Photocatalytic Agent Research Articles

Properties of an innovative multi-functional finish for the improvement of indoor air quality

Due to lifestyle changes, people spend most of their time indoors at present; thus, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a matter of utmost importance. Multi-functional and innovative finishes can help to passively improve the IAQ, benefitting the health and comfort of occupants. For this study, reference and pre-mixed commercial mortars are compared to a new multi-functional hydraulic lime mortar for indoor finishes, in which conventional aggregates are substituted by a highly porous adsorbent material and biomass waste ashes. The up to 20% higher accessible porosity of the multi-functional finish led to lower density (30%), higher thermal insulation properties (30%), higher water vapor permeability (more than 40%), and improved moisture buffering capacity (three times higher), when compared to the reference mortar. Different types of photocatalytic agents (TiO2) were also added into the new multi-functional hydraulic lime mortar, in order to investigate their effect on the de-polluting properties of the finish. Even if the photocatalytic efficiency remained unexpressed under indoor conditions, due to the predominance of the adsorption process, the de-polluting properties of the new mix were more than 30% higher than that of the reference mortar. The obtained results confirm that the developed innovative multi-functional finish—besides fulfilling the ordinary requirements—is better than commercial mortars, as it can improve the IAQ passively, thus benefitting the health and comfort of occupants.

Full solar spectrum-driven Cu2O/PDINH heterostructure with enhanced photocatalytic antibacterial activity and mechanism insight

Marine biofouling hazards the sustainable development of the environment and has become a potential threat to environmental and ecological security. Photocatalytic antibacterial agents driven by the full solar spectrum are promising antifouling agents for environmental protection. The cuprous oxide/perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboximide (Cu2O/PDINH) heterostructure was successfully constructed by integrating p-type Cu2O and n-type PDINH to improve photocatalytic antibacterial efficiency. PDINH extended the absorption spectrum from ultraviolet to near-infrared, improving light utilization by 75 %. The Cu2O/PDINH heterostructure reduced the toxicity risk of Cu2O for environmental pollution, achieved full solar spectrum drive and overcame the inherent defect that Cu2O cannot produce singlet oxygen. The Cu2O/PDINH heterostructure exhibited excellent long-term and photocatalytic antibacterial activity with an antibacterial rate of > 90 % due to the sterilization of copper ions and the continuous generation of ROS driven by the full solar spectrum. This inorganic-organic Cu2O/PDINH heterostructure shows great application prospects in energy and the environment. The Cu2O/PDINH heterostructure with effective ROS increase and superior photocatalytic sterilization efficiency has great potential for environmentally friendly marine antifouling agents.

Highly sensitive fluorescent sensing and photocatalytic degradation performance of two-dimensional Tb-organic network

A novel tetra-nuclear Tb-organic network, named as [Tb4(2-pyia)6(HAc)0.5(2,2′-bipy) (H2O)4.5]·2,2′-bipy·H2O (1), was synthesized hydrothermally based on 5-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy) isophthalic acid (H2pyia) and 2,2′-bipyridine (2,2′-bipy) ligands, and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric (TG) analyses, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and infrared (IR) technology. 1 possesses a two-dimensional network based on the tetra-nuclear inorganic building units, and the π-π stacking interactions between the pyia2− ligands and the guest 2,2′-bipy molecules play an important role in the forming of 3D supramolecular structure. 1 exhibits excellent fluorescent sensing performance for Fe3+ (1.26 × 10−8 mol/L), Cr2O72− (8.1 × 10−7 mol/L), 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) (2.71 × 10−8 mol/L) and tetracycline (TCT) (2.76 × 10−7 mol/L) in aqueous solution with lower detection concentrations. The sensing mechanisms of 1 were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, PXRD and fluorescent lifetime analyses. The activated product of 1 was prepared by heating at 255 °C under constant pressure and used to photo-catalytically degrade TCT. Both 1 and the activated one have good photocatalytic degradation performance for TCT with degradation rates of 84.29% and 96.07%, respectively. The photocatalytic mechanisms were discovered by UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and radical trap experiments. The Tb-organic framework might be an excellent multifunctional fluorescent sensor and a good photocatalytic agent for TCT degradation in the future.

Studies on Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 and Cr-Doped TiO2 for the Degradation of p-Chlorophenol.

