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Design of New Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion in Fuels...
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Design of New Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion in Fuels and Chemicals

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 17615

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Josep Albero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Universitario Mixto de Tecnología Química (UPV-CSIC), Universitat Politècnica de València, Avda. de los Narajos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials for photo-(electro)catalytic production of fuels and chemical

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing energy demand of modern society has been mainly satisfied by a fast acceleration in fossil fuels consumption. The CO2 emissions produced by the massive combustion of these fuels have led to serious environmental concerns related to global warming and climate change. As such, the production of value-added chemicals and fuels (H2, NH3, CO2 reduction products, etc) from atmospheric reserves (CO2, H2O, N2, etc.) using renewable energies is considered among the most promising approaches  to climate change mitigation while providing renewable fuels and chemicals. However, two main limitations are faced: the low process efficiency and the lack of product selectivity, particularly for high added value chemicals.

In this Special Issue, we invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles are related to new materials design for H2 evolution, CO2 conversion and N2 fixation. We are particularly interested in research that works toward materials engineering to overcome the rate determining steps that limit the process efficiency and product selectivity. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
  • Advanced multifunctional materials for photo-electrocatalysis
  • Modelling and simulation methods for design of advanced energy conversion materials
  • Thermochemical materials for fuels production
  • 2D materials for energy conversion
  • Carbon-based materials for energy conversion

Dr. Josep Albero
Guest Editor

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. Molecules 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 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

  • Photocatalysis
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Photochemical cells
  • CO2 reduction
  • Nanostructured materials
  • 2D materials
  • Carbon-based materials
  • Advanced materials

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 2184 KiB  
Article
Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Tubes Decorated with Ru Nanoparticles as Photo-Thermal Catalyst for CO2 Methanation
by Diego Mateo, Juan Carlos Navarro, Il Son Khan, Javier Ruiz-Martinez and Jorge Gascon
Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2701; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27092701 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2165
Abstract
Photo-thermal catalysis has recently emerged as a viable strategy to produce solar fuels or chemicals using sunlight. In particular, nanostructures featuring localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) hold great promise as photo-thermal catalysts given their ability to convert light into heat. In this regard, [...] Read more.
Photo-thermal catalysis has recently emerged as a viable strategy to produce solar fuels or chemicals using sunlight. In particular, nanostructures featuring localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) hold great promise as photo-thermal catalysts given their ability to convert light into heat. In this regard, traditional plasmonic materials include gold (Au) or silver (Ag), but in the last years, transition metal nitrides have been proposed as a cost-efficient alternative. Herein, we demonstrate that titanium nitride (TiN) tubes derived from the nitridation of TiO2 precursor display excellent light absorption properties thanks to their intense LSPR band in the visible–IR regions. Upon deposition of Ru nanoparticles (NPs), Ru-TiN tubes exhibit high activity towards the photo-thermal CO2 reduction reaction, achieving remarkable methane (CH4) production rates up to 1200 mmol g−1 h−1. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction pathway is dominated by thermal effects thanks to the effective light-to-heat conversion of Ru-TiN tubes. This work will serve as a basis for future research on new plasmonic structures for photo-thermal applications in catalysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of New Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion in Fuels and Chemicals)
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9 pages, 1798 KiB  
Article
Low-Temperature Synthesis of Solution Processable Carbon Nitride Polymers
by Junyi Li, Neeta Karjule, Jiani Qin, Ying Wang, Jesús Barrio and Menny Shalom
Molecules 2021, 26(6), 1646; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26061646 - 16 Mar 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2846
Abstract
Carbon nitride materials require high temperatures (>500 °C) for their preparation, which entails substantial energy consumption. Furthermore, the high reaction temperature limits the materials’ processability and the control over their elemental composition. Therefore, alternative synthetic pathways that operate under milder conditions are still [...] Read more.
Carbon nitride materials require high temperatures (>500 °C) for their preparation, which entails substantial energy consumption. Furthermore, the high reaction temperature limits the materials’ processability and the control over their elemental composition. Therefore, alternative synthetic pathways that operate under milder conditions are still very much sought after. In this work, we prepared semiconductive carbon nitride (CN) polymers at low temperatures (300 °C) by carrying out the thermal condensation of triaminopyrimidine and acetoguanamine under a N2 atmosphere. These molecules are isomers: they display the same chemical formula but a different spatial distribution of their elements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments and electrochemical and photophysical characterization confirm that the initial spatial organization strongly determines the chemical composition and electronic structure of the materials, which, thanks to the preservation of functional groups in their surface, display excellent processability in liquid media. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of New Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion in Fuels and Chemicals)
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Review

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27 pages, 4833 KiB  
Review
Applications of Carbon Dots for the Photocatalytic and Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2
by Beatriu Domingo-Tafalla, Eugenia Martínez-Ferrero, Federico Franco and Emilio Palomares-Gil
Molecules 2022, 27(3), 1081; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27031081 - 06 Feb 2022
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7518
Abstract
The photocatalytic and electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 has the potential to provide valuable products, such as chemicals or fuels of interest, at low cost while maintaining a circular carbon cycle. In this context, carbon dots possess optical and electrochemical properties that make [...] Read more.
The photocatalytic and electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 has the potential to provide valuable products, such as chemicals or fuels of interest, at low cost while maintaining a circular carbon cycle. In this context, carbon dots possess optical and electrochemical properties that make them suitable candidates to participate in the reaction, either as a single component or forming part of more elaborate catalytic systems. In this review, we describe several strategies where the carbon dots participate, both with amorphous and graphitic structures, in the photocatalysis or electrochemical catalysis of CO2 to provide different carbon-containing products of interest. The role of the carbon dots is analyzed as a function of their redox and light absorption characteristics and their complementarity with other known catalytic systems. Moreover, detailed information about synthetic procedures is also reviewed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of New Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion in Fuels and Chemicals)
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20 pages, 3567 KiB  
Review
Nanostructured Photothermal Materials for Environmental and Catalytic Applications
by Huige Chen, Run Shi and Tierui Zhang
Molecules 2021, 26(24), 7552; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26247552 - 13 Dec 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4154
Abstract
Solar energy is a green and sustainable clean energy source. Its rational use can alleviate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Directly converting solar energy into heat energy is the most efficient method among all solar conversion strategies. Recently, various environmental and energy [...] Read more.
Solar energy is a green and sustainable clean energy source. Its rational use can alleviate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Directly converting solar energy into heat energy is the most efficient method among all solar conversion strategies. Recently, various environmental and energy applications based on nanostructured photothermal materials stimulated the re-examination of the interfacial solar energy conversion process. The design of photothermal nanomaterials is demonstrated to be critical to promote the solar-to-heat energy conversion and the following physical and chemical processes. This review introduces the latest photothermal nanomaterials and their nanostructure modulation strategies for environmental (seawater evaporation) and catalytic (C1 conversion) applications. We present the research progress of photothermal seawater evaporation based on two-dimensional and three-dimensional porous materials. Then, we describe the progress of photothermal catalysis based on layered double hydroxide derived nanostructures, hydroxylated indium oxide nanostructures, and metal plasmonic nanostructures. Finally, we present our insights concerning the future development of this field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of New Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion in Fuels and Chemicals)
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