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Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants

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A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2023) | Viewed by 12585

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Enshirah Da'na

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Guest Editor

Biomedical Engineering Department, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Interests: synthesis, characterization, and applications of nanomaterials and mesoporous materials; heterogeneous catalysis; adsorption

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, due to the growing awareness about environmental problems, especially in relation to water resources contamination and in the light of freshwater resources being limited, there are major efforts being expended toward protecting the environment and especially water resources, mainly by both treating wastewater before it is discharged to the environment and also through minimizing contamination by replacing conventional synthesis routes with other green alternatives. One of the main goals of green chemistry is to minimize the consumption of hazardous chemicals through their replacement with available eco-friendly materials. These are extracted from nature, such as different parts of plants. By applying this route of synthesis, the cost of the product will be lower since, most of the time, the extract of plants to be used is available in plenty and very cheap. Furthermore, green synthesis replaces environmentally harmful materials that may be toxic, corrosive, carcinogenic, or flammable, with another eco-friendly material.

The application of green chemistry in the synthesis of nanomaterials is still challenging due to the possibility of varying numerous synthesis conditions, such as reaction temperature, pH, and other reaction requirements. It is worth mentioning that in this area of research, many problems are still encountered that preclude production at large scale and practical application of the synthesized nanomaterials.

For this Special Issue on “Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants”, we welcome submissions in the form of original research papers or short reviews that reflect the state of research in the nanocomposites field on the following specific topics: green synthesis of nanocomposites for catalytic degradation of organic dyes; green synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials; green synthesis of nanoadsorbents for removal of heavy metals from water; reviews of plant extracts as an eco-friendly replacement of harmful chemicals; and plant extracts as a promising source for the green synthesis of nanoparticles toward green chemistry for environmental protection.

Dr. Enshirah Da'na
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Catalysts 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 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

green chemistry
nanocomposite
nanoparticles
adsorption
catalytic degradation
environment
antibacterial
plant extract
functionalization
characterization
organic dye
heavy metals

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4359 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Engineering of a Hybrid g-C₃N₄/ZnO-W/Co_x Heterojunction Photocatalyst for the Removal of Methylene Blue Dye

by Misbah Malik, Sobhy M. Ibrahim, Muhammad Altaf Nazir, Asif A. Tahir, Muhammad Khurram Tufail, Syed Shoaib Ahmad Shah, Aqsa Anum, Muhammad Ahmad Wattoo and Aziz ur Rehman

Catalysts 2023, 13(5), 813; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal13050813 - 27 Apr 2023

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 1773

Abstract

Robust hybrid g-C₃N₄/ZnO-W/Co_x heterojunction composites were synthesized using graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) and ZnO-W nanoparticles (NPs) and different concentrations of Co dopant. The hybrid heterojunction composites were prepared by simple and low-cost coprecipitation methods. The fabricated catalyst was explored and investigated using various characterization techniques such as FTIR, XRD, FESEM and EDX. The surface morphology of the as-prepared hybrid nanocomposites with particle sizes in the range of 15–16 nm was validated by SEM analysis. The elemental composition of the synthesized composites was confirmed by EDS analysis. Photocatalysis using a photon as the sole energy source is considered a challenging approach for organic transformations under ambient conditions. The photocatalytic activity of the heterojunctions was tested by photodegrading methylene blue (MB) dye in the presence of sunlight. The reduced band gap of the heterojunction composite of 3.22–2.28 eV revealed that the incorporation of metal ions played an imperative role in modulating the light absorption range for photocatalytic applications. The as-synthesized g-C₃N₄/ZnO-W/Co_0.010 composite suppressed the charge recombination ability during the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The ternary heterojunction C₃N₄/ZnO-W/Co_0.010 composite showed an impressive photocatalytic performance with 90% degradation of MB under visible light within 90 min of irradiation, compared to the outcomes achieved with the other compositions. Lastly, the synthesized composites showed good recyclability and mechanical stability over five cycles, confirming them as promising photocatalyst options in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants)