TiO2 and Cr-TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized by the sol-gel method using titanium isopropoxide as the precursor of Titania. The prepared samples were analyzed by employing scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared analyses. Under UV irradiation, the photocatalytic activities of TiO2 and Cr-TiO2 were observed by estimating the % degradation of p-chlorophenol (PCP) as a sample pollutant. The extent of degradation was investigated, varying the catalyst dosage, initial PCP concentration, irradiation time, and solution pH. The experimental results show that efficiency of catalysts initially increases but decreases later on, whereas the % degradation of PCP is the highest at its lowest initial concentration. For TiO2 and Cr-TiO2 NPs at their optimal catalyst dosage of 2.0 g/L, acidic pH, and with UV irradiation for 90 min, the observed % degradation of PCP is 50.23 ± 3.12 and 66.51 ± 2.14%, respectively. Thus, the prepared Cr-TiO2 NPs have enhanced the degradation efficiency of PCP with an irradiation time which is four time less than those reported earlier. From the kinetics analysis, the degradation reaction of PCP is found to follow a pseudo-first-order model and the rate constants are 0.0075 and 0.0122 min-1 for pure TiO2 and Cr-TiO2 NPs, respectively. The present study has further revealed that owing to the lower rate of electron-hole pair recombination, the photocatalytic activity of Cr-TiO2 NPs becomes higher than that of TiO2. Therefore, as viable photocatalytic agents, Cr-TiO2 NPs are suggested to be used also for efficient degradation of other organic pollutants.

Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials: Synthesis and Applications

The emergence of nanomaterials as an exciting class of materials is the main reason for the high demand for nanoparticle utility and practical applications in the modern era. At present, the green synthesis process has proved to be the most advanced method in the production of nanoparticles. In green synthetic method, plant or its part is used for bioreduction of metal ions to their elemental form. Nanoparticles manufactured by this method are simple, accessible, eco-friendly and available at low cost and can be easily scaled up for larger operations. For this reason, in the modern era, their application is being done in areas like biosensors, lithium ion batteries, water purification, electrocatalysis, coating, photo-thermal therapies, drug delivery, etc. Among the different metal and metal oxide nanoparticles TiO2 is one of the most promising nanoparticles due to their unique structural chemical and morphological properties. Green synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles by using extract of different biological agent is one of the most growing areas of research. Phytochemicals, enzymes, and proteins, all bioactive components, play an essential role in the production of nanoparticles. The potentiality of titania (TiO2) to operate as an antibacterial and photocatalytic agent is one of the topics that has garnered the most interest from the scientific community. This review provides an overview of different available green synthesis method for the fabrication of TiO2 nanoparticles and also highlighted the different industrial applications of TiO2.

A novel full solar light spectrum responsive antimicrobial agent of WS2 quantum dots for photocatalytic wound healing therapy.

Photocatalytic antimicrobial therapy (PCAT) is considered to be a potential therapeutic treatment for bacterial-infection diseases. However, the antibacterial efficiency is unsatisfactory due to the limited application scope of photocatalysis. In this work, full-spectrum responsive tungsten disulfide quantum dots (WS2 QDs) are prepared for killing bacteria and enabling wound healing through photocatalytic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and glutathione (GSH) depletion. On the one hand, these ultrasmall WS2 QDs exhibit an excellent full spectrum (UV-Vis-NIR)-responsive photocatalytic effect by hindering the recombination of electron-hole pairs, thereby achieving the full use of the energy spectrum. Furthermore, the full-spectrum photocatalytic property of the as-prepared WS2 QDs can be effectively strengthened by redox reaction to deplete GSH for accelerated wound healing. In a word, the as-prepared nanoplatform exhibits the ability to act as an admirable antibacterial reagent with full-spectrum catalytic performance for photocatalytic wound healing therapy. Therefore, this work will not only provide an effective full-spectrum photocatalytic reagent for anti-bacteria therapy and wound healing, but also provide a rational idea for the development of other novel antibacterial agents for applications in the biomedical field.

Sewage remediation using solar energy and a triply fused Zn-porphyrin dimer molecular graphene photocatalytic agent

Photocatalysis plays a pivotal role in achieving clean energy and a pollution-free environment.

