The increasing contamination of global water and wastewater by thousands of emerging micropollutants is one contemporary environmental problem faced today. Typically, industrial chemicals and human waste products (such as plastics) are released into the surrounding soil, water, and air, causing acute or chronic toxic effects on living organisms. Over time, they may even alter the ecosystem. Monitoring and controlling the released hazardous substances caused by human activities, and a move towards more environmentally friendly approaches, is extremely needed. In addition, efficient and cost-effective techniques for pollutants remediation must be developed. Amongst these, advanced oxidation technologies are widely used, while photocatalysis has attracted widespread attention as a green advanced oxidation technology. Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation has been proven to be more efficient than photocatalytic oxidation by driving the photogenerated electrons to a counter electrode via an external bias potential. In addition, photocatalytic-Fenton reaction and synergistic photocatalytic-persulfate oxidation technology have also been widely reported in recent years.
Numerous nanomaterials and nanocomposites have been adopted as advanced catalytic nanomaterials for the above techniques, such as metal oxides, metal sulfides and metal-organic frameworks (MOF). The design and development of advanced catalytic nanomaterials can speed up the application of advanced oxidation technologies, which has become a hot topic in the environmental field. For the rational design of advanced catalytic nanomaterials, it is necessary to understand the relationship between the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials and their catalytic activity as well as the fundamentals in environmental remediation. Nanocomposites can achieve higher catalytic efficiencies than their separate constituents if judiciously combined, thanks to synergistic effects between them and/or improved stability and higher surface area. More studies are however needed to better understand the interactions between constituents so that the resulting composite can sustain its catalytic activity for long lengths of time in the harsh conditions of actual samples.
The aim of this Research Topic is to provide some new findings in advanced catalytic nanomaterials for environmental remediation and give valuable inspiration and insight for researchers working in this field. The format of welcomed articles includes original research articles, perspectives, and reviews. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1. Design, synthesis and evaluation of advanced nanomaterials and nanocomposites for photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic pollutants degradation in water, air and soil matrices.
2. Nanomaterials for advanced oxidation treatment of pollutants
3. Photocatalytic-Fenton oxidation technology for pollutants degradation
4. Studies dealing with synergistic effects of photocatalytic-persulfate oxidation technology.
5. Mechanistic and theoretical studies dealing with the above techniques
Keywords:
Nanomaterials, photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, advanced oxidation processes, wastewater, environmental remediation
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
The increasing contamination of global water and wastewater by thousands of emerging micropollutants is one contemporary environmental problem faced today. Typically, industrial chemicals and human waste products (such as plastics) are released into the surrounding soil, water, and air, causing acute or chronic toxic effects on living organisms. Over time, they may even alter the ecosystem. Monitoring and controlling the released hazardous substances caused by human activities, and a move towards more environmentally friendly approaches, is extremely needed. In addition, efficient and cost-effective techniques for pollutants remediation must be developed. Amongst these, advanced oxidation technologies are widely used, while photocatalysis has attracted widespread attention as a green advanced oxidation technology. Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation has been proven to be more efficient than photocatalytic oxidation by driving the photogenerated electrons to a counter electrode via an external bias potential. In addition, photocatalytic-Fenton reaction and synergistic photocatalytic-persulfate oxidation technology have also been widely reported in recent years.
Numerous nanomaterials and nanocomposites have been adopted as advanced catalytic nanomaterials for the above techniques, such as metal oxides, metal sulfides and metal-organic frameworks (MOF). The design and development of advanced catalytic nanomaterials can speed up the application of advanced oxidation technologies, which has become a hot topic in the environmental field. For the rational design of advanced catalytic nanomaterials, it is necessary to understand the relationship between the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials and their catalytic activity as well as the fundamentals in environmental remediation. Nanocomposites can achieve higher catalytic efficiencies than their separate constituents if judiciously combined, thanks to synergistic effects between them and/or improved stability and higher surface area. More studies are however needed to better understand the interactions between constituents so that the resulting composite can sustain its catalytic activity for long lengths of time in the harsh conditions of actual samples.
The aim of this Research Topic is to provide some new findings in advanced catalytic nanomaterials for environmental remediation and give valuable inspiration and insight for researchers working in this field. The format of welcomed articles includes original research articles, perspectives, and reviews. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1. Design, synthesis and evaluation of advanced nanomaterials and nanocomposites for photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic pollutants degradation in water, air and soil matrices.
2. Nanomaterials for advanced oxidation treatment of pollutants
3. Photocatalytic-Fenton oxidation technology for pollutants degradation
4. Studies dealing with synergistic effects of photocatalytic-persulfate oxidation technology.
5. Mechanistic and theoretical studies dealing with the above techniques
Keywords:
Nanomaterials, photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, advanced oxidation processes, wastewater, environmental remediation
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.