Visible light-conducting polymer nanocomposites as efficient photocatalysts for the treatment of organic pollutants in wastewater

Nafees Ahmad; Jerry Anae; Mohammad Zain Khan; Suhail Sabir; Xiao Jin Yang; Vijay Kumar Thakur; Pablo Campo; Frederic Coulon

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113362

Visible light-conducting polymer nanocomposites as efficient photocatalysts for the treatment of organic pollutants in wastewater

J Environ Manage. 2021 Jul 24:295:113362. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113362. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Nafees Ahmad¹, Jerry Anae², Mohammad Zain Khan³, Suhail Sabir³, Xiao Jin Yang⁴, Vijay Kumar Thakur⁵, Pablo Campo², Frederic Coulon⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK 43 0AL, UK; Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India.
² School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK 43 0AL, UK.
³ Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China; State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.
⁵ Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Centre, Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK.
⁶ School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK 43 0AL, UK. Electronic address: f.coulon@cranfield.ac.uk.

PMID: 34346390
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113362

Abstract

This review compiles recent advances and challenges on photocatalytic treatment of wastewater using nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and polymer nanocomposites as photocatalyst. The review provides an overview of the fundamental principles of photocatalytic treatment along the recent advances on photocatalytic treatment, especially on the modification strategies and operational conditions to enhance treatment efficiency and removal of recalcitrant organic contaminants. The different types of photocatalysts along the key factors influencing their performance are also critically discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.

Keywords: Band gap; Organic contaminants; Photocatalyst; Polymer nanocomposites; Wastewater treatment.

Publication types

Review