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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2022) | Viewed by 11533

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Prof. Dr. Dorota Kołodyńska

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Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie Skłodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Interests: ion exchangers; active carbons; biochars; mineral sorbents; zeolites; low-cost sorbents; hybrid materials; heavy metal ions; sorption; removal; separation; environmental protection
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the application of hybrid materials in environmental protection has attracted the attention of many scientific groups. Due to the fact that the properties of the organic-inorganic or inorganic-organic composite materials are not just the result of the individual contributions of their components, but also from the strong synergy produced by a hybrid interface, they have found numerous applications in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry, engineering, material science, and environmental protection. As an example, it can find specific areas of interest, including the preparation of high capacity composite materials for the selective removal and recovery of heavy metal ions as well as removal of radionuclides from waters and wastewaters, design of composite materials with controlled pore dimensions for the selective removal of organic contaminants or synthesis of modified nanoporous composite materials for the decomposition of specific pollutants.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit to this Special Issue research articles and review papers on hybrid materials and their application in the environmental protection. This following Special Issue of Materials will cover recent progress, novelties, and important findings regarding these unique materials.

/Materials/ is fully open access. Open access (unlimited and free access by readers) increases publicity and promotes more frequent citations, as indicated by several studies. Open access is supported by the authors and their institutes. An Article Processing Charge (APC) 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs) applies to each accepted paper.

Please let me know if you and your colleagues are interested in submitting a manuscript for this Special Issue.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.

Prof. Dr. Dorota Kołodyńska
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. Materials 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 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.

Keywords

hybrid materials
composites
functional hybrid nanomaterials
nanocomposites
functional porous material
pollutants
environmental protection
toxic substances

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 6898 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chitosan-Modified Biochars to Advance Research on Heavy Metal Ion Removal: Roles, Mechanism and Perspectives

by Justyna Bąk, Peter Thomas and Dorota Kołodyńska

Materials 2022, 15(17), 6108; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15176108 - 02 Sep 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1547

Abstract

The chitosan-modified biochars BC-CS 1-1, BC-CS 2-1 and BC-CS 4-1 were subjected to the synthetic application of biochar from agriculture waste and chitosan for the adsorption of Cu(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Co(II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous media. The results displayed a heterogeneous, well-developed surface. Additionally, the surface functional groups carboxyl, hydroxyl and phenol, determining the sorption mechanism and confirming the thermal stability of the materials, were present. The sorption evaluation was carried out as a function of the sorbent dose, pH, phase contact time, initial concentration of the solution and temperature. The maximum value of q_t for Pb(II)-BC-CS 4-1, 32.23 mg/g (C₀ 200 mg/L, mass 0.1 g, pH 5, 360 min), was identified. Nitric acid was applied for the sorbent regeneration with a yield of 99.13% for Pb(II)-BC-CS 2-1. The produced sorbents can be used for the decontamination of water by means of the cost-effective and high-performance method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Materials for Environmental Application)

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13 pages, 4069 KiB

Open AccessArticle

WSSe Nanocomposites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Methylene Blue Removal under Visible-Light Irradiation

by Tsung-Mo Tien, Yu-Jen Chung, Chen-Tang Huang and Edward L. Chen

Materials 2022, 15(16), 5616; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15165616 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1292

Abstract

In this study, a novel tungsten disulfide diselenide (WSSe) nanocomposite by a facile hydrothermal process with great capable photocatalytic efficiency for hydrogen evolution from water and organic compound removal was discussed. The WSSe nanocomposites form heterojunctions in order to inhibit the quick recombination rate of photo-induced electrons and holes. This is considered to be a useful method in order to enhance the capability of photocatalytic hydrogen production. The hydrogen production rate of the WSSe nanocomposites approaches 3647.4 μmol/g/h, which is 12 and 11 folds the rates of the bare WS₂ and WSe₂, respectively. Moreover, the excellent photocatalytic performance for Methylene blue (MB) removal (88%) was 2.5 and 1.8 times higher than those of the bare WS₂ and WSe₂, respectively. The great photocatalytic efficiency was owing to the capable electrons and holes separation of WSSe and the construction of the heterostructure, which possessed vigorous photocatalytic oxidation and reduction potentials. The novel one-dimensional structure of the WSSe heterojunction shortens the transport pathway of the photo-induced electrons and holes. It possesses the great capable photocatalytic efficiency of the hydrogen production and organic dye removal. This study offers an insight into the route of interfacial migration and separation for induced charge carriers in order to generate clean hydrogen energy and to solve the issue of environmental pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Materials for Environmental Application)

