wang
Dr. Huazhang Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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

  • inorganic nanomaterials
  • organic nanomaterials
  • property regulation
  • photocatalytic
  • electrocatalysis

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 4530 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Persistent Photoconductivity of Gallium Nitride Semiconductor and Differentiation of Primary Neural Stem Cells
by Yu Meng, Xiaowei Du, Shang Zhou, Jiangting Li, Rongrong Feng, Huaiwei Zhang, Qianhui Xu, Weidong Zhao, Zheng Liu and Haijian Zhong
Molecules 2024, 29(18), 4439; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29184439 - 19 Sep 2024
Viewed by 594
Abstract
A gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor is one of the most promising materials integrated into biomedical devices to play the roles of connecting, monitoring, and manipulating the activity of biological components, due to its excellent photoelectric properties, chemical stability, and biocompatibility. In this work, [...] Read more.
A gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor is one of the most promising materials integrated into biomedical devices to play the roles of connecting, monitoring, and manipulating the activity of biological components, due to its excellent photoelectric properties, chemical stability, and biocompatibility. In this work, it was found that the photogenerated free charge carriers of the GaN substrate, as an exogenous stimulus, served to promote neural stem cells (NSCs) to differentiate into neurons. This was observed through the systematic investigation of the effect of the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) of GaN on the differentiation of primary NSCs from the embryonic rat cerebral cortex. NSCs were directly cultured on the GaN surface with and without ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, with a control sample consisting of tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS) medium. Through optical microscopy, the morphology showed a greater number of neurons with the branching structures of axons and dendrites on GaN with UV irradiation. The immunocytochemical results demonstrated that GaN with UV irradiation could promote the NSCs to differentiate into neurons. Western blot analysis showed that GaN with UV irradiation significantly upregulated the expression of two neuron-related markers, βIII-tubulin (Tuj-1) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2), suggesting that neurite formation and the proliferation of NSCs during differentiation were enhanced by GaN with UV irradiation. Finally, the results of the Kelvin probe force microscope (KPFM) experiments showed that the NSCs cultured on GaN with UV irradiation displayed about 50 mV higher potential than those cultured on GaN without irradiation. The increase in cell membrane potential may have been due to the larger number of photogenerated free charges on the GaN surface with UV irradiation. These results could benefit topical research and the application of GaN as a biomedical material integrated into neural interface systems or other bioelectronic devices. Full article
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11 pages, 5935 KiB  
Article
Tailoring Energy Transfer in Mixed Eu/Tb Metal–Organic Frameworks for Ratiometric Temperature Sensing
by Hui Tang, Siyuan Cheng, Zhihui Zhang, Mingyang He, Junfeng Qian and Liang Li
Molecules 2024, 29(16), 3914; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29163914 - 19 Aug 2024
Viewed by 611
Abstract
Eu/Tb metal–organic frameworks (Eu/Tb-MOFs), exhibiting Eu3+ and Tb3+ emissions, stand out as some of the most fascinating luminescent thermometers. As the relative thermal sensitivity model is limited to its lack of precision for fitting ratio of Eu3+ and Tb3+ [...] Read more.
Eu/Tb metal–organic frameworks (Eu/Tb-MOFs), exhibiting Eu3+ and Tb3+ emissions, stand out as some of the most fascinating luminescent thermometers. As the relative thermal sensitivity model is limited to its lack of precision for fitting ratio of Eu3+ and Tb3+ emissions, accurately predicting the sensing performance of Eu/Tb-MOFs remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a series of luminescent Eu/Tb-MOF thermometers, EuxTb1−xL, with excellent thermal sensitivity around physiological levels, achieved through the tuning energy transfer from ligands to Eu3+ and Tb3+ and between the Ln ions. It was found that the singlet lowest-energy excited state (S1) of the ligand and the higher triplet energy level (Tn) are crucial in the energy transfer processes of ligand→Tb3+ and ligand→Eu3+. This enables EuxTb1−xL to serve as an effective platform for exploring the impact of these energy transfer processes on the temperature-sensing properties of luminescent Eu/Tb-MOF thermometers. The relative thermal sensitivity is comparable to that of dual-center MOF-based luminescent thermometers operating at physiological levels. This study provides valuable insights into the design of new Eu/Tb thermometers and the accurate prediction of their sensing performance. Full article
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