https://www.sciltp.com/journals/see <p><strong><em>Science for Energy and Environment (</em></strong><em><strong>SEE) </strong></em>is a gold open-access journal and aims to publish topics in green energy and the environment, with a shared focus on materials and catalysis research that drives the fundamental understanding and development in energy and the environment.</p> Scilight en-US Science for Energy and Environment 0000-0000 https://www.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/301 <h1 class="page_title">Editorial for First Issue of Science for Energy and Environment</h1> <p><strong>Yongfa Zhu</strong></p> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China</p> <p>Correspondence: zhuyf@tsinghua.edu.cn</p> <p>Received: 8 November 2023; Accepted: 8 November 2023; Published: 4 March 2024</p> </div> Yongfa Zhu Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 2024-03-04 2024-03-04 https://www.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/309 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Review</em></p> <h1>Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate Electrocatalytic C-N Coupling for Sustainable Production of Urea</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Litao Jia, and Fanghua Li ^*</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China</p> <p>^* Correspondence: fanghuahope01@hit.edu.cn</p> <p>Received: 15 December 2023; Revised: 17 January 2024; Accepted: 19 February 2024; Published: 5 March 2024</p> <p> </p> </div> <p><strong id="abstract" class="label">Abstract:</strong></p> <p>The electrocatalytic co-reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) for urea synthesis under environmental conditions offers a promising solution for achieving sustainable environmental management. Besides, electrochemical urea synthesis is an alternative approach for cleaner production of urea compared to the conventional urea industrial production process with high energy consumption and pollution. However, lower urea yield, lower selectivity and unclear C-N coupling reaction mechanism are still the main challenges to its large-scale application. In this review, we focus on accurate and reliable detection methods and evaluation criteria for urea products, recent progress on CO₂ and NO₃⁻ electrocatalytic co-reduction synthesis of urea, rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts, and C-N coupling reaction mechanism of urea electrochemical synthesis under atmospheric conditions. This review could contribute to the development of electrochemical urea synthesis via effective remediation of CO₂ and NO₃⁻.</p> Litao Jia Fanghua Li Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 2024-03-05 2024-03-05 https://www.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/311 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Review</em></p> <h1>Porous Graphitic Carbon Nitride-Based Photocatalysts for Antibiotic Degradation</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Zhaoqiang Wang ¹, Guixiang Ding ¹, Juntao Zhang ¹, Peng Wang ², Qi Lv ³, Yonghao Ni ⁴ and Guangfu Liao ^1,*</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>¹ National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China</p> <p>² Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co., Ltd., Binzhou 256500, China</p> <p>³ PCFM Lab, GD HPPC Lab, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China</p> <p>⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada</p> <p><strong>*</strong> Correspondence: liaogf@mail2.sysu.edu.cn</p> <p>Received: 29 November 2023; Revised: 18 January 2024; Accepted: 24 January 2024; Published: 5 March 2024</p> <p> </p> </div> <p><strong class="label">Abstract: </strong>Photocatalytic technology is a promising strategy for solving antibiotic pollution present in the water system. Porous carbon nitride (PCN) material has been considered as a potential candidate to solve the above problem due to the abundant reaction sites, large specific surface area and narrow band gap. Recently, substantial research focus on promoting photocatalytic activity of PCN-based material via improving photogenerated carrier separation and band gap structure has been completed. However, only a few works summarize and discuss the results of research on photocatalytic antibiotic degradation by PCN-based photocatalysts in recent years. Thus, a review on recent developments in PCN-based photocatalysts research is urgently needed to further promote its advancement. In this review, the synthesis strategies, structure design and photocatalytic application of antibiotic degradation over PCN-based photocatalysts are listed in detail. Finally, a brief conclusion has been discussed deeply, which focuses on the future challenges and expectations of PCN-based photocatalysts for photocatalytic antibiotic degradation. This review offers a novel viewpoint on the use of PCN-based material in photocatalytic antibiotic degradation and highlights its significant potential as a photocatalyst. In short, the application of PCN-based materials in the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics is very promising, according to objective assessments.</p> Zhaoqiang Wang Guixiang Ding Juntao Zhang Peng Wang Qi Lv Yonghao Ni Guangfu Liao Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 2024-03-05 2024-03-05 https://www.