Technological efficiency of mineral modifiers for cement materials with photocatalytic activity

It is known that the efficient kinds of photocatalytic additives for cement materials are “core–shell” compositions synthesized by precipitation of photocatalyst particles on mineral substrates (dispersed carriers). The study aim was to install patterns of influence of 5 mineral modifiers on the technological characteristics of cement systems with finding of the most promising raw materials for dispersed carriers of photocatalytic agents. The increased technological efficiency of silica fume, metakaolin and expanding sulfoaluminate modifier in cement paste, due to the peculiarities of their granulometric composition with high dispersity and defectiveness of particles, was revealed by the research results. It predetermines the prospects of using these mineral additives in the composition of photocatalytically active self-cleaning cement materials.

Composition and Properties of Fine-grained Concrete for Self-cleaning Coatings

The paper considers the dependences of the properties of self-cleaning fine-grained concrete on the composition of the concrete mixture: the ratio of sand to white Portland cement, the content of plasticizer, the content of photocatalytic composite material. The photocatalytic composite material (PCM) is a diatomite-based anatase-silica material obtained by sol-gel deposition of nanoscale TiO2 of anatase modification on a silica carrier. The investigated properties of fine-grained concrete were: average density, compressive strength and self-cleaning ability, which was determined by evaluating the photocatalytic decomposition of an organic dye – Rhodamine B. It was shown that an increase in the content of PCM to increase the ability of the coating to self-cleaning leads to a loosening of the structure of fine-grained concrete, but this can be successfully offset by an increase in the content of plasticizer, which additionally improves the distribution of the photocatalytic agent in the cement-sand matrix. An increase in the proportion of sand and the content of plasticizer also contribute to an increase in the ability to self-cleaning. The pozzolan activity of the PCM provides an increase in the strength of concrete. The results of comparing the self-cleaning ability of fine-grained concrete of various compositions indicate a high photocatalytic activity of samples with PCM, which allows its application for creating self-cleaning coatings.

Self-assembled A-D-A type indacenodithiophene-based small conjugated molecule/TiO2 for enhancing the photocatalytic activity.

Herein, A-D-A type indacenodithiophene-based small conjugated molecule IDT-COOH and IDT-COOH/TiO2 photocatalysts with stable non-covalent bonding have been successfully synthesized via in situ electrostatic assembly. The self-assembled three-dimensional π-conjugation structure IDT-COOH with high crystallinity not only broadens the visible absorption to produce more photogenerated carriers but also provides directional charge-transfer channels to accelerate the charge mobility. Thus, 7 log inactivation of S. aureus in 2 h and 92.5% decomposition of TC in 4 h under visible light exposure are achieved for optimized 30% IDT-COOH/TiO2. The dynamic constants (k) of S. aureus disinfection and TC degradation for 30% IDT-COOH/TiO2 are 3.69 and 2.45 times compared to those of self-assembled IDT-COOH, respectively. The notable inactivation performance is among the best reported for conjugated semiconductor/TiO2 photocatalysts for photocatalytic sterilization. ˙O2-, e- and ˙OH are the primary reactive species in the photocatalytic process. The strong interfacial interaction between TiO2 and IDT-COOH is in favour of rapid charge transfer, which leads to enhanced photocatalytic performance. This work offers a feasible method to fabricate TiO2-based photocatalytic agents with a wide visible light response and improved exciton dissociation.

Sustainable Environmental-Based ZnO Nanoparticles Derived from Pisonia grandis for Future Biological and Environmental Applications

The bio-synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Pisonia grandis is discussed in this work as an effective ecologically beneficial and straightforward method. This strategy intends to increase ZnO nanoparticle usage in the biomedical and environmental sectors, while reducing the particle of hazardous chemicals in nanoparticle synthesis. In the current study, bio-augmented zinc oxide nanomaterials (ZnO-NPs) were fabricated from Pisonia grandis aqueous leaf extracts. Different methods were used to analyze the ZnO-nanoparticles including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transforms Infrared (FT-IR), Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) with EDX. The synthesized nanoparticles as spheres were verified by FE-SEM analysis; XRD measurements showed that the particle flakes had an average size of 30.32 nm and were very pure. FT-IR analysis was used to validate the functional moieties in charge of capping and stabilizing ZnO nanoparticles. The antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and photodegradation properties of synthesized nanoparticles were assessed using well diffusion, MTT, and UV visible irradiation techniques. The bio-fabricated nanoparticles were proven to be outstanding cytotoxic and antimicrobial nanomaterials. As a result of the employment of biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles as photocatalytic agents, 89.2% of the methylene blue dye was degraded in 140 min. ZnO nanoparticles produced from P. grandis can serve as promising substrates in biomedicine and applications of environmental relevance due to their eco-friendliness, nontoxic behavior, and cytocompatibility.

