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Advances in Homogeneous/Heterogeneous Photocatalysis to the Degradation of Pollutants in Water

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Photochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 3372

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Isabella Natali Sora

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
Interests: semiconductor photocatalysts; photocatalysis for environmental applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Miray Bekbolet

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
Interests: advanced oxidation processes; photocatalysis, TiO2 and non-TiO2 photocatalytic materials; applications for drinking water, natural organic matter removal, and inactivation of bacteria; photochemical reactions in natural waters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surface water pollution is of increasing concern worldwide due to the significant amount of chemicals present in wastewater as a result of human activities.

The safe and universal provision of water is critical as the demand for water increases with the growing population. Effective removal of pollutants as well as pathogenic microorganisms holds prime importance in solving water scarcity problems. To achieve this goal, besides conventional treatment methods, the application of homogeneous/heterogeneous photocatalysis deserves to be investigated.

For large-scale applications, current photocatalytic water treatment systems are less attractive than other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), such as UV/H2O2, O3/H2O2 and UV/O3 technologies, as well as photo-Fenton/Fenton-like processes, because they are more time-consuming and have higher costs. However, for water treatment in selected niche applications, photocatalysis still retains substantial and unique advantages. For example, photocatalysis allows not only oxidation, but also reduction, offering relatively untapped opportunities to reductively remove oxyanions, such as nitrate and chromate, and redox-active metal ions. The reduction of oxygen to H2O2 using selected photocatalysts, such as graphitic carbon nitride, may also represent a useful approach to producing AOP precursors in situ.

Through selective and non-selective degradation mechanisms, the applied system could possibly lead to the formation of innocuous products, thereby eliminating further secondary pollution problems. Recent advances in multifunctional nanomaterials, as effective tools, could also significantly contribute to pollutant abatement goals.

