Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Future Is Bright for Polyoxometalates

This review explores the diverse applications of polyoxometalates, which are inorganic metal-oxide clusters with uses in catalysis, biomedicine, and environmental remediation. Researchers highlight their potential for degrading environmental pollutants and their emerging applications in materials science and energy storage. While not directly focused on microplastics, the study discusses catalytic approaches relevant to breaking down persistent environmental contaminants.

2022 BioChem 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Hybrid Semiconductor Photocatalyst Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Applications: Fundamentals, Designing, and Prospects

This review covers the development of hybrid semiconductor nanomaterials that use light energy to drive useful chemical reactions, including breaking down pollutants and producing clean fuels. Researchers found that combining semiconductors with metals or carbon-based materials creates surfaces that absorb light and transfer electrical charge more efficiently. The study suggests these hybrid photocatalysts hold strong promise for addressing both energy and environmental challenges.

2023 Advanced Sustainable Systems 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Hierarchy of hybrid materials. Part-II: The place of organics-on-inorganics in it, their composition and applications

This review classifies and examines organic-on-inorganic hybrid materials, covering their structure, properties, and wide-ranging applications from catalysis to biomedicine, highlighting how combining organic molecules with metallic and non-metallic inorganic substrates creates synergistic material properties.

2023 Frontiers in Chemistry 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficiency of Hybrid Materials for Photocatalytic Degradation of Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastics

Researchers reviewed how hybrid materials — combinations of multiple substances engineered at the nanoscale — can serve as highly effective photocatalysts to break down microplastics and nanoplastics using light energy. These multi-functional materials improve electron separation and reaction efficiency compared to single-component catalysts, representing a promising technological pathway for removing persistent plastic particles from the environment.

2025
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based Composite Materials as Photocatalyst for Photo-Reforming of Organics to Obtain H2

Researchers investigated carbon-based composite photocatalysts — including Nb2O5 and TiO2 combined with graphene or graphene oxide — for photo-reforming of plastics (PET and PLA) and organic compounds into hydrogen under both UV and natural solar light, finding that composite materials produced significantly more hydrogen than bare semiconductors.

2025 SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología
Article Tier 2

Special Issue “Functional Nanomaterials: Structures, Compositions and Various Applications”

Researchers presented a special issue overview connecting fundamental structure-property relationships of functional nanomaterials to their performance in real-world technological devices and processes across a range of application domains.

2026 International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Tier 2

Porphyrin-Conjugated Hybrid Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Wastewater Remediation

Researchers reviewed the use of porphyrin-conjugated hybrid nanomaterials for photocatalytic wastewater treatment, including the degradation of microplastics. The study found that these materials show strong visible-light absorption and enhanced electron properties that make them effective at breaking down hazardous pollutants, offering a promising approach for environmental remediation.

2026 Applied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Metal–Organic Frameworks for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Coupled with Selective Oxidation Reactions

This review examines metal-organic framework (MOF) photocatalysts for hydrogen production coupled with selective organic oxidation reactions, covering design principles, active site engineering, and performance benchmarks. It discusses how MOF structural tunability enables optimisation of both hydrogen evolution and valuable co-product generation.

2025 ChemPhysChem 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Compact Disc-Derived Nanocarbon-Supported Catalysts with Extreme Catalytic Activity

Scientists engineered nanocarbon-metal hybrid catalysts from recycled compact discs, producing silver nanocatalysts with controllable electronic and optical properties that demonstrated extreme catalytic activity for environmental and energy applications at reduced cost.

2025 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Interfaces, and Nanostructure on the Performance of Conjugated Polymer Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Production from Water

This review examines how interfaces and nanostructure influence the performance of conjugated polymer photocatalysts for hydrogen production via water splitting and CO2 reduction, surveying the field since early reports of carbon nitride and organic semiconductor photocatalysts and analyzing structure-property relationships governing efficiency.

2022 Nanomaterials 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced perspectives on MXene composite nanomaterials: Types synthetic methods, thermal energy utilization and 3D-printed techniques

Researchers reviewed MXene, a family of ultra-thin 2D nanomaterials, and their composites for applications in heat storage, solar energy conversion, and 3D printing inks, finding photo-to-thermal and electro-to-thermal conversion efficiencies of 80–90%. The review also explores future uses in hydrogen storage, carbon capture, and environmental pollution cleanup.

2022 iScience 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoarchitectonics of molybdenum rich crown shaped polyoxometalates based ionic liquids reinforced on magnetic nanoparticles for the removal of microplastics and heavy metals from water

This study developed mesoporous composite adsorbents consisting of polyoxometalate-based ionic liquids on magnetic silica-coated nanoparticles for simultaneous removal of heavy metals and microplastics from water. The composites achieved high removal efficiency for both contaminant classes and could be magnetically separated for reuse, offering a dual-function water treatment material.

