About this Research Topic
Air pollutants have caused severe problems in urban areas, specifically in terms of toxicological impacts on human health. It was reported that many hazardous air pollutants derived from the burning of fuels potentially caused chronic respiratory and pulmonary diseases as well as cardiopulmonary and lung cancers. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop an effective, safe, and inexpensive technique to remove as wide a range of air pollutants as possible. Photocatalysis has proven to be one of the most promising and viable technology for purification of air pollutants including nitrogen oxides NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which shows unique advantages, such as simplicity, flexibility, and low-cost. Design and synthesis of highly efficient photocatalysts are the crucial issues for the practical application of photocatalytic air purification.
In recent years, some representative photocatalysts, such as TiO2-, WO3-, Bi-, CN-, Ag- based photocatalysts, were used to removal of NOx and VOCs for air purification and achieved remarkable progress such as increasing optical absorption and charge generation to enhance the photocatalytic activity, and increased understanding of mechanisms and reactions. However, the efficiencies of these photocatalysts remain relatively low and most of the initial concentration of air pollutants is set at the ppb level, which limits their practical applications. Therefore, it is urgent to engage in the development of design strategies on the electronic level and novel synthetic strategies for more efficient photocatalysts for air purification, such as morphological design, constructing heterojunction, surface modification, and so on. Furthermore, the charge carrier transfer mechanism and photocatalytic reaction kinetics for the removal of air pollutants should be investigated deeply. In addition, it is encouraged to investigate the photocatalyst deactivation mechanisms and develop strategies for designing deactivation-resistant photocatalyst for practical air purification.
We welcome submissions of Original Research, Review, Minireview and Perspective articles, in themes including, but not limited to:
• Design strategies for more efficient photocatalysts for air purification
• Novel synthetic methods of photocatalysts for air purification
• Further development of novel photocatalysts for air purification
• Deep Investigation of the kinetics and reaction mechanisms of photocatalytic oxidation/reduction for removal of gaseous pollutants
• Development of deactivation-resistant photocatalyst with long-term durability for practical air purification
In recent years, some representative photocatalysts, such as TiO2-, WO3-, Bi-, CN-, Ag- based photocatalysts, were used to removal of NOx and VOCs for air purification and achieved remarkable progress such as increasing optical absorption and charge generation to enhance the photocatalytic activity, and increased understanding of mechanisms and reactions. However, the efficiencies of these photocatalysts remain relatively low and most of the initial concentration of air pollutants is set at the ppb level, which limits their practical applications. Therefore, it is urgent to engage in the development of design strategies on the electronic level and novel synthetic strategies for more efficient photocatalysts for air purification, such as morphological design, constructing heterojunction, surface modification, and so on. Furthermore, the charge carrier transfer mechanism and photocatalytic reaction kinetics for the removal of air pollutants should be investigated deeply. In addition, it is encouraged to investigate the photocatalyst deactivation mechanisms and develop strategies for designing deactivation-resistant photocatalyst for practical air purification.
We welcome submissions of Original Research, Review, Minireview and Perspective articles, in themes including, but not limited to:
• Design strategies for more efficient photocatalysts for air purification
• Novel synthetic methods of photocatalysts for air purification
• Further development of novel photocatalysts for air purification
• Deep Investigation of the kinetics and reaction mechanisms of photocatalytic oxidation/reduction for removal of gaseous pollutants
• Development of deactivation-resistant photocatalyst with long-term durability for practical air purification
Keywords: Photocatalyst for air purification, Kinetics and reaction mechanisms, Deactivation-resistant photocatalyst, NOx, VOCs
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