Themed collection Green Materials and Surfaces

Guest editors Lei Jiang, Markus Antonietti and Nina Fechler introduce this Journal of Materials Chemistry A themed issue on green materials and surfaces.

In this mini-review, we wish to summarise the recent advances on the design of polymers of intrinsic microporosity, covalent–organic frameworks, covalent triazine-based frameworks, ordered mesoporous polymers, and ordered mesoporous carbons via mechanochemical synthesis.

This review summarizes the main processing routes and significant properties of nanocellulose-based foams and aerogels.

Morphology transformation of supramolecular assemblies is implemented under “green” triggers, namely pH, light, and CO₂, resulting in novel organic nanomaterials with well-defined structures and functions.

The recent progress of oil/water separation technologies using various materials that possess surface superwetting properties is summarized.

This review discusses the correlation between structure formation, nanostructural details and mechanical properties in biobased high performance materials formed from renewable cellulose nanofibrils.

Laser printed patterns on paper are coated with surface-specific peptides and modified via photo-induced ligation to yield functional surfaces.

Metal-oxo bridges integrate dithiolene units into a crystalline net: the oxo hinge not only circumvents intractable metal-sulfur bonds that often frustrate crystallization, but also proves effective in promoting electronic interaction throughout the resultant porous gyroidal net.

A bioinspired pine-branch-like TiO₂ membrane for high efficiency strong corrosive acidic, basic and salt emulsion separation.

The controlled wettability of liquid calcium carbonate precursors on nanocellulose yields a nacre-like material with plasticity outperforming a biological example.

The photoactivity of g-C₃N₄/S-doped carbon materials led to a change in their surface chemistry and porosity upon exposure to CO₂/water in visible light.

Colloidally synthesized Ni₁₂P₅ nanoparticles were embedded into g-C₃N₄ nanosheets via a solution-phase approach. The Ni₁₂P₅/g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts manifested significantly improved noble-metal-free H₂ evolution.

A bionanomaterial based on horse hemoglobin and cobalt oxide magnetic nanoparticles was synthesized using a mechanochemical protocol and further employed in the design of an energy storage device.

The C/N ratio of the carbon nitride lattice is tailored by doping with carbon to assess the impact on the stabilisation of palladium atoms and their catalytic efficiency in the selective hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol.

Iron oxide nanoparticles, prepared using a new, efficient deep eutectic-solvothermal microwave methodology, were cast as photoanodes, showing competitive photocurrent performance.

The gold standard of natural nacre provides the inspiration for assembling bioinspired nanocomposites.

A green and scalable one-pot hydrothermal synthesis generates polyimide/silica hybrid materials, which can be processed by green, solvent-free sintering.

Using breath figure lithography, we demonstrate the ability to coat commercial polyurethane sponges with hierarchical structures for quick oil/water separation.

A hierarchically porous carbon monolith (97% porosity) was generated through the carbonization of an emulsion-templated monolith formed from a chain extended, urea-based, deep-eutectic polymer. The highly interconnected micrometer-scale porous structure had a high specific surface area (812 m² g⁻¹, largely microporous) and exhibited promising results for aqueous solution sorption applications.

A paper-based reduced graphene oxide composite membrane is integrated with a floating silicone-based thermal insulation layer for high-efficiency, fast-response solar-driven interfacial evaporation under one-sun illumination.

Porous nitrogen-doped carbon monoliths from processable doughs of liquid sugar-urea mixtures with salt and cellulose as porogen and filler, respectively.

To develop an efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst electrode for environmental remediation, a novel ternary nanocomposite of an Au-decorated Bi₂MoO₆ nanosheet/TiO₂ nanotube array (NTA) heterojunction was successfully fabricated for the first time via a facile solvothermal method combined with mussel-inspired functional modification of electrochemical polymerization of dopamine.

In this work, we reveal a reactive oil-repellent surface as a new platform for surface micro-patterning of low-surface-tension liquid precursors.

The surfaces of g-C₃N and S-doped carbons upon exposure to water and/or CO₂ under visible light are oxidized as a result of photoactivity and chemical reactivity.

A simple synthesis approach is presented to produce sustainable electrocatalysts with tuneable surface area, porosity, morphology and functionality.

A novel sol–gel route for ZrO₂ nanoparticles based on microwave heating shows an improved energy and waste balance.

Solvent-free photosensitive high-performance polyimide inks were developed for DLP 3D printing to build architectures with excellent thermal resistance and mechanical performance.

A series of Pd/SBA-15-amine materials (where “Amine” is primary amine, secondary amine and tertiary amine) containing Pd nanoparticles are synthesized and their catalytic properties for formic acid dehydrogenation are investigated.

A Mg–Al oxide obtained by thermal activation of a hydrotalcite and extruded with bentonite enables the continuous manufacture of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and urea owing to its strong Lewis basicity and resistance to leaching.

Precise patterning and controllable assembly of graphene into 3D architectures for flexible micro-supercapacitors was achieved by a printing assembly approach.

Nanofiltration membranes are of great interest in brackish water desalination and drinking water purification.

Functional porous carbon nanospheres synthesized from cheap and sustainable precursors exhibited excellent properties as electrodes for supercapacitors.

A nacre-mimetic ZIF-8 molecular sieving membrane with well-aligned mesoporous GO was developed via nanocrystal-masked etching and bioinspired growth.

The electronic interactions between Pt and Ni@NGNTs tuned the electronic properties and greatly boosted catalytic performances of the anchored Pt NPs.

A stretchable, rub-proof superhydrophobic surface was realized by a chemically bonded silicone elastomer network covering the surface of silica microparticles to form enhanced micro-scale surface roughness.

We developed a strategy to construct a catalyst with a hydrophobic catalytic interface covered by a hydrophilic, nanoporous shell, which displays high catalytic efficiency and recyclability in aqueous reactions.

BN nanosheets were functionalized with polyethyleneimine (PEI) which is rich in amine density, through simple impregnation to improve their performance for CO₂ capture.

Cubic mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride polymers with large cage-type pores were synthesized and exhibited superior photocatalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution.

The incorporation of redox-active counter anions (anthraquinone and nitroxide groups) into poly(ionic liquid)s broadens the scope of applications to different energy storage technologies such as lithium, metal-air or redox-flow batteries.

An energy efficient route for the synthesis of mesoporous carbon nitrides with highly ordered mesopores and a rod shaped morphology from uncalcined mesoporous SBA-15 is introduced.

A bi-layered photothermal material based on reduced graphene oxide film with nonporous polystyrene foam as substrate for solar-driven interfacial water evaporation.