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15 pages, 3246 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Degradation of Safranin O in Water by UV/TiO₂/IO₄⁻ Process: Effect of Operating Conditions and Mineralization

by Meriem Bendjama, Oualid Hamdaoui, Hamza Ferkous and Abdulaziz Alghyamah

Catalysts 2022, 12(11), 1460; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal12111460 - 18 Nov 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1797

Abstract

Hybrid advanced oxidation processes employed to degrade recalcitrant organic pollutants in water have been widely examined in recent years. In the present work, the potential of TiO₂-mediated photocatalysis in the presence of the periodate anion (IO₄⁻) toward Safranin O (SO) removal from aqueous solutions was investigated. The findings revealed a high efficiency of the UV/TiO₂/IO₄⁻ system due to the production of more reactive radicals (^•OH, IO₃^• and IO₄^•) and non-radical species (O₃, IO₃⁻ and IO₄⁻). Additionally, the presence of IO₄⁻ as an effective electron acceptor avoids electron-hole recombination, which induces more oxidative reactions at the hole level, increasing the degradation rate of SO. Kinetically, the involvement of IO₄⁻ anions in the UV/TiO₂ system enhanced substantially the initial rate of degradation; from 0.295 to 12.07 mg L⁻¹ min⁻¹. The performance of both systems, i.e., UV/TiO₂ and UV/TiO₂/IO₄⁻, was examined under different conditions such as initial dye concentration, photocatalyst loading, periodate dosage, initial solution pH, temperature and dissolved gases. The SO degradation was found to be maximized at low concentration of pollutant at the optimum loading of catalyst (0.4 g L⁻¹). The continuous increasing in periodate concentration over the range of 0.01–3 mM improved the system reactivity with no overdose effect. Both systems seemed to be insensitive to minor variations in temperature in the range of 15–45 °C, and showed a strong dependence on initial solution pH where the degradation rates increased proportionally with pH values up to pH 10 and decreased afterwards. A slight negative effect on the photocatalytic removal yield was noted under either aeration, nitrogen or argon atmospheres in the presence of periodate (UV/TiO₂/IO₄⁻), with minor enhancement under aeration for the classical system (UV/TiO₂). The mineralization of the organic substrate was also monitored. The depletion of organic matter with time was measured using total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Despite the rapid decolorization of the dye solution in the UV/TiO₂/IO₄⁻ system, a TOC removal efficiency of ~62% was obtained with both systems after 180 min of treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants)

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14 pages, 3799 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solar Light-Induced Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin Antibiotic Using Biochar Supported Nano Bismuth Ferrite Composite

by Nur Azra Aqilah Mohd Azan, Suresh Sagadevan, Abdul Rahman Mohamed, Amirul Hazwan Nor Azazi, Faiz Bukhari Mohd Suah, Takaomi Kobayashi, Rohana Adnan and Noor Haida Mohd Kaus

Catalysts 2022, 12(10), 1269; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal12101269 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1816

Abstract

Research on advanced materials for environmental remediation and pollutant degradation is rapidly progressing because of their numerous applications. Biochar is an excellent material support for the catalytic activity of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃), which is one of the best perovskite-based photocatalysts in this work for diverse pollutant degradation when exposed to direct sunlight. Biochar was produced by pyrolyzing oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFBs) and then integrate with BiFeO₃ in the presence of cross-linked chitosan to create a BFO/biochar coupled magnetic photocatalyst (CBB). This research was conducted to examine the performance of the photocatalytic activity of CBB towards the degradation of ciprofloxacin antibiotics. To determine the optimal condition, two operational parameters that are photocatalyst dosage and initial pollutant concentrations, were evaluated. The results of the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analyses confirmed the high purity of the rhombohedral BiFeO₃ with a high surface area, as well as the successful coupling of BiFeO₃ and biochar at a ratio of 1:1. The most effective conditions for the various variables are 1.5 g/L CBB dosage at 10 ppm with 77.08% photodegradation under direct sunlight for 2 h. Further, a pseudo-first-order kinetic reaction was followed and observed with decreasing k values as the initial concentration increased. This shows that the system performs best at low concentrations. This finding confirms that the catalytic parameters improved the efficiency of photocatalysts with biochar assistance in removing antibiotic pollutants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants)

