Obtaining clean and high-quality water free of pathogenic microorganisms is a worldwide challenge. Various techniques have been investigated for achieving an effective removal or inactivation of these pathogenic microorganisms. One of those promising techniques is photocatalysis. In recent years, photocatalytic processes used semiconductors as photocatalysts. They were widely studied as a green and safe technology for water disinfection due to their high efficiency, being non-toxic and inexpensive, and their ability to disinfect a wide range of microorganisms under UV or visible light. In this review, we summarized the inactivation mechanisms of different waterborne pathogenic microorganisms by semiconductor photocatalysts. However, the photocatalytic efficiency of semiconductors photocatalysts, especially titanium dioxide, under visible light is limited and hence needs further improvements. Several strategies have been studied to improve their efficiencies which are briefly discussed in this review. With the developing of nanotechnology, doping with nanomaterials can increase and promote the semiconductor’s photocatalytic efficiency, which can enhance the deactivation or damage of a large number of waterborne pathogenic microorganisms. Here, we present an overview of antimicrobial effects for a wide range of nano-photocatalysts, including titanium dioxide-based, other metal-containing, and metal-free photocatalysts. Promising future directions and challenges for materials research in photocatalytic water disinfection are also concluded in this review.

Irradiation of a series of aromatic epoxides and CO2 in presence of TiO2, TiO2/MWCNT, Pt//TiO2/MWCNT and Pd/TiO2/MWCNT photocatalysts was investigated with visible light- induced cycloaddition reaction for the production of...

Industrialisation has deepened the water crisis in arid climates, where wastewater runoff from heavy industry has polluted groundwater sources so heavily that traditional methods of water treatment have proven ineffective....

Methyl methacrylate/2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate/maleic anhydride terpolymer with various compositions was synthesized, characterized and investigated as a photostabilizer for rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The chemical structure of the terpolymer MMA/HEMA/MA, was confirmed by ultraviolet–visible and FTIR, spectroscopy. The molecular weights of the terpolymer were determined by applying gel permeation chromatography. The stabilizing efficiency of the terpolymer was evaluated by the determination of the weight loss of PVC/terpolymer blends after various irradiation times. The content of the formed gel as well as the intrinsic viscosity of the soluble fraction of the photodegraded polymer were also determined. The efficiency was also evaluated by measuring the extent of the discoloration of the photodegraded polymer. Thermal gravimetric analysis of the terpolymer and PVC/terpolymer blend were measured. Moreover, physicomechanical properties of photodegraded stabilized PVC samples were as well measured. The results revealed that the photostabilizing efficiency as well as thermal stability increased in the presence of the terpolymer as blended with PVC and by the increase of maleic anhydride ratio in the terpolymer. The photostabilizing efficiencies were compared with the industrially known UV absorber 2‐hydroxy‐4‐(octyloxy) phenylbenzophenone. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 25:E55–E62, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Exploring new and efficient adsorbents for the purification of water from heavy metals and organic waste to provide clean drinking water is highly demanded. Herein, the synthesis of polymeric materials based on grafting chitosan (Cs) by various acrylic monomers as acrylic acid (AA), 2‐acrylamide‐2‐methyl propane sulfonic acid (AMPS), and acrylamide (Am) namely S1, S2, or S3, respectively, using methylene bisacrylamide (NMBAm) as crosslinker was performed. The formed polymeric compound was characterized by utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. It was determined that S2 possessed a higher specific surface area of 109.133 m2/g, which is higher than S1 (71.2553 m2/g) and S3 (62.8847 m2/g). The as‐prepared polymeric compounds were utilized for the removal of copper ions (Cu2+) and methylene blue (MB) from wastewater in the absence and presence of UV light irradiation. The kinetic study and the adsorption isotherms for the removal of Cu2+ and MB as organic pollutants using the as‐prepared polymeric compound were studied.