Polymers for catalysis in water purification

Abstract

This review highlights the application of polymeric material in catalyst system for water purification technologies. Insufficient access to safe and clean drinking water is one of the most demanding needs of the people throughout the world. The consequences are death casualty of millions of people annually, mostly under the age of 5, by the diseases transmitted through contaminated water or human. Recent, flare‐up growth of polymeric technologies offers to handle such water purification as an adsorbent, catalyst, and sensors. This is due to its high reactivity, selectivity, and specific surface area. The nanocatalyst loaded polymeric system has been applied for the selective and efficient removal of pollutants from aqueous sources and demonstrated a highly resistant against mechanical stress, high temperature, pressure, and solvents. Different techniques including membrane technology, photocatalyst, and adsorbent have provided a medium for the polymeric catalyst. These series of metal oxide photocatalyst have been applied for several types of polymers including polysulfonate, poly(ether) sulfone, polyvinyl acetate, stract, polyurethane, and polyamide. It recorded that, the polymeric catalyst system is frequently utilized without loss of their specific adsorption and catalytic properties. The combined effects of water chemistry, nature of catalyst particles, loading capacity, and catalyst incorporation conditions for each system have been discussed in details.