Cyanine-Functionalized 2,2'-Bipyridine Compounds for Photocatalytic Cancer Therapy.

Recently, interest has been given to developing photocatalytic anticancer drugs. This area of research is dominated by metal complexes. Here, we report the potential of lysosome/mitochondria targeting cyanine appended bipyridine compounds as the organic photocatalytic anticancer agents. The organocatalyst (bpyPCN) not only exhibits light-induced NADH oxidation but also generates intracellular ROS to demonstrate anticancer activity. This is the first example of organic compound induced catalytic NADH photo-oxidation in an aqueous solution and in cancer cells.

Photothermocatalytic sterilization performance and mechanism of pure Nb2CTx MXenes nanosheets under infrared light irradiation

Rapid and efficient killings of bacteria are critically required due to the emergence and growth of antimicrobial resistance. In this paper, Nb2CTx was used for sterilization experiments against Staphylococcus aureus under infrared light irradiation. The results showed that 1.0 mg/mL of Nb2CTx had the best sterilization effect, and the inactivation rate was 99.72% within 80 min of infrared light irradiation. The analysis of the sterilization mechanism illustrated that the photothermal synergy sterilization of Nb2CTx mainly depends on physical contact, the generation of reactive oxygen species, and the photothermal synergy effect. More importantly, Nb2CTx still has good bactericidal ability after four testing cycles due to its high stability. The excellent properties of Nb2CTx suggest them as promising photocatalytic antibacterial agents.

Behavior of Silica Nanoparticles Synthesized from Rice Husk Ash by the Sol-Gel Method as a Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Agent.

Silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) are one of the most well-studied inorganic nanoparticles for many applications. They offer the advantages of tunable size, biocompatibility, porous structure, and larger surface area. Thus, in this study, a high yield of SiO2 NPs was produced via the chemical treatment of rice husk ash by the sol-gel method. Characteristics of the prepared SiO2 NPs were validated using different characterization techniques. Accordingly, the phase, chemical composition, morphological, and spectroscopic properties of the prepared sample were studied. The average particle size of the SiO2 NPs was found to be approximately 60-80 nm and the surface area was 78.52 m²/g. The prepared SiO2 NPs were examined as photocatalysts for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye under UV irradiation. It was found that the intensity of the characteristic absorption band of MO decreased gradually with exposure time increasing, which means the successful photodegradation of MO by SiO2 NPs. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of obtained SiO2 NPs was investigated by counting the coliform bacteria in the surface water using the most probable number (MPN) index method. The results revealed that the MPN of coliform bacteria untreated and treated by SiO2 NPs was estimated to be 170 CFU/100 mL and 10 CFU/100 mL, respectively, resulting in bacterial growth inhibition of 94.12%.

Green synthesized ZnO-Fe2O3-Co3O4 nanocomposite for antioxidant, microbial disinfection and degradation of pollutants from wastewater

Microbial resistance, industrial and agricultural wastes are the major concerning problems of today's world. Herein is a highly efficient incubated ZnO–Fe2O3–Co3O4 nanocomposite derived from Cordia myxa through a green chemistry approach. UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis) was confirmed the peak on 508 and 387 with the energy bandgap of 2.2eV for I-NC. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) revealed the diffraction pattern of incubated nanocomposites (I-NC) that ZnO showed hexagonal, while Co3O4 and Fe2O3 showed cubic structure. SEM analyses show the patterns comprising the crystal morphology of flower-ZnO, agglomerated Fe2O3 spongy rhombohedral Co3O4. The results of antibacterial activity show that the I-NC have a greater value of zone of inhibition (ZOI) against bacterial strains than NC, with the highest percentage in this trend P-aeruginosa94%>S-aureus91%>K-pneumonia89%>E-coli87%>P-vulgaris81%. The photocatalytic activity data showed that the Methylene Blue, Methyl Orange, Rhodamine-B, P-Nitroaniline, and Cresol Red dyes were degraded in the presence of I-NC catalysts after sunlight irradiation. The degradation efficiencies of I-NC show the trend Methylene Blue (99.98%) > P-Nitroaniline (99.97%) > Rhodamine-B (99.86%) > Cresol Red (99.80%) > Methyl Orange (99.6%). This study reported that the use of the Cordia myxa for the formulation of incubated nanocomposite could be employed as a novel antibacterial agent to inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm formation and photocatalytic agent.