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22 pages, 3743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication, Characterization and Evaluation of an Alginate–Lignin Composite for Rare-Earth Elements Recovery

by Dominika Fila, Zbigniew Hubicki and Dorota Kołodyńska

Materials 2022, 15(3), 944; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15030944 - 26 Jan 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1740

Abstract

The recent increase in interest in rare earth elements is due to their increasing use in many areas of life. However, along with their increasing popularity, the problem of their natural resources availability arises. In this study, an alginate–lignin composite (ALG-L) was fabricated and tested for adsorptive abilities of the rare earth elements (La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III), and Nd(III)) from aqueous solutions. The characterization of the newly synthetized calcium alginate–lignin composite was performed using ATR/FT-IR, SEM, EDX, OM, AFM, XRD, BET, sieve analysis and pH_pzc measurements. The adsorption mechanism of the ALG₅L₁ composite for REEs was analyzed through a series of kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic adsorption experiments. Under the optimum sorption conditions, i.e., sorbent mass 0.1 g, pH 5.0, temperature 333 K, the maximum adsorption capacities of the ALG₅L₁ composite for La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III), and Nd(III) reached 109.56, 97.97, 97.98, and 98.68 mg/g, respectively. The desorption studies indicate that the new calcium alginate–lignin composite is characterized by good recycling properties and can be also reused. To sum up the advantages of low cost, easy synthesis, high adsorption efficiencies and reusability indicate that the ALG₅L₁ composite has great application perspectives for REEs recovery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Materials for Environmental Application)

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17 pages, 4098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Activated Carbon Banana Peel Coated with Al₂O₃-Chitosan for the Adsorptive Removal of Lead and Cadmium from Wastewater

by Denga Ramutshatsha-Makhwedzha, Richard Mbaya and Mapula Lucey Mavhungu

Materials 2022, 15(3), 860; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15030860 - 24 Jan 2022

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3312

Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating the adsorption capacity of novel banana peel activated carbon (BPAC) modified with Al₃O₂@chitosan for the removal of cadmium (Cd²⁺) and lead (Pb²⁺) from wastewater. Characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis confirmed the synthesized BPAC@Al₃O₂@chitosan composite material. The univariate approach was used to study the influence of different experimental parameters (such as adsorbent mass, sample pH, and contact time) that affects simultaneous removal of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions. Kinetic results showed that adsorption favored the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, whereas the adsorption of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ was best described by the Langmuir model and the adsorption capacity for Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ was 46.9 mg g⁻¹ and 57.1 mg g⁻¹, respectively, for monolayer adsorption. It was shown the BPAC composite can be re-used until the third cycle of adsorption–desorption (% Re > 80). Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the prepared BPAC@Al₃O₂@chitosan composite material is cost effective, as it is generated from waste banana peels and can be re-used. In addition, the prepared material was able to remove Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ up to 99.9%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Materials for Environmental Application)

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19 pages, 6927 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Rice Husk Research: From Environmental Pollutant to a Promising Source of Organo-Mineral Raw Materials

by Baimakhan Satbaev, Svetlana Yefremova, Abdurassul Zharmenov, Askhat Kablanbekov, Sergey Yermishin, Nurgali Shalabaev, Arsen Satbaev and Vitaliy Khen

Materials 2021, 14(15), 4119; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14154119 - 23 Jul 2021

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2939

Abstract

Rice husk is a large-tonnage waste left from rice production. It is not subject to humification and therefore becomes a serious environmental pollutant. Due to the presence of two essential elements—carbon and silicon—in its composition, rice husk is a promising organo-mineral raw material. The known methods for processing of rice husk are associated with the formation of even more aggressive waste. The creation of a waste-free technology for processing this plant material requires a detailed study. Rice husk of Kyzylorda oblast was studied using IR, SEM, TA, TPD-MS, EPR, and TEM methods. It was determined that under a temperature up to 500 °C, the ligno-carbohydrate component of rice husk decomposes almost completely. Three main peaks are recorded during the decomposition: hemicellulose at 200 °C, cellulose at 265 °C, and lignin at 350–360 °C. This process is endothermic. However, above of 300 °C the exothermic reactions associated with the formation of new substances and condensation processes in the solid residue begin to prevail. This explains the increase in the concentration of paramagnetic centers (PMCs) in products of rice husk carbonization in the range of up to 450 °C. Further increase in temperature leads to a decrease in the number of PMCs as a result of carbon graphite-like structures formation. The silicon–carbon product of rice husk carbonization (nanocomposite) is formed by interconnected nanoscale particles of carbon and silicon dioxide, the modification of which depends on the temperature of carbonization. The obtained data allow management of the rice husk utilization process while manufacturing products in demand based on ecofriendly technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Materials for Environmental Application)

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