New Directions in Nanostructured Hybrid Materials for Selective Separations and Catalysis

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite you to submit your recent work for an upcoming Special Issue on “New Directions in Nanostructured Hybrid Materials for Selective Separations and Catalysis”. Green energy production; new catalytic processes with improved atomic and energy efficiency, complying with the green chemistry paradigms; and increasing awareness of environmental issues have prompted a growing interest in nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. This Special Issue focuses on research providing insights into the synthesis of nanostructured hybrid materials (and their size-, shape-, structure-, and composition-dependent behaviour) for applications such as water treatment, air pollution reduction, alkylation, dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, and selective oxidation-driven reactions. This includes =new synthetic procedures (the design of specific functional groups on the surface), modifying current catalytic materials properties, theoretical modelling, improving the efficiency of industrial processes, and experimental characterisation approaches toward greener chemistry.

The Special Issue also welcomes nanomaterial deposition approaches for catalytically active materials (thin films/coatings), such as metal oxides, mixed oxides, layered double hydroxides, sol–gel, plasma, and ceramic surfaces, which are prepared to have unique chemical and physical properties for ion exchange, sorption, catalysts, catalytic membrane reactors, permeation barriers, anti-reflective surfaces, low dielectric constant materials, and sensing for the development of surface functionalisation. The aim being to improve our understanding of relationships between structure and catalytic performance, as well as functional properties, thus enabling the rational design of functional materials for industrial catalysis and academic research advances.

This Special Issue will cover, but is not limited to, these topics:

• Water/air pollutant degradation;
• Engineered nanomaterials;
• Surface functionalization;
• Shape-controlled nanoparticles;
• Thin films and deposition methods on substrates;
• Hybrid catalysts;
• Porous organic polymers;
• Multifunctional and composite coatings;
• Reaction mechanisms;
• Emerging trends and design techniques.

Dr. Muhammad Ahsan Iqbal
Prof. Dr. Valter Maurino
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Separations 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 2600 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.

• nanostructured hybrid materials
• photochemical processes
• liquid/air pollutant treatments
• surface functionalization
• multifunctional coatings