Titanium dioxide-based nanoparticles and their applications in water remediation

Abstract

Water is an essential component of life. Only 2.5% of the total percentage of water available on earth is fresh. As the world’s population is increasing, water pollution is becoming more complex and difficult to remove. Due to change in climatic conditions globally, many regions of the world are facing multiple challenges in sustainable supply of water, and their magnitude is rapidly increasing. Therefore, reuse of waste water is becoming a common necessity. However, due to the presence of water contaminants, such as heavy metals, organic pollutants and many other complex compounds, treatment of contaminated waste water is essential for a healthy life. Nanotechnology offers opportunities to provide efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solutions for supplying potable water for human use and clean water for agricultural and industrial uses. Photocatalytic processes have shown great potential as a low-cost, environmentally friendly and sustainable treatment technology for water purification. Photocatalytic degradation has been used efficiently for the degradation and removal of toxic and harmful chemicals to improve water quality. Titanium-based semiconductors have been employed as photocatalysts in degradation of organic molecules. In this review, titanium dioxide-based nanoparticles and their applications in water remediation are discussed.