Photocatalytic Oxidation for Volatile Organic Compounds Elimination: From Fundamental Research to Practical Applications

Abstract

Photocatalysis is regarded as one of the most promising technologies for indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) elimination due to its low cost, safe operation, energy efficiency, and high mineralization efficiency under ambient conditions. However, the practical applications of this technology are limited, despite considerable research efforts in recent decades. Until now, most of the works were carried out in the laboratory and focused on exploring new catalytic materials. Only a few works involved the immobilization of catalysts and the design of reactors for practical applications. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes the research and development on photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of VOCs, with emphasis on recent catalyst's immobilization and reactor designs in detail. First, different types of photocatalytic materials and the mechanisms for PCO of VOCs are briefly discussed. Then, both the catalyst's immobilization techniques and reactor designs are reviewed in detail. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives for PCO of VOCs are proposed. This work aims to provide updated information and research inspirations for the commercialization of this technology in the future.

Photodriven Methane Conversion on Transition Metal Oxide Catalyst: Recent Progress and Prospects

“…Compared with direct combustion, catalytic combustion offers better control over the reaction process and allows for lower reaction temperatures, usually below 1000 °C, resulting in reduced emission of carbon contaminants and nitrogen oxides. [150,151] Given that thermocatalytic methane combustion still requires relatively high temperatures (>400°C), photocatalytic methane combustion as a branch of environmental photocatalysis has emerged as a promising alternative pathway that operates at low temperatures [152,153]…”

Synthesis of new graphene oxide/TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposites and their evaluation as photocatalysts

“…The redox-dependent decomposition of azo dyes offers a fast way to determine the catalytic activity of new catalysts. [66][67][68][69] Pure titanium dioxide absorbs photons only in the UV-range at an absorption maximum of 350 nm. 70 Just like pure titanium dioxide, 545S and 1580S show only photocatalytic activity before and after thermal treatment by irradiation with UV light (see ESI, † Scheme S1).…”

Deep Photocatalytic Oxidation of Aromatic VOCs on ZnSn LDH: Promoting Role of Electron Enrichment of Surface Hydroxyl

“…Photocatalytic performance heavily relies on the formation of reactive oxygen species, where the hydroxyl radical (•OH) and superoxide anion (•O 2 – ) play a major role . Surface hydroxyl (OH) has been proven to effectively promote the generation of reactive oxygen species by enhancing charge separation in previous reports as well as our work. , Various methods have been proposed for regulating OH, such as pulsed laser irradiation, hydrothermal treatment, and solvent-controlled synthesis .…”