2024 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Functional Nanohybrids and Nanocomposites Development for the Removal of Environmental Pollutants and Bioremediation

This review examined functional nanohybrid and nanocomposite materials developed for removing environmental pollutants including heavy metals, dyes, and microplastics from water, assessing synthesis approaches and removal mechanisms. Multifunctional nanomaterials combining adsorptive, photocatalytic, and magnetic properties were identified as the most promising candidates for sustainable water treatment.

2022 Molecules 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Photodegradation of microplastics through nanomaterials: Insights into photocatalysts modification and detailed mechanisms

This review explores how nanomaterial-enhanced photocatalysts can break down microplastics that conventional water treatment fails to remove. The paper details key strategies like element doping and heterojunction construction that improve degradation efficiency, and explains the underlying mechanisms involving free radical formation and singlet oxygen oxidation.

2024 Preprints.org 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Visible-light photocatalysts: Prospects and challenges

This research update reviews the state of visible-light photocatalysis, discussing material types including metal oxides, organic semiconductors, and composites, their applications for environmental remediation and solar fuel generation, and the major challenge of scaling up photocatalytic processes to industrial viability. The authors identify cost-competitiveness with existing technologies as the primary barrier to practical deployment.

2020 APL Materials 273 citations
Article Tier 2

Next-generation nanomaterials for environmental remediation: smart design, hybrid materials and sustainable use

Researchers reviewed advances in eco-engineered nanomaterials for remediating persistent environmental contaminants — including PFAS, microplastics, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals — covering adsorption, photocatalytic, and magnetic recovery systems, while discussing sustainability challenges around lifecycle, toxicity, and real-world deployment.

2026 Frontiers in Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Design and environmental applications of polyoxometalate-ionic liquid (POM-IL)-based molecular and composite materials

This chemistry thesis developed polyoxometalate-ionic liquid materials for applications in corrosion protection and water purification. It is a materials chemistry study with no direct connection to environmental microplastic pollution.

2020 OPen Access Repositorium der Universität Ulm (OPARU) (Ulm University) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Rhombohedral/Cubic In2O3 Phase Junction Hybridized with Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants

Researchers developed a phase junction photocatalyst combining two forms of indium oxide with carbon nitride, achieving effective degradation of organic water pollutants under visible light without requiring precious metals.

2022 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Pd:In-Doped TiO2 as a Bifunctional Catalyst for the Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Paracetamol and Simultaneous Green Hydrogen Production

Researchers synthesized Pd:In-doped TiO2 as a bifunctional photoelectrochemical catalyst that simultaneously degrades the pharmaceutical paracetamol in wastewater and generates green hydrogen, demonstrating an integrated approach to clean energy production and water treatment.

2024 Molecules 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Pd:In-Doped TiO2 as a Bifunctional Catalyst for the Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Paracetamol and Simultaneous Green Hydrogen Production

This paper is not about microplastics — it introduces PdIn/TiO2 photocatalysts for simultaneously degrading the pharmaceutical paracetamol in wastewater and generating hydrogen as a clean fuel.

2024 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Preparation of heterojunction C3N4/WO3 photocatalyst for degradation of microplastics in water

Researchers synthesized a carbon nitride/tungsten oxide heterojunction photocatalyst that effectively degrades PET microplastics in water while simultaneously generating hydrogen, offering a dual-benefit approach to addressing plastic pollution through photocatalysis.

2023 Chemosphere 52 citations
Article Tier 2

State of the art in the photochemical degradation of (micro)plastics: from fundamental principles to catalysts and applications

This review summarizes research on the photochemical degradation of plastics and microplastics into value-added products and intermediates via photocatalysis. The study covers fundamental principles and catalytic approaches for breaking down plastic pollutants that are otherwise difficult to degrade in the environment.

2023 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 94 citations
Article Tier 2

Chemo‐Biological Cascade Catalysis Assisted Semi‐Artificial Photosynthetic Systems for Improving the Synthesis of High‐Valued Chemicals

Researchers developed chemo-biological cascade catalysis systems for semi-artificial photosynthesis by integrating photosensitizers with biocatalysts, enabling efficient solar energy conversion to high-value chemicals through photogenerated charge transfer between the abiotic and biological components under illumination.

2025 Advanced Energy Materials
Article Tier 2

Nanomaterials for Advanced Photocatalytic Plastic Conversion

This review examines the use of nanomaterials for photocatalytic conversion of waste plastics into useful chemicals and fuels, highlighting approaches that use sunlight as an energy source under ambient conditions. Photocatalytic upcycling of plastic waste offers a potentially sustainable alternative to conventional thermal and chemical recycling methods.

2023 Molecules 22 citations