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Advance Functional Materials for Environmental Monitoring and Remediation

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 6188

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Gaurav Sharma

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Guest Editor

International Research Centre of Nanotechnology for Himalayan Sustainability (IRCNHS), Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173212, India
Interests: nanomaterials and nanocomposites; environmental remediation; photocatalysis; adsorption; ion exchangers; hydrogels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Pooja Dhiman

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Guest Editor

School of Physics and Materials Science, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India
Interests: materials; semiconductor; catalysts; environmental remediation; pollutant removal

Dr. Amit Kumar

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Guest Editor

International Research Centre of Nanotechnology for Himalayan Sustainability (IRCNHS), Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173212, India
Interests: photodegradation; degradation; catalysis; photocatalysis; wastewater treatment; advanced materials; pollution control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The role of advanced functional materials for environmental monitoring and remediation is indispensable. These materials are a current topic of interest for environmental management in the context of clean water, pollution risk assessment, CO₂ reduction, cleaner energy generation, and green fuel production, among others. Advanced functional materials encompass a vast range of hybrid and nanomaterials, including metal oxides, phosphides, graphene, carbon nitride, semiconductors, polymers, ion exchange resins, quantum dots, bi- and trimetallic nanoparticles, and ceramics. These multifunctional materials can act as sensors for heavy metals or organic pollutants and thus assist in pollution risk assessment and, at the same time, they can be explored on the basis of their adsorption and photocatalytic nature for the remediation of environment contaminants. The combination of the above materials has led to designing a new class of materials known as composites, where such materials possess multiple applications with superior properties and improved stability. The fabrication of composite materials with desired properties and applications is challenging task for a material researcher.

These advanced nascent materials and material-based technologies shape our day-to-day understandings of their development and applications. What is the part of researchers in manipulating this knowledge in a notable way, and what will be the key issues affecting researchers’ material selections? How will all these concerns affect the design procedure?

This Special Issue seeks research papers and reviews that may focus on the following:

Recent advances in the synthesis, processing, characterization, and testing of advanced multifunctional materials.
Polymer-based materials for water purification.
CO₂ reduction using advanced functional materials.
Design of materials and engineering systems for environmental management.
Materials for cleaner energy generation and green fuels production.
Hybrid photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutants.
Superadsorbent materials for wastewater treatment.
Advanced sensors for the detection of heavy metals and organic pollutants.
Graphene-based materials for environmental remediation: characterization and application in wastewater treatment.
Nanocomposite materials for environmental remediation.

Prof. Dr. Gaurav Sharma
Dr. Pooja Dhiman
Dr. Amit Kumar
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. 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

functional materials
nanocomposite
photocatalysts
polymers
sensors
graphene
environmental monitoring and remediation
water purification
organic pollutants
wastewater treatment

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4246 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Synthesis of Iron–Zinc Nanocomposites by Azadirachta indica Leaves Extract for RSM-Optimized Sono-Adsorptive Removal of Crystal Violet Dye

by Hajira Tahir, Muhammad Saad, Osama A. Attala, Waleed A. El-Saoud, Kamal A. Attia, Shaista Jabeen and Jahan Zeb

Materials 2023, 16(3), 1023; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16031023 - 23 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1543

