Ecofriendly nanomaterials for sustainable photocatalytic decontamination of organics and bacteria

Charanpahari, A and Gupta, N and Devthade, V and Ghugal, S and Bhatt, J (2019) Ecofriendly nanomaterials for sustainable photocatalytic decontamination of organics and bacteria. [Book Chapter]

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Abstract

Rampant pollution of water/air due to hazardous industrial effluents and harmful bacteria has overwhelmingly threatened the very existence and well-being of ecosystem and mankind. According to 2017 survey by the World Health Organization (WHO), 844 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Water contamination occurs mainly due to discharge of improper or untreated wastewater dislodged into natural water reservoirs expedited by urbanization and industrial development. Such circumstances have sparked a need to develop cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies for environment remediation. Photocatalysis serves as a panacea to utilize green, omnipresent, and inexhaustible solar irradiation to facilitate redox reactions for decontamination of various pollutants. The chapter commences with background to the environmental problems faced by mankind, followed by working principle of photocatalysis and state-of-the-art progress in development of photocatalytic materials. The key challenge lies in designing materials with ability to harvest entire spectrum of solar irradiation (5 UV, 47 visible, and 47 infrared) to fullest efficiency. Hence, the attention of researchers has shifted from UV-responsive materials to alternative visible light-active materials. To complement these efforts, strategies such as band gap engineering, heterojunction fabrication, induction of electric field, tuning defects, and morphology modification are adopted. Nevertheless, green synthesis of highly efficient photocatalysts and their recyclability still remains a challenge. Hence, dedicated efforts toward alternative ecofriendly materials were made. A concise introduction to a broad range of newer carbon-based materials like carbon quantum dots, graphene and graphene oxide, graphitic carbon nitride, and photocatalysts with induced magnetism is offered. It also gives account of degradation mechanisms, fate of pollutants, their toxicity and utilization for bacterial disinfection. The recent trends in exploring and designing of nanomaterials and their wider ramifications toward pollution abatement are elucidated.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Publication:	Handbook of Ecomaterials
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Springer International Publishing.
Keywords:	Bacteria; Binary alloys; Carbon nitride; Cost effectiveness; Decontamination; Degradation; Effluents; Electric fields; Energy efficiency; Energy gap; Environmental protection; Graphene; Heterojunctions; Irradiation; Nanostructured materials; Photocatalysis; Potable water; Redox reactions; Reservoirs (water); Semiconductor quantum dots; Sewage; Solar radiation; Water treatment, Carbon based materials; Eco-friendly materials; Energy efficient technology; Environmental problems; Graphitic carbon nitrides; Photocatalytic decontaminations; Photocatalytic materials; World Health Organization, Water pollution
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	29 Nov 2022 06:11
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2022 06:11
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/78052

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