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Sustainability
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Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction
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Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Waste and Recycling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 9235

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qiang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
2020 X-Lab, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changning Road 865, Shanghai 200050, China
Interests: photocatalysis; electrocatalysis; photoelectrochemistry; solar fuels synthesis; pollutant degradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cheng-Chao Jin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Sub-lane Xiangshan, Hangzhou 310024, China
Interests: piezo/ferroelectric materials; piezocatalysis; photocatalysis; pollutant degradation; nanomaterial design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues:

The rapid development of industry and its over-reliance on carbon-rich fossil fuels have resulted in a series of energy and environmental problems, including a shortage of resources, the energy crisis, water pollution, air pollution, and global climate change (due to the massive emission of CO2 gas). Biomass originates from CO2 and water via natural photosynthesis using energy from sunlight. As a kind of abundant renewable carbon-based resource, biomass and its derivatives have been regarded as crucial and cheap feedstock for the production of high-quality fine chemicals and fuels. Moreover, the oxidation of biomass-derived molecules can be coupled with a water reduction reaction for the concurrent generation of green hydrogen energy and useful chemicals. Thus, it is highly desirable to develop advanced technologies for the efficient removal of organic pollutants (such as organic dyes, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and the conversion of CO2 and biomass into high-value-added chemicals and renewable fuels. In this context, solar-driven semiconductor photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical technologies have become some of the most important and promising approaches for the production of green energy and environmental remediation. Meanwhile, electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and biomass conversion via renewable electricity from sunlight have also attracted increasing interest due to their low cost, mild reaction conditions and high efficiency.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect new ideas on the controllable synthesis of state-of-the-art nanomaterials for highly efficient photocatalytic, photoelectrochemical and electrocatalytic pollutant degradation and fuel production (such as CO2 reduction, biomass upgrading and water splitting). Furthermore, we would like to highlight the current achievements in mechanism studies about CO2 reduction, biomass conversion and the photodegradation of organic pollutants in water and air. To promote the large-scale application of solar photo(electro)catalytic technology, studies focused on the design of related reaction cells and devices are particularly welcome. Moreover, the combination of photo(electro)catalysis with other green and sustainable approaches (such as adsorption, piezocatalysis, thermocatalysis, and so on) for efficient pollutant degradation and fuel production also falls within the scope of this Special Issue.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. We cordially invite you to contribute your original research work or review articles to this Special Issue entitled, "Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction". Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Photocatalysis;
  • Photoelectrocatalysis;
  • Photoelectrochemical cells;
  • CO2 reduction;
  • Pollutant degradation;
  • Biomass upgrading;
  • Adsorption;
  • Wastewater treatment;
  • Air purification;
  • Solar fuel production;
  • Piezo-photocatalysis;
  • Photothermocatalysis;
  • Water splitting;
  • Hydrogen evolution reactions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Qiang Wang
Dr. Cheng-Chao Jin
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • solar energy conversion
  • photocatalytic degradation
  • CO2 photoreduction
  • electrocatalytic CO2 reduction, biomass conversion
  • HMF
  • FDCA
  • persistent organic pollutants
  • volatile organic compounds
  • dyes
  • antibiotics
  • solar fuel production
  • heterojunction
  • nanocomposites
  • porous nanomaterials
  • single-atom catalysts
  • DFT calculation
  • in situ/operando characterizations

