Call for Papers 

Themed Collection: Photocatalysis for Energy, Circular Economy, and Water 

Deadline for submissions: December 31, 2026 [2026.12.31] 

We invite submissions to a special themed collection highlighting materials‑driven advances in photocatalysis and its role in sustainable energy systems, circular resource use, and clean‑water technologies. This collection focuses on materials design, synthesis, characterisation, and structure–property understanding that enable performance improvements across photocatalytic applications. 

This themed collection will be published as part of the Cambridge Materials Journal series, and papers within the collection will be published in the Cambridge Materials Journal that the author submits to (after being handled by that Journal’s editorial team). All papers will also be promoted as a full collection across all of the Journals in the Cambridge Materials series. 

Scope of the Collection 

We welcome original research articles, communications, perspectives, and reviews. Materials‑centred studies — spanning synthesis, nanostructuring, compositional tuning, surface/interface engineering, mechanistic probing, and advanced characterisation — are strongly encouraged. 

1. Photocatalysis for Renewable Energy (Materials Focus) 

• Novel photocatalyst materials for solar fuels (H2 generation, CO2 reduction, ammonia synthesis) 
• Materials optimisation for light harvesting, charge separation, and catalytic selectivity  
• Engineered interfaces, heterojunctions, co‑catalysts, and composite materials for energy conversion  
• Materials integration into photoelectrochemical or hybrid energy devices 

Ready to submit? Please click here for the submission link to Cambridge Materials: Energy (please select “Special Issue: Photocatalysis” during submission).

2. Photocatalysis in the Circular Economy (Materials Focus) 

• Photocatalyst materials tailored for the upcycling of plastics, biomass, and industrial wastes 
•  Structure‑activity relationships governing selective oxidation/reduction in waste‑to‑value processes
•  Long‑term materials stability, regeneration, and recyclability 
• Cross‑cutting LCA and TEA to assess scalability, environmental footprints, and system‑level performance of photocatalyst materials 
• Studies that demonstrate decarbonisation in practice 

Ready to submit? Please click here for the submission link to Cambridge Materials: Circularity (please select “Special Issue: Photocatalysis” during submission).

3. Photocatalysis for Water and Environmental Remediation (Materials Focus) 

Organic micropollutants: 

• Photocatalysts designed for degradation of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors 
•  PFAS‑targeted photocatalyst materials, including those enabling mineralisation or defluorination pathways 

Inorganic contaminants: 

• Photocatalyst systems for transformation or selective removal of heavy metals, nitrate, and other inorganic species 

Biological contaminants: 

• Materials‑engineered photocatalysts for disinfection and pathogen inactivation 
• Systems targeting antibiotic‑resistant bacteria and degradation of antibiotic residues 
• Emerging and hybrid materials systems: 
• Photocatalytic membrane materials (photocatalytic membranes, membrane‑reactor hybrids, multifunctional, self‑cleaning, or antifouling materials) 
• Photoelectrocatalytic or advanced oxidation materials platforms for water purification 

Ready to submit? Please click here for the submission link to Cambridge Materials: Water (please select the “Special Issue: Photocatalysis” during submission).

4. Fundamental Materials Advances in Photocatalytic Systems 

• Mechanistic insights connecting material composition, defect chemistry, electronic structure, and photocatalytic function 
• Advanced synthesis routes, nanostructuring, doping, facet engineering, and surface functionalisation 
•  In‑situ/operando characterisation to probe charge dynamics, reaction intermediates, and active sites 
•  Materials development for scalable reactors, photothermal–photocatalytic hybrids, and integrated photoelectrochemical systems 

Ready to submit? Please select which Cambridge Materials Journal you want to submit your paper to (see above for submission links)

Cross‑Cutting Considerations 

As photocatalytic materials move toward deployment, the collection strongly welcomes studies incorporating life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno‑economic analysis (TEA) across all three domains — energy, water, and the circular economy — to evaluate materials feasibility, sustainability, and system‑level benefits. 

Ready to submit? Please select which Cambridge Materials Journal you want to submit your paper to (see above for submission links)

Why Submit? - High visibility within a materials‑focused, high‑impact research theme - Rigorous peer review by experts in materials science, photocatalysis, and environmental technologies - Interdisciplinary reach across chemistry, materials engineering, environmental science, and device physics - Opportunity to shape future directions in sustainable photocatalytic materials and applications 

Any questions please contact us at: cambridgematerialsjournals@cambridge.org