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Nanomaterials
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1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion
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1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 4066

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marzia Quaglio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: microbial fuel cell-based sensors; microfluidic devices for (bio)sensing, energy, fluid analysis; nanostructured catalysts; electrospun composite and multifunctional nanofibers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giulia Massaglia

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
2. Center for Sustainable Future Technologies – CSFT, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT Via Livorno 60, 10144 Torino, Italy
Interests: microbial fuel cell-based sensors; nanomaterials as sensitive elements for (bio)sensors; nanomaterials applied to biological systems; nanomaterials for microfluidic devices; nanostructured catalysts; electrospun composite and multifunctional nanofibers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

The development of clean and sustainable energy systems, as an alternative to carbon-based sources, is a pressing necessity. Nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention as they possess properties that are outstanding for application in the design of sustainable energy systems. In this context, the physical and chemical properties of materials strictly depend upon their specific nanostructured arrangement. The intrinsic properties of 1D and 2D nanomaterials, such as high surface area to volume ratio and short diffusion pathways, make them great candidates for application in energy storage and conversion technologies based on various processes (i.e., electrochemical, chemical, thermal, photochemical, etc.). Moreover, the possibility to employ advanced and scalable manufacturing techniques to process these nanomaterials, such as printing, 3D printing, spray coating, electrospinning, and roll to roll assembly, guarantee the possibility to design and obtain flexible, foldable, and even wearable energy devices. The Special Issue “1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion” aims at providing an overview on the most recent progress and new developments in the design and utilization of nanomaterials for highly efficient, novel energy storage and conversion devices.

Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Energy conversion and storage;
  • 1D and 2D nanomaterials for catalysis;
  • 1D and 2D materials to store energy vectors;
  • Electrospun nanofibers—synthesis and characterizations;
  • Methods for nanomaterial integration in devices for energy conversion and storage;
  • Electrode design for electrochemical energy conversion;
  • Electrode design for electrochemical energy storage;
  • New technological approaches;
  • 1D and 2D for sustainability;
  • Modeling and simulation of 1D/2D materials for energy.

