Nanocomposites for visible light photocatalysis

Abstract

Water pollution has been regarded as an important concern faced by humans over the past few years owing to speedy increases in population and industrialization. In this context, nanocomposites for visible light-driven photocatalysis re reflected to be a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly technology for eliminating organic contaminants at trace level under natural solar light. This chapter mainly aims to contribute an insight into many modern developments in the active area of nanocomposites for visible light-active photocatalysis. The review of relevant literature reported here looks at indispensable inputs in the development of novel visible light-active nanocomposites from academic and industrial points of view. Most importantly, we discuss the types of nanocomposites, critical conditions for the design of heterostructure, classification of nanocomposites based on dimensions, and various synthetic methods. This chapter mainly focuses on the overview of present progress on the photocatalytic performance of visible light-active nanocomposites for photodegradation of dye pollutants, emerging pollutants, and photocatalytic reduction of heavy metal ions. The general outline for the photocatalytic mechanism is also discussed. In the last part, the current challenges and future prospective of the nanocomposite materials for photocatalytic environmental remediation are highlighted. We believe that this chapter will not only significantly improve understanding of the process of photocatalytic process under visible light, but also provide useful information for those in the scientific community who work in the same field. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.