Photocatalysts and Electrocatalysts for CO₂ Reduction, Hydrogen Production, and Environmental Remediation

The urgent global demand for sustainable energy solutions and environmental protection has driven intensive research into advanced photocatalytic and electrocatalytic materials. Photocatalysts and electrocatalysts based on nanostructured materials have demonstrated significant potential for CO2 reduction, hydrogen production, and environmental remediation by enabling efficient energy conversion processes under mild conditions. Recent advances in semiconductor nanomaterials, 2D materials, metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived catalysts, plasmonic nanostructures, and carbon-based nanomaterials have opened new pathways to enhance light harvesting, charge separation, catalytic activity, and long-term stability. These developments are particularly relevant for addressing challenges such as low conversion efficiency, poor selectivity, and catalyst degradation. Despite notable progress, several scientific and technological gaps remain, including a lack of a fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms, rational catalyst design, scalability, and real-world applicability. This Research Topic aims to bring together interdisciplinary contributions that address these challenges and highlight emerging strategies for efficient, sustainable nanostructured catalytic systems. It provides a comprehensive platform for showcasing recent advances and future perspectives in photocatalysts and electrocatalysts for sustainable energy and environmental applications, promoting mechanistic understanding through experimental and theoretical studies, and considering key challenges in efficiency, selectivity, stability, and scalability. It also aims to foster collaboration across materials science, chemistry, physics, and environmental engineering communities and serve as a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners working toward sustainable energy conversion and environmental remediation technologies. In view of this, we welcome articles addressing but not limited to the following themes:• Nanostructured semiconductor photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction and solar fuel generation• Nanomaterial-based electrocatalysts for CO₂ conversion and hydrogen production• 2D nanomaterials for enhanced catalytic performance• MOF-derived and hybrid nanoarchitectures for energy and environmental catalysis• Plasmonic and photonic nanostructures for improved light harvesting and catalytic activity• Carbon nanomaterials for pollutant degradation and hydrogen evolution Topic editors: Arivuoli Dakshanamoorthy FRSC CChem FICS FASCh FISDS, Hemraj M Yadav Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81293/photocatalysts-and-electrocatalysts-for-co-reduction-hydrogen-production-and-environmental-remediation