Prof. Dr. Isabella Natali Sora
Prof. Dr. Miray Bekbolet
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • advanced oxidation processes
  • heterogeneous photocatalysis
  • homogeneous photocatalysis
  • water and wastewater treatment
  • pollutant abatement
  • microorganism inactivation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 7523 KiB  
Article
Photocatalytic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Antibacterial Ultrafiltration Membranes for Biofouling Control
by Ralfs Vevers, Akshay Kulkarni, Alissa Seifert, Kathrin Pöschel, Kornelia Schlenstedt, Jochen Meier-Haack and Linda Mezule
Molecules 2024, 29(6), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29061274 - 13 Mar 2024
Viewed by 648
Abstract
Global water scarcity is a threat that can be alleviated through membrane filtration technologies. However, the widespread adoption of membranes faces significant challenges, primarily due to membrane biofouling. This is the reason why membrane modifications have been under increasing investigation to address the [...] Read more.
Global water scarcity is a threat that can be alleviated through membrane filtration technologies. However, the widespread adoption of membranes faces significant challenges, primarily due to membrane biofouling. This is the reason why membrane modifications have been under increasing investigation to address the fouling issues. Antibacterial membranes, designed to combat biofouling by eliminating microorganisms, offer a promising solution. Within this study, flat sheet ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with integrated photocatalytic zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were developed, characterized, and assessed through filtration and fouling tests. The antibacterial properties of the membranes were conducted in static tests using Gram-negative bacteria—Escherichia coli—and natural tap water biofilm. The results demonstrated a notable enhancement in membrane surface wettability and fouling resistance. Furthermore, the incorporation of ZnO resulted in substantial photocatalytic antibacterial activity, inactivating over 99.9% of cultivable E. coli. The antibacterial activity persisted even in the absence of light. At the same time, the persistence of natural tap water organisms in biofilms of modified membranes necessitates further in-depth research on complex biofilm interactions with such membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Homogeneous/Heterogeneous Photocatalysis to the Degradation of Pollutants in Water)
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13 pages, 6272 KiB  
Article
CNTs/Fe-BTC Composite Materials for the CO2-Photocatalytic Reduction to Clean Fuels: Batch and Continuous System
by Elizabeth Rojas García, Gloria Pérez-Soreque, Ricardo López Medina, Fernando Rubio-Marcos and Ana M. Maubert-Franco
Molecules 2023, 28(12), 4738; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28124738 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1169
Abstract
CNTs/Fe-BTC composite materials were synthesized with the one-step solvothermal method. MWCNTs and SWCNTs were incorporated in situ during synthesis. The composite materials were characterized by different analytical techniques and used in the CO2-photocatalytic reduction to value-added products and clean fuels. In [...] Read more.
CNTs/Fe-BTC composite materials were synthesized with the one-step solvothermal method. MWCNTs and SWCNTs were incorporated in situ during synthesis. The composite materials were characterized by different analytical techniques and used in the CO2-photocatalytic reduction to value-added products and clean fuels. In the incorporation of CNTs into Fe-BTC, better physical–chemical and optical properties were observed compared to Fe-BTC pristine. SEM images showed that CNTs were incorporated into the porous structure of Fe-BTC, indicating the synergy between them. Fe-BTC pristine showed to be selective to ethanol and methanol; although, it was more selective to ethanol. However, the incorporation of small amounts of CNTs into Fe-BTC not only showed higher production rates but changes in the selectivity compared with the Fe-BTC pristine were also observed. It is important to mention that the incorporation of CNTs into MOF Fe-BTC allowed for increasing the mobility of electrons, decreasing the recombination of charge carriers (electron/hole), and increasing the photocatalytic activity. In both reaction systems (batch and continuous), composite materials showed to be selective towards methanol and ethanol; however, in the continuous system, lower production rates were observed due to the decrease in the residence time compared to the batch system. Therefore, these composite materials are very promising systems to convert CO2 to clean fuels that could replace fossil fuels soon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Homogeneous/Heterogeneous Photocatalysis to the Degradation of Pollutants in Water)
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13 pages, 7765 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Ten Metal-Doped LaFeO3 Samples on Photocatalytic Degradation of Antibiotics in Water under Visible Light: Role of Surface Area and Aqueous Phosphate Ions
by Isabella Bolognino, Renato Pelosato, Giuseppe Marcì and Isabella Natali Sora
Molecules 2023, 28(9), 3807; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28093807 - 29 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1114
Abstract
Doping semiconducting oxides, such as LaFeO3 (LF), with metallic elements is a good strategy to improve the performance of photocatalysts. In this study, LF and ten different nanopowders metal-doped at the La or Fe site of LaFeO3 were evaluated in the [...] Read more.
Doping semiconducting oxides, such as LaFeO3 (LF), with metallic elements is a good strategy to improve the performance of photocatalysts. In this study, LF and ten different nanopowders metal-doped at the La or Fe site of LaFeO3 were evaluated in the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CP) and oxytetracycline (OTC). The following metals were used in the doping (mol%) process of LF: Pd 3% and 5%; Cu 10%; Mg 5%, 10%, and 20%; Ga 10%; Y 10% and 20%; and Sr 20%. The doped samples were synthetized using a citrate auto-combustion technique. From the X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, only a single crystalline phase, namely an orthorhombic perovskite structure, was observed except for trace amounts of PdO in the sample with Pd 5%. The specific surface area (SSA) ranged from 9 m2 g−1 (Ga 10%) to 20 m2 g−1 (Mg 20%). SEM images show that all samples were constituted from agglomerates of particles whose sizes ranged from ca. 20 nm (Mg 20%) to ca. 100 nm (Pd 5%). Dilute aqueous solutions (5 × 10−6 M) prepared for both CP and OTC were irradiated for 240 min under visible-light and in the presence of H2O2 (10−2 M). The results indicate a 78% removal of OTC with Cu 10% doped LF in a phosphate buffer (pH = 5.0). The degradation of CP is affected by pH and phosphate ions, with 78% (in unbuffered solution) and 54% (in phosphate buffer, pH = 5.0) removal achieved with Mg 10% doped LF. The reactions follow a pseudo-first order kinetic. Overall, this study is expected to deepen the assessment of photocatalytic activity by using substrates with different absorption capacities on photocatalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Homogeneous/Heterogeneous Photocatalysis to the Degradation of Pollutants in Water)
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