Green synthesis of Cordia myxa incubated ZnO, Fe2O3, and Co3O4 nanoparticle: Characterization, and their response as biological and photocatalytic agent

• Cordia myxa based incubated incubated I-ZnO, I-Co 3 O 4 , and I-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were synthesized. • I-ZnO, I-Co 3 O 4 , and I-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were characterized via UV–Vis, XRD and FTIR. • I-ZnO, I-Co 3 O 4 , and I-Fe 2 O 3 NPs showed antibacterial and antioxidant activity. • Enhanced Photocatalytic activity of I-ZnO, I-Co 3 O 4 , and I-Fe 2 O 3 NPs against 5 different dyes. The imperative necessity for new therapy and catalysts has risen significantly due to infectious agents that are multi-resistant and organic toxins draining into our ecosystem. To address these problems, highly biocompatible Cordia myxa incubated I-ZnO, I-Co 3 O 4 , and I-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were prepared and characterized by using a variety of techniques, including ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD diffraction pattern confirmed that I-ZnO hexagonal, while I-Co 3 O 4 and I-Fe 2 O 3 cubic structure. UV–vis spectra show the energy bandgap for I-ZnO, I-Fe 2 O 3 , and I-Co 3 O 4 3.35 eV, 2.32 eV, and 2.44 eV, respectively. TEM analyses show the patterns of the morphology of I-ZnO as flower-shaped, I-Fe 2 O 3 as rectangular, I-Co 3 O 4 looks like prism crystals. EDX mapping confirmed the elemental presence of Zn, Fe, Co in the samples. The antibacterial study show that the I-NPs have bigger zone of inhibition (ZOI) than pristine NPs. The highest percentage for E-coli strain obtained in this trend (I- Fe 2 O 3 ) 81% >(I-ZnO) 76% >(I-Co 3 O 4 ) 63% . Photocatalytic activity results revealed that the MB dye degraded after 80 min and efficiencies of I-(Fe 2 O 3 ) 98.38 % >I-ZnO 98.12% >(I-Co 3 O 4 ) 93.93% . Furthermore, the green synthesis strategy certifies a new pathway for minimizing infections, oxidative stress, and degradation of key pollutants from the environment.

ZnO Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Methyl Orange Degradation: Hydrothermal Synthesis, Characterization, and Optimization

This study investigates the production of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) utilizing an efficient and surfactant-free hydrothermal method for use as a photocatalytic agent in the purification of organic polluted water. The structural features, optical properties and photocatalytic performance of ZnO NPs have been investigated. XRD, SEM, HR-TEM, FTIR and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy were used as analytical and characterization techniques. The ZnO NPs prepared with hexagonal structure and interesting applied properties was obtained by adjusting the processing time at a low treatment temperature of 75 °C. The crystallite size and energy band gap are reaction time-dependent, which in turn affects the photocatalytic performance. ZnO NPs under UV irradiation show an efficiency of 93% in the photocatalytic decomposition of methyl orange (MO) dye. The value of ZnO NPs bandgap (3.38 eV) is suitable for allowing UV light absorption and rapid generation of charge carriers; creating photooxidation reactions for decomposing the organic dye.