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/324 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Review</em></p> <h1>Advanced Carbon Electrocatalysts for Selective Oxygen Reduction into Hydrogen Peroxide: Understandings of Active Sites</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Jiaxin Su ^1,2, Bingbing Xiao ^1,2, Jun Wang ^1,2,* and Xiaofeng Zhu ^1,2,*</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>¹ State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials and Chemistry, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China</p> <p>² Tianfu Institute of Research and Innovation, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Chengdu 610299, China</p> <p><strong>*</strong> Correspondence: junwang091@163.com (J.W.); xfzhu@swust.edu.cn (X.Z.)</p> <p>Received: 17 January 2024; Revised: 25 January 2024; Accepted: 19 February 2024; Published: 5 March 2024</p> <p> </p> </div> <p><strong class="label">Abstract: </strong>Electrochemical conversion of oxygen-to-hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) through oxygen reduction (ORR) is becoming a green and effective solution to replacing conventional anthraquinone industry. Advanced carbon is currently one of the most promising catalysts for H₂O₂electrosynthesis by a selective two-electron ORR (2e-ORR), owing to its chemical and catalytic merits. To realize better performance of 2e-ORR over advanced carbons, extensive efforts is devoted to constructing highly efficient carbon-based active sites, which requests in-depth understanding of their underlying catalytic roles. Here, an informative and critical review of recent investigations on active sites on advanced carbons for 2e-ORR is provided. Together with our recent findings, the review first highlights the promoting progress on heteroatom-doped carbons, and their direct/indirect contributions for 2e-ORR has been emphasized. Simultaneously, defect engineering of carbon scaffold is briefly demonstrated as a practical strategy for achieving outstanding H₂O₂ production. Meanwhile, the review also offers analysis on striking influence of surface modification for carbon active site. Finally, challenges and perspectives of the advanced carbon catalysts for 2e-ORR are outlined. Such reviewed fundamentals of active sites in this emerging field would shed light to future impactful progress in ORR and broader research of energy and catalysis.</p> Jiaxin Su Bingbing Xiao Jun Wang Xiaofeng Zhu Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 2024-03-05 2024-03-05 https://www.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/334 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Article</em></p> <h1>Improvement of Extraction Efficiency and Metabolites of Pollutants from Medium and Low Concentration Organic Polluted Soil</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Xiaojuan Bai ^1,2,*, Wei Song ², Linlong Guo ², Rujiao Liu ², Yihan Cao ², Pin Jin ², Bowen Zhu ^1,2 and Xiaoran Zhang ^1,2</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>¹ Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China</p> <p>² Beijing Energy Conservation &amp; Sustainable Urban and Rural Development Provincial and Ministry Co-Construction Collaboration Innovation Center, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China</p> <p><strong>*</strong> Correspondence: baixiaojuan@bucea.edu.cn or heixia.1986@163.com</p> <p>Received: 6 February 2024; Revised: 11 March 2024; Accepted: 8 April 2024; Published: 15 April 2024</p> <p> </p> </div> <p><strong id="abstract" class="label">Abstract: </strong>Industrial development has accelerated soil contamination by organic pollutants, posing a major threat to global ecosystems and human health. Natural attenuation techniques, renowned for their environmental compatibility and cost-effectiveness, have garnered widespread attention for the remediation of environmental pollution. In this work, we have successfully enhanced the natural attenuation process of organic contaminants in soil by employing biostimulation and bioaugmentation methods to remove pollutants. The results showed that the degradation rate of low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) reached about 82.5% while medium molecular weight PAHs was about 43.72%, as well as high molecular weight PAHs was about 34.5% even after a remediation process of only 14 days. In addition, the biofortified soil was exhaustively analyzed by high-throughput sequencing, which showed that the dosing of bactericide and surfactants significantly increased the abundance of 16sRNA genes and alkane degradation-related genes. In response to the challenges of detecting and analyzing complex organic pollutants in soil, we have developed an integrated method for the extraction, purification, and detection of organic pollutants in soil, ranging from low to medium concentrations. This approach not only allows for the efficient extraction of organic pollutants from the soil but also facilitates further inference of the degradation mechanisms of these pollutants. Integrating chemical analysis and microbiological techniques, and employing Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS), we precisely measured and identified organic contaminants in soil and deduced the mechanisms of degradation. These findings are significant for the development of new environmental remediation technologies and strategies, contributing to addressing soil pollution issues exacerbated by industrial activities.</p> Xiaojuan Bai Wei Song Linlong Guo Rujiao Liu Yihan Cao Pin Jin Bowen Zhu Xiaoran Zhang Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 2024-04-15 2024-04-15