Novel Photocatalysts for Decomposition of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to new trends in research focused on synthesis of novel materials used in the degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants.

The increasing concentration of industrial waste, which is a major threat to the natural environment and living organisms, imposes the necessity to develop methods for their removal or neutralization. It is well known that removal of organic and inorganic pollutants by conventional physicochemical and biochemical methods, such as adsorption, oxidation, ozonation, membrane separation, coagulation, and flocculation, is expensive and ineffective. That is why, in recent years, an increased interest in new wastewater treatment technologies which are based on heterogeneous semiconductor photocatalysis can be observed. This fact is confirmed by the growing number of literature reports regarding the technology of materials, which, when used under appropriate conditions, exhibit the ability to decompose some of the chemicals that are often hazardous to human life and animals. The photocatalytic degradation of pollutants in air and water, carried out in the presence of semiconductor materials, creates new, more effective possibilities of removing pollutants (detergents, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, organic dyes, metal ions, etc.) from the natural environment. Moreover, photocatalytic degradation process is a very promising method of removing contaminants due to low costs and mild operating conditions (temperature and pressure). It is well known that photocatalysts play a fundamental role in the photocatalysis process. There are many semiconductor materials available on the market used in the photocatalysis process; however, there is a constant drive to obtain new materials which would be highly active in the visible and near ultraviolet range, biologically inert, photostable (nonphotocorrosive), resistant to environmental conditions in which they are used, and relatively cheap. Many research centers around the world are conducting studies focused on the development of an effective production method of photocatalytic materials with unique physicochemical properties, including a specific phase composition, crystallite size or BET surface area, which determine their high and constantly growing popularity in many fields of technology. The physicochemical properties of photocatalysts, such as morphology, crystalline structure, crystallite size or textural properties, depend strictly on the selection of their synthesis method and the final thermal treatment.

The proposed scope of this Special Issue includes:

• Synthesis of novel photocatalysts;
• Surface treatment and enhancement of photocatalyss properties (modification/grafting/doping/immobilization),
• Surface chemistry and functionality,
• Physicochemical characterization of photocatalysts,
• degradation of harmful inorganic and/or organic pollutants (for example: metal ions, detergents, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, organic dyes, etc.) using novel, synthesized photocatalysts.

Manuscript Submission Information

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• Heterogeneous photocatalysis
• UV and visible-light active photocatalysts
• Organic impurities
• Inorganic pollutants
• Surface chemistry
• Morphological and chemical modification
• Characterization techniques
• Environmental protection
• Water and air contamination