Nanostructured Materials for Sustainable Energy and Environment: Electrocatalysis and Photocatalysis

Dear Colleagues,

Nanostructure, composition, and interface design can now be precisely controlled because of the recent developments in synthesis techniques, such as sol–gel processing, hydrothermal procedures, sonochemical pathways, atomic layer deposition, and green chemistry approaches. Further, by anticipating the active sites and streamlining reaction paths, computational modelling and machine learning are also speeding up the search for new catalytic systems. Therefore, the hunt for cutting-edge nanostructured materials which can power environmentally friendly energy conversion and storage has accelerated due to the world's expanding energy needs and the environmental problems brought on by reliance on fossil fuels. Because of their distinct physicochemical characteristics at the nanoscale, nanostructured catalytic materials have become one of the most promising alternatives. The significant benefits for improving catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability in a variety of processes are offered by their high surface area-to-volume ratio, abundance of active sites, and capacity for atomic or molecular engineering. Nanostructured catalysts are essential for photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, and thermocatalysis in the sustainable energy applications, especially for fuel cells, hydrogen production, carbon dioxide reduction, water-splitting, solar cells, and supercapacitors. Thus, the effective renewable energy harvesting and storage is made possible by modifying the catalysts' morphology into nanorods, nanosheets, nanoflakes, or core–shell structures, which further enhance the charge transfer kinetics, light absorption, and durability.

In addition to energy-related applications, these catalytic materials also have a great deal of promise for the environmental remediation, which includes air purification, wastewater treatment, and pollutant degradation. For instance, under solar light, semiconductor-based nanocatalysts including ZnO, TiO₂, NiTiO₃, and doped carbon-based composites, have been effectively used in the photocatalytic destruction of organic pollutants. In the meantime, the heterostructured composites and nanostructured metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated promising activity in absorbing the greenhouse gases and enabling their transformation into useful chemicals or fuels. Further, the process efficiency and scalability are improved by incorporating the catalytic nanomaterials into reactor designs, membranes, and coatings. Crucially, the options to get around restrictions like low conductivity, photocorrosion, or catalyst poisoning are made possible by the tunability of surface chemistry, defect engineering, and heteroatom doping.

Thus, the nanostructured catalytic materials offer a revolutionary way to meet the twin demands of sustainable energy and environmental preservation. These materials can power the next-generation clean energy technologies and circular environmental solutions by fusing nanoscale engineering with transdisciplinary advancements in chemistry, materials science, and process design. Achieving a low-carbon future and fulfilling the global sustainable development targets would require ongoing study into their design, mechanistic knowledge, and sustainable manufacture. Further, the major obstacles to combat include the scaling of laboratory achievements to the industrial applications, maintaining long-term stability, reducing the use of essential raw materials, and addressing the possible negative effects of nanomaterials on the environment and human health.

The proposed Special Issue on “Advanced Nanostructured Materials for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Applications” mainly aims to widen and strengthen the synthesis of catalytic materials and their photo/electrochemical applications to address the following challenges.  The scope of the proposed issue includes, but is not limited to:

• Cutting-edge technology in the synthesis and photo/electrocatalytic applications of nanostructured materials;
• Fundamental aspects of the photo/electrocatalytic processes;
• Technical or review or mini review articles based on nanomaterials/nanostructured composites in the field of photo/electrochemical energy conversion and storage, and environmental applications;
• Explore the new aspects of engineering morphology for the photo/electrocatalytic applications and beyond.

Prof. Dr. Ramalinga Viswanathan Mangalaraja
Dr. Arunachalam Arulraj
Guest Editors

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• advanced techniques in the synthesis of nanostructured catalytic materials
• photo/electrochemical energy conversion
• photo/electrochemical energy storage devices
• photo/electrocatalysts nanostructures
• thermocatalysis
• water-splitting
• hydrogen energy
• solar cells
• fuel cells
• CO2 reduction
• catalytic degradation
• water treatment