Photocatalytic Decontamination of Organic Pollutants Using Advanced Materials

Abstract

Organic pollutants released into the natural environment such as a river, air and land pose a high threat to organisms that thrive in these environment. Industrial effluents are considered the major source of organic pollutants such as dyes, pesticides, and drugs such as antibiotics. Even with extensive regulations, numerous studies have found the presence of such organic pollutants in natural environments. Currently, the use of semiconductor materials for the photocatalytic destruction of organic pollutants got increased owing to their advantages such as high efficiency, low cost, and less toxicity. Among these materials, TiO2 based materials have shown superior pollutant degrading capability coupled with lower secondary pollution. This chapter reviews advanced photocatalytic materials available to degrade organic pollutants.