Abstract
As environmental pollution is a major threat to humankind, researchers have been developing ecofriendly and cost-effective ways to degrade pollutants. Photocatalysis is one promising technique for not only degrading pollutants, but also for splitting water to produce hydrogen and biodegrading and decomposing organic compounds. Among all the semiconductors being used as photocatalysts, metal oxides and metal sulfides have drawn the most attention. Oxides have been used because of their stability, eco-friendly nature, and availability, however, metal oxides show good response to ultraviolet (UV) and in some cases visible light. Alternatively, metal sulfides can be used as photocatalysts as they have relative less bandgap than oxides and are found in a variety of suitable shapes showing efficient responses towards light. The nanostructures of both classes of semiconductors provide more beneficial results because of their high stability and surface area compared to their bulk material counterparts. This chapter compares photocatalytic activity of metal oxides and sulfides and examines their advantages and disadvantages as semiconductors for photocatalysis.
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