ENERGY-EFFICIENT WATER PURIFICATION BY IMPROVING PHOTOCATALYSIS SYSTEM USING HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS.

Renewable and sustainable technology is highly desirable in purification of water due to scarcity and pollution across the world. The photocatalytic process has been identified as a suitable method of water treatment resulting from heterogeneous photocatalysis and the ability of the photocatalyst to break down several organic and inorganic compounds using solar energy. Covers combine heterogeneous photocatalysis with TiO2, ZnO or MOF photocatalysts where the solid photocatalysts are activated using light to generate ROS that oxidise and degrade pollutants. Though, the processes usually have drawbacks including low light capture, high rate of electron-hole recombination, and restricted surface area for catalytic transformation. New developments in these systems are meant to improve the efficiency of these systems through alterations in the structure of the catalyst, doping with metals or non-metals, and integrating of nanomaterials to increase the surface area and light absorption. In addition, controlled synthesis of the visible light responsive catalysts enabled photocatalytic reactions under room light, thus enhancing energy conservation. In this way, these diverse systems can be optimised to lower energy use while attaining faster pollutant degradation rates making the whole process more economical and environmentally friendly. An optimised nanocatalyst, enhanced light use and pollutant elimination collectively indicate the way forward particularly for large scale photocatalytic water purification technologies, thus advancing the quality of water resources and eradicating reliance on conventional energy-intensive purification techniques. The present study aims to show how the future photocatalytic systems can revolutionise water purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]