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Heterojunction photocatalysts for the removal of nitrophenol: A systematic review
Akash Balakrishnan1, Ghanghor Jayant Gaware1, Mahendra Chinthala1
1Process Intensification Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, 769008, India.
Abstract:
Nitrophenols are the most widely used raw materials in the chemical, pesticide, and pharmaceutical industries. Due to improper waste management and excessive usage, nitrophenol is listed as a priority pollutant and garnered global research attention. This review highlights the recent progress on heterojunction photocatalysts toward eliminating nitrophenols. The detailed mechanisms of the electron-hole pair separation using different heterojunctions such as traditional, p-n, Z-scheme, S-scheme, and Schottky heterojunctions are elaborated. The performance of the photocatalysts is evaluated using quantum efficiency. Among the heterojunctions, Z-scheme exhibited maximum removal efficiency of 100% and found superior over other heterojunctions. Even though heterojunctions exhibit good efficiency, the reusability of the heterojunction photocatalyst is not reported beyond 5 cycles. Further research is indeed to develop a highly reusable photocatalyst for environmental remediation.
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