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12 pages, 2983 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microwave-Sample-Preparation-System-Assisted Biogenic Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoplates Using Saussurea costus Root Aqueous Extract and Its Environmental Catalytic Activity

by Amel Taha

Catalysts 2022, 12(10), 1115; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal12101115 - 26 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1279

Abstract

Using safe and environmentally benign materials is considered one of the green chemistry approaches to avoid waste production. This research reported the biogenic synthesis of CuO nanoplates using Saussurea costus root extract assisted by a microwave sample preparation system. The phytochemical contents in the Saussurea costus root aqueous extract work as the reducing and capping agents for the nanoparticles. The biosynthesized CuO nanoplates were analyzed using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, XRD, HR-TEM, DLS, FESEM, and EDS techniques. According to the HR-TEM and FE-SEM results, the CuO nanoparticles exhibited a plate-like shape with a mean size of 29 nm. Furthermore, the XRD results showed a typical agreement with the pattern of the monoclinic phase of copper oxide. The catalytic efficiency of the CuO nanoplates in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol using NaBH₄ was examined in terms of environmental catalytic activity. The reaction time took less than 10 min. Thus, CuO nanoplates synthesized via Saussurea costus root aqueous extract show high catalytic-activity potential for the environmental catalytic application of the removal of nitro pollutants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants)

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12 pages, 5200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

One-Pot Synthesis of Pyrite Nanoplates Supported on Chitosan Hydrochar as Fenton Catalysts for Organics Removal from Water

by Aojie Sun, Hanyi Zhao, Mengya Wang, Jianqing Ma, Huixia Jin and Kefeng Zhang

Catalysts 2022, 12(8), 858; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal12080858 - 03 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1563

Abstract

The Fenton reaction is a powerful method for removing refractory pollutants from water, yet it is restricted by shortcomings such as pH adjustments and generation of iron-containing sludge. In this study, a highly dispersed pyrite nanoplate supported on chitosan hydrochar was prepared through a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The interactions between chitosan and Fe³⁺ suppressed the accumulation of FeS₂ in the crystal growth period and led to the formation of pyrite nanoplates with many exposed (210) facets. Thus, it showed excellent Fenton-like activity and the removal efficiency of AR 73 reached 99.9% within 60 min. The catalyst could be used in a wide pH range of 3~10. Hydroxyl radicals are the main reactive oxygen species in this catalytic system. The self-reduction of generated Fe(III) species by sulfur via inner electron transfer promoted the Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox cycle, and the presence of graphene facilitated the adsorption of pollutants. This catalyst also showed good reuse performances as well as stability, which has promising prospects for practical use in wastewater treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants)

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Review

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25 pages, 10391 KiB

Open AccessReview

Green Derived Zinc Oxide (ZnO) for the Degradation of Dyes from Wastewater and Their Antimicrobial Activity: A Review

by Louisah M. Mahlaule-Glory and Nomso C. Hintsho-Mbita

Catalysts 2022, 12(8), 833; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal12080833 - 29 Jul 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3570

Abstract

The quest for eco-friendly synthetic routes that can be used for the development of multifunctional materials, in particular for water treatment, has reinforced the use of plant extracts as replacement solvents in their use as reducing and capping agents during the synthesis of green derived materials. Amongst the various nanoparticles, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) has emerged as one of the preferred candidates for photocatalysis due to its optical properties. Moreover, ZnO has also been reported to possess antimicrobial properties against various bacterial strains such as E. coli and S. aureus. In this review, various types of pollutants including organic dyes and natural pollutants are discussed. The treatment methods that are used to purify wastewater with their limitations are highlighted. The distinguishing properties of ZnO are clearly outlined and defined, not to mention the performance of ZnO as a green derived photocatalyst and an antimicrobial agent, as well. Lastly, an overview is given of the challenges and possible further perspectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Green Synthesis of Nanocomposites and Environmental Applications in Adsorption and Catalytic Degradation of Pollutants)

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