Original research papers and review articles are both welcome for this Special Issue. Emphasis will be placed on experimental analysis, both at lab scale as well as practical, and in situ applications. Fundamental studies in line with the scope of this Special Issue will also be considered for publication.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marzia Quaglio
Dr. Giulia Massaglia
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. Nanomaterials 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 2900 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.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3493 KiB  
Article
Au-Nanorods Supporting Pd and Pt Nanocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: Pd Is Revealed to Be a Better Catalyst than Pt
by Ayoub Laghrissi and Mohammed Es-Souni
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(13), 2007; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano13132007 - 05 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1123
Abstract
Ordered thin films of Au nanorods (NRs) on Ti/Au/Si heterostructure substrates are electrodeposited in thin film aluminum oxide templates and, after template removal, serve as supports for Pd and Pt nanocatalysts. Based on previous work which showed a better electrocatalytic performance for layered [...] Read more.
Ordered thin films of Au nanorods (NRs) on Ti/Au/Si heterostructure substrates are electrodeposited in thin film aluminum oxide templates and, after template removal, serve as supports for Pd and Pt nanocatalysts. Based on previous work which showed a better electrocatalytic performance for layered Au/Pd nanostructures than monolithic Pd, electrodeposited 20 nm Pd discs on Au-NRs are first investigated in terms of their catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and compared to monolithic 20 nm Pd and Pt discs. To further boost performance, the interfacial interaction area between the Au-NRs supports and the active metals (Pt and Pd) was increased via magnetron sputtering an extremely thin layer of Pt and Pd (20 nm overall sputtered thickness) on the Au-NRs after template removal. In this way, the whole NR surface (top and lateral) was covered with Pt and Pd nanoparticles, ensuring a maximum interfacial contact between the support and the active metal. The HER performance obtained was substantially higher than that of the other nanostructures. A Salient result of the present work, however, is the superior activity obtained for sputtered Pd on Au in comparison to that of sputtered Pt on Au. The results also show that increasing the Au-NR length translates in a strong increase in performance. Density functional theory calculations show that the interfacial electronic interactions between Au and Pd lead to suitable values of hydrogen adsorption energy on all possible sites, thus promoting faster (barrier-free diffusion) hydrogen adsorption and its recombination to H2. A Volmer–Heyrovsky mechanism for HER is proposed, and a volcano plot is suggested based on the results of the Tafel plots and the calculated hydrogen adsorption energies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion)
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13 pages, 2217 KiB  
Article
3D Composite PDMS/MWCNTs Aerogel as High-Performing Anodes in Microbial Fuel Cells
by Giulia Massaglia and Marzia Quaglio
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(23), 4335; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12234335 - 06 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1340
Abstract
Porous 3D composite materials are interesting anode electrodes for single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs) since they exploit a surface layer that is able to achieve the correct biocompatibility for the proliferation of electroactive bacteria and have an inner charge transfer element that [...] Read more.
Porous 3D composite materials are interesting anode electrodes for single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs) since they exploit a surface layer that is able to achieve the correct biocompatibility for the proliferation of electroactive bacteria and have an inner charge transfer element that favors electron transfer and improves the electrochemical activity of microorganisms. The crucial step is to fine-tune the continuous porosity inside the anode electrode, thus enhancing the bacterial growth, adhesion, and proliferation, and the substrate’s transport and waste products removal, avoiding pore clogging. To this purpose, a novel approach to synthetize a 3D composite aerogel is proposed in the present work. A 3D composite aerogel, based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a conductive filler, was obtained by pouring this mixture over the commercial sugar, used as removable template to induce and tune the hierarchical continuous porosity into final nanostructures. In this scenario, the granularity of the sugar directly affects the porosities distribution inside the 3D composite aerogel, as confirmed by the morphological characterizations implemented. We demonstrated the capability to realize a high-performance bioelectrode, which showed a 3D porous structure characterized by a high surface area typical of aerogel materials, the required biocompatibility for bacterial proliferations, and an improved electron pathway inside it. Indeed, SCMFCs with 3D composite aerogel achieved current densities of (691.7 ± 9.5) mA m−2, three orders of magnitude higher than commercial carbon paper, (287.8 ± 16.1) mA m−2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion)
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18 pages, 12621 KiB  
Article
Two-Dimensional (2D) TM-Tetrahydroxyquinone Metal–Organic Framework for Selective CO2 Electrocatalysis: A DFT Investigation
by Xianshi Zeng, Chuncai Xiao, Luliang Liao, Zongxing Tu, Zhangli Lai, Kai Xiong and Yufeng Wen
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(22), 4049; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12224049 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1668
Abstract
The resource utilization of CO2 is one of the essential avenues to realize the goal of “double carbon”. The metal–organic framework (MOF) has shown promising applications in CO2 catalytic reduction reactions due to its sufficient pore structure, abundant active sites and [...] Read more.
The resource utilization of CO2 is one of the essential avenues to realize the goal of “double carbon”. The metal–organic framework (MOF) has shown promising applications in CO2 catalytic reduction reactions due to its sufficient pore structure, abundant active sites and functionalizability. In this paper, we investigated the electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reactions of single-atom catalysts created by MOF two-dimensional coordination network materials constructed from transition metal-tetrahydroxybenzoquinone using density function theory calculations. The results indicate that for 10 transition metals, TM-THQ single levels ranging from Sc to Zn, the metal atom binding energy to the THQ is large enough to allow the metal atoms to be stably dispersed in the THQ monolayer. The Ni-THQ catalyst does not compete with the HER reaction in an electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. The primary product of reduction for Sc-THQ is HCOOH, but the major product of Co-THQ is HCHO. The main product of Cu-THQ is CO, while the main product of six catalysts, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Zn, is CH4. The limit potential and overpotential of Ti-THQ are the highest, 1.043 V and 1.212 V, respectively. The overpotentials of the other monolayer catalysts ranged from 0.172 to 0.952 V, and they were all relatively low. Therefore, we forecast that the TM-HQ monolayer will show powerful activity in electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction, making it a prospective electrocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion)
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18 pages, 16468 KiB  
Article
Two-Dimensional Transition Metal-Hexaaminobenzene Monolayer Single-Atom Catalyst for Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction
by Xianshi Zeng, Zongxing Tu, Yanli Yuan, Luliang Liao, Chuncai Xiao, Yufeng Wen and Kai Xiong
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(22), 4005; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12224005 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1476
Abstract
Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to valuable fuels and chemicals can not only alleviate the energy crisis but also improve the atmospheric environment. The key is to develop electrocatalysts that are extremely stable, efficient, selective, and reasonably priced. In this study, spin-polarized density [...] Read more.
Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to valuable fuels and chemicals can not only alleviate the energy crisis but also improve the atmospheric environment. The key is to develop electrocatalysts that are extremely stable, efficient, selective, and reasonably priced. In this study, spin-polarized density function theory (DFT) calculations were used to comprehensively examine the catalytic efficacy of transition metal-hexaaminobenzene (TM-HAB) monolayers as single-atom catalysts for the electroreduction of CO2. In the modified two-dimensional TM-HAB monolayer, our findings demonstrate that the binding of individual metal atoms to HAB can be strong enough for the atoms to be evenly disseminated and immobilized. In light of the conflicting hydrogen evolution processes, TM-HAB effectively inhibits hydrogen evolution. CH4 dominates the reduction byproducts of Sc, Ti, V, Cr, and Cu. HCOOH makes up the majority of Zn’s reduction products. Co’s primary reduction products are CH3OH and CH4, whereas Mn and Fe’s primary reduction products are HCHO, CH3OH, and CH4. Among these, the Ti-HAB reduction products have a 1.14 eV limiting potential and a 1.31 V overpotential. The other monolayers have relatively low overpotentials between 0.01 V and 0.7 V; therefore, we predict that TM-HAB monolayers will exhibit strong catalytic activity in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2, making them promising electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 1D and 2D Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion)
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