Multifunctional iron oxide nanoparticles using Carica papaya fruit extract as antibacterial, antioxidant and photocatalytic agent to remove industrial dyes

• C. papaya fruit extract-based Fe 2 O 3 NPs were synthesized and characterized. • Fe 2 O 3 NPs have shown significant antibacterial effects on Gram-negative bacteria. • Fe 2 O 3 NPs have shown H 2 O 2 radical scavenging activity. • Fe 2 O 3 NPs efficiently degraded the toxic methyl orange (MO) dye. In this work, C. papaya fruit extract coated Fe 2 O 3 NPs were green synthesized and bio-physically characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. In UV–vis spectroscopy, the absorbance spectra of Fe 2 O 3 NPs were recorded at 300–700 nm. A strong absorbance peak was noticed at 346 nm. XRD was employed to determine the crystalline form of NPs using powdered X-ray diffractometer. XRD reflected the pure crystalline form of NPs and the crystallite size measured 7.8 nm. The presence of various functional chemical groups in the reduction process was observed by FTIR spectroscopy from 4000 to 400 cm −1 . SEM and EDX of Fe 2 O 3 NPs were performed using Hitachi S-4500 (Germany). SEM analysis revealed the presence of agglomerated NPs. The mean size of Fe 2 O 3 NPs was 23.7 nm. The presence of elemental Fe was 51.06 % and O was 28.97 % as recorded in EDX analysis. The antibacterial effects of Fe 2 O 3 NPs were evaluated against Gram-positive ( B. subtilis and S. pyogenes ) and Gram-negative ( P. aeruginosa and E. coli ) bacteria by agar well diffusion method. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was used as negative control while tetracycline was used as positive control. Fe 2 O 3 NPs have significantly inhibited Gram-negative bacteria. The inhibition of E. coli was 20.2 mm at 100 μg mL −1 . The inhibition was 17.5 mm at 100 μg mL −1 for P. aeruginosa . Fe 2 O 3 NPs exhibited radical scavenging activity against hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). The percentage scavenging of H 2 O 2 was enhanced to 90 % at 100 μg mL −1 . Moreover, the as synthesized Fe 2 O 3 NPs at 1 mM concentration efficiently degraded methyl orange (MO) dye and was noticed by the reduction in the absorbance peak at 375 nm within 4 h of reaction compared to 0.5 mM Fe 2 O 3 NPs. The results suggested that the synthesized Fe 2 O 3 NPs could be used to treat microbial infections and oxidative damage. Further, Fe 2 O 3 NPs may be used as a better biocatalyst for the removal of harmful industrial dyes from the environment.

Electrospun composite nanofibers as novel high-performance and visible-light photocatalysts for removal of environmental pollutants: A review

Environmental pollution caused by industries and human manipulations is coming a serious global challenge. On the other hand, the world is facing an energy crisis caused by population growth. Designing solar-driven photocatalysts which are inspired by the photosynthesis of plant leaves is a fantastic solution to use solar energy as green, available, and unlimited energy containing ∼50% visible light for the removal of environmental pollutants. The polymeric and non-polymeric-based electrospun composite nanofibers (NFs) are as innovative photocatalytic candidates which increase photocatalytic activity and transition from UV light to visible light and overcome the aggregation, photocorrosion, toxicity, and hard recycling and separation of the nanosized powder form of photocatalysts. The composite NFs are fabricated easily by either embedding the photocatalytic agents into the NFs during electrospinning or via their decorating on the surface of NFs post-electrospinning. Polyacrylonitrile-based, tungsten trioxide-based, zinc oxide-based, and titanium dioxide-based composite NFs were revealed as the most reported composite NFs. All the lately investigated electrospun composite NFs indicated long-term stability, high photocatalytic efficiency (∼> 80%) within a short time of light radiation (10–430 min), and high stability after several cycles of use. They were applied in various applications including degradation of dyes/antibiotics, water splitting, wastewater treatment, antibacterial usage, etc. The photogenerated species especially holes, O2∙−, and .OH were mostly responsible for the photocatalytic mechanism and pathway. The electrospun composite NFs have the potential to use in large-scale productions in condition that their thickness and recycling conditions are optimized, and their toxicity and detaching are resolved.

Microwave‐Assisted Synthesis of Cobalt‐Doped Rutile/Ilmenite Derived from Natural Sands as Visible‐Light‐Active Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial Agents

Herein, we report cobalt doped TiO2 nanohybrids which were prepared by a novel and greener, microwave assisted synthetic approach. Furthermore, we have validated action of cobalt doped TiO2 as a promising photocatalytic/ antimicrobial agent under visible light irradiation.