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 8275 KiB  
Article
Layered-Defect Perovskite K3Bi2X9 (X = I, Br, and Cl) Thin Films for CO2 Photoreduction: An Analysis of Their Pseudocatalytic Behavior
by Oscar L. Quintero-Lizárraga, Edith Luévano-Hipólito, Luz I. Ibarra-Rodríguez and Leticia M. Torres-Martínez
Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16835; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416835 - 14 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1342
Abstract
Lead-free layered-defect perovskite K3Bi2X9 (X = I, Br, and Cl) films were proposed as efficient photocatalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to obtain clean and sustainable formic acid (HCOOH), a widely used feedstock in the industry. [...] Read more.
Lead-free layered-defect perovskite K3Bi2X9 (X = I, Br, and Cl) films were proposed as efficient photocatalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to obtain clean and sustainable formic acid (HCOOH), a widely used feedstock in the industry. The films exhibited high crystallinity, hexagonal morphologies, and visible light absorption, which were modified by proportionally increasing the diameter of the X anion. The obtained photocatalytic activities showed values of 299 µmol h−1 (K3Bi2Br9), 283 µmol h−1 (K3Bi2I9), and 91 µmol h−1 (K3Bi2Cl9). However, the stability of the films is an important parameter that must be solved; therefore, three strategies were implemented—one with an intrinsic approach (solvent engineering) and two others with an extrinsic focus (substrate modification and heterojunction engineering). These modifications favored yields of up to 738 µmol h−1 and constant production over 6 h, demonstrating that the perovskite maintains continuous HCOOH generation. The analysis of the reaction medium showed the degradation of the material structure to BiOI and K+, which could have enhanced its affinity towards CO2. In this manner, the degraded perovskite (K3Bi2I9/BiOI) might still react with the CO2 to generate HCOOH in an aqueous medium under visible light, showing pseudocatalytic behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction)
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13 pages, 2603 KiB  
Article
One-Step Electrosynthesis of Bifunctional NiCu Nanosheets on Iron Foam for Remarkably Enhanced Alkaline Water Splitting
by Zhenwei Liu, Qiang Wang, Qingxiang Kong, Xiaoning Tong, Song Wu, Naixuan Zong, Ruidong Xu and Linjing Yang
Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12240; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612240 - 10 Aug 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1695
Abstract
Electrocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production driven by renewable electricity offers a promising way of achieving energy sustainability, but the design of highly efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts is regarded as a bottleneck. Herein, a bifunctional microflowers NiCu is successfully deposited on an iron [...] Read more.
Electrocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production driven by renewable electricity offers a promising way of achieving energy sustainability, but the design of highly efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts is regarded as a bottleneck. Herein, a bifunctional microflowers NiCu is successfully deposited on an iron foam (IF) electrode via one-step electrolysis of spend cupronickel (SCN). Unexpectedly, the designed IF-supported NiCu (NiCu/IF) electrocatalysts exhibit excellent catalytic performance for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) in 1 M KOH. Only 98 and 267 mV are required to drive a current density of 10 mA cm−2 for HER and OER, respectively. Importantly, the self-supported NiCu/IF electrode requires a low cell voltage of 1.57 V to achieve 10 mA cm−2 of alkaline overall water splitting with extremely high stability. With the introduction of a glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR), the HER performance is further remarkably enhanced with an extremely low cell voltage of 1.29 V at 10 mA cem−2, highlighting an attractive energy-efficient hydrogen production coupled with biomass conversion process. This study reports a novel synthesis strategy for low-cost and high-performance Ni-based nanostructure catalysts using SCN as precursors, which is of vital significance for green hydrogen production and waste recycling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction)
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11 pages, 3914 KiB  
Article
Ultrathin TiO2 Blocking Layers via Atomic Layer Deposition toward High-Performance Dye-Sensitized Photo-Electrosynthesis Cells
by Xiaodan Zhang, Lei Lei, Xinpeng Wang and Degao Wang
Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7092; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097092 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1954
Abstract
The collection of solar energy in chemical bonds via dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells (DSPECs) is a reliable solution. Herein, atomic layer deposition (ALD) introduced ultrathin blocking layers (BLs) between a mesoporous TiO2 membrane and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), and much improved photoelectrochemical water [...] Read more.
The collection of solar energy in chemical bonds via dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells (DSPECs) is a reliable solution. Herein, atomic layer deposition (ALD) introduced ultrathin blocking layers (BLs) between a mesoporous TiO2 membrane and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), and much improved photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance was well documented. Samples with different BL thicknesses deposited on FTO were obtained by ALD. In the photoanode, polypyridyl Ru(II) complexes were used as photosensitizers, and Ru(bda)-type was used as a catalyst during water oxidation. Under one sun irradiation, the BL (i) increased the photocurrent density; (ii) slowed down the open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) by electrochemical measurement; (iii) increased the photo-generated electron lifetime roughly from 1 s to more than 100 s; and (iv) enhanced the water oxidation efficiency from 25% to 85% with 0.4 V of applied voltage bias. All this pointed out that the ALD technique-prepared layers could greatly hinder the photogenerated electron–hole pair recombination in the TiO2-based photoanode. This study offers critical backing for the building of molecular films by the ALD technique to split water effectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction)
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Review

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20 pages, 6155 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress on Molybdenum Carbide-Based Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution: A Review
by Zhaoyu Zhou, Yongsheng Jia, Qiang Wang, Zhongyu Jiang, Junwu Xiao and Limin Guo
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14556; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914556 - 7 Oct 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2870
Abstract
Hydrogen is an ideal alternative energy for fossil fuels to solve aggravating environmental and energy problems. Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) driven by renewable electricity (sunlight, wind, tide, etc.) is considered to be one of the most promising approaches for hydrogen production. However, [...] Read more.
Hydrogen is an ideal alternative energy for fossil fuels to solve aggravating environmental and energy problems. Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) driven by renewable electricity (sunlight, wind, tide, etc.) is considered to be one of the most promising approaches for hydrogen production. However, its large-scale applications are greatly limited by the use of noble platinum (Pt) group electrocatalysts. As an earth-abundant/non-noble HER catalyst, molybdenum carbide (MoxC: MoC or Mo2C) has attracted extensive attention in the field of sustainable hydrogen production due to its excellent Pt-like catalytic activity, low cost, high chemical stability, and natural abundance. In this review, the progress on the strategies for optimizing the catalytic activity of MoxC is summarized, including optimization of synthesis methods, composites with carbon material, non-precious metal doping, transition metal doping, construction of the heterogeneous structure, etc. Among them, the importance of sulphur-doping, Ni-doping, and heterophase structure on molybdenum carbide-based catalysts for enhancement of HER activity has been highlighted. In addition, molybdenum carbide-based bi-functional catalysts are presented for the application in full water splitting. Finally, several effective strategies for molybdenum carbide-based catalyst design are concluded, and challenges remained in electrocatalytic water splitting are raised. Future development trends and perspectives for this promising material are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Matter Degradation, Biomass Conversion and CO2 Reduction)
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