Abstract

Environmental pollution has exacerbated the availability of clean water to mankind. In this study, Azadirachta indica leaf extract was used for sustainable synthesis of Fe–Zn nanocomposites (IZNC). The instrumental techniques of Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the structural and chemical composition. The overall surface was mildly acidic in nature, as the pH_PZC was observed to be 6.00. The ultrasonicated adsorption experiments were designed by central composite design (CCD). The best responses, which proposed a contaminants removal of 80.39%, were assessed using the response surface methodology (RSM). By repeating experimental runs at the expected optimum operating parameters (OOP), the method was experimentally affirmed with the %mean error and %RSD₉ being 2.695% and 1.648%, respectively. The interaction of CV dye and the nanocomposite showed tremendous adsorption efficiency towards crystal violet (CV) dye, as revealed by isotherm studies. Fitting kinetics and isotherm models were affirmed by root mean square error (RMSE), χ2, and a Pearson regression coefficient. Thermodynamic studies proved spontaneity of the CV dye adsorption over the nanocomposites. The values for ΔG^o, ΔH^o, and ΔS^o were observed to be −1.089 kJ/mol, 28.59 kJ/mol, and −3.546 kJ/mol, respectively. Recovery of CV dye was carried out in a variety of media, including NaOH, NaCl, and CH₃COOH. The maximum CV recovery was achieved in an acidic media. The robustness of adsorption was affirmed by the interference of various matrix ions, including KCl, LiCl, NaCl, and MgCl₂, which did not significantly affect the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacity was obtained at a low concentration of LiCl. The results show that a green synthesis approach for nanocomposite synthesis might be an effective and economical way to remove organic contaminants from wastewater. Moreover, it is also effective for effluent treatment plants (ETP) for waste management purposes, in which it may be coupled with chlorine as a disinfectant to purify water that can be used for domestic and irrigation purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance Functional Materials for Environmental Monitoring and Remediation)

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15 pages, 7696 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gum Acacia-Crosslinked-Poly(Acrylamide) Hydrogel Supported C₃N₄/BiOI Heterostructure for Remediation of Noxious Crystal Violet Dye

by Gaurav Sharma, Amit Kumar, Mu. Naushad, Pooja Dhiman, Bharti Thakur, Alberto García-Peñas and Florian J. Stadler

Materials 2022, 15(7), 2549; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15072549 - 30 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1973

Abstract

Herein, we report the designing of a C₃N₄/BiOI heterostructure that is supported on gum acacia-crosslinked-poly(acrylamide) hydrogel to fabricate a novel nanocomposite hydrogel. The potential application of the obtained nanocomposite hydrogel to remediate crystal violet dye (CVD) in an aqueous solution was explored. The structural and functional analysis of the nanocomposite hydrogel was performed by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The different reaction parameters, such as CVD concentration, nanocomposite hydrogel dosage, and working pH, were optimized. The C₃N₄/BiOI heterostructure of the nanocomposite hydrogel depicts Z-scheme as the potential photocatalytic mechanism for the photodegradation of CVD. The degradation of CVD was also specified in terms of COD and HR-MS analysis was carried to demonstrate the major degradation pathways. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance Functional Materials for Environmental Monitoring and Remediation)

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Review

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31 pages, 11981 KiB

Open AccessReview

Regulation of Structure and Anion-Exchange Performance of Layered Double Hydroxide: Function of the Metal Cation Composition of a Brucite-like Layer

by Luwen Tang, Xiangli Xie, Cunjun Li, Yanqi Xu, Wenfeng Zhu and Linjiang Wang

Materials 2022, 15(22), 7983; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15227983 - 11 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2020

Abstract

As anion-exchange materials, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have attracted increasing attention in the fields of selective adsorption and separation, controlled drug release, and environmental remediation. The metal cation composition of the laminate is the essential factor that determines the anion-exchange performance of LDHs. Herein, we review the regulating effects of the metal cation composition on the anion-exchange properties and LDH structure. Specifically, the internal factors affecting the anion-exchange performance of LDHs were analyzed and summarized. These include the intercalation driving force, interlayer domain environment, and LDH morphology, which significantly affect the anion selectivity, anion-exchange capacity, and anion arrangement. By changing the species, valence state, size, and mole ratio of the metal cations, the structural characteristics, charge density, and interlayer spacing of LDHs can be adjusted, which affect the anion-exchange performance of LDHs. The present challenges and future prospects of LDHs are also discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to summarize the essential relationship between the metal ion composition and anion-exchange performance of laminates, providing important insights for regulating the anion-exchange performance of LDHs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance Functional Materials for Environmental Monitoring and Remediation)

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