Environmentally Benign Photocatalysts

Over the past few decades, mankind has observed an unprecedented and remarkable growth in industry, resulting in a more prosperous lifestyle for peoples of many countries. In developing countries, however, explosive industrial growth is just now beginning to raise the living standards of the people. Most industries, especially in these developing countries, are still powered by the burning of fossil fuels; con- quently, a lack of clean energy resources has caused environmental pollution on an unprecedented large and global scale. Toxic wastes have been relentlessly released into the air and water leading to serious and devastating environmental and health problems while endangering the planet and life itself with the effects of global warming. To address these urgent environmental issues, new catalytic and photocatalytic processes as well as open-atmospheric systems are presently being developed that can operate at room temperature while being totally clean and ef?cient and thus environmentally harmonious. Essential to technologies harnessing the abundant solar energy that reaches the earth are the highly functional photocatalytic proce- es that can utilize not only UV light, but also visible light.

Over the past few decades, mankind has observed an unprecedented and remarkable growth in industry, resulting in a more prosperous lifestyle for peoples of many countries. In developing countries, however, explosive industrial growth is just now beginning to raise the living standards of the people. Most industries, especially in these developing countries, are still powered by the burning of fossil fuels; con- quently, a lack of clean energy resources has caused environmental pollution on an unprecedented large and global scale. Toxic wastes have been relentlessly released into the air and water leading to serious and devastating environmental and health problems while endangering the planet and life itself with the effects of global warming. To address these urgent environmental issues, new catalytic and photocatalytic processes as well as open-atmospheric systems are presently being developed that can operate at room temperature while being totally clean and ef?cient and thus environmentally harmonious. Essential to technologies harnessing the abundant solar energy that reaches the earth are the highly functional photocatalytic proce- es that can utilize not only UV light, but also visible light.

Titanium oxide-based catalysts show promise as a stable, non-toxic photofunctional material. This book covers approaches in the design of titanium oxide-based photocatalysts: sol-gel, precipitation, dip-coating, metal implantation and sputtering deposition.

This book explains the basic and fundamental aspects of nanotechnology and the potential use of nanostructured photocatalysts in various applications, especially in the context of the environment and energy harvesting. It describes the preparation and characterization of unique nanostructured photocatalysts and provides details of their catalytic action, and also discusses the design of new types of photocatalysts with controlled nanostructures. Given its broad scope, the book will appeal to academic and industrial researchers interested in heterogeneous photocatalysis, sustainable chemistry, energy conversion and storage, nanotechnology, chemical engineering, environmental protection, optoelectronics, sensors and surface and interface science.

This book presents a large number of organic reactions performed under green conditions, which were earlier performed using anhydrous conditions and various volatile organic solvents. The conditions used involve green solvents like water, super critical carbon dioxide, ionic liquids, polymer-supported reagents, polyethylene glycol and perfluorous liquids. A number of reactions have been conducted in solid state without using any solvent. Most of the reactions have been conducted under microwave irradiations and sonication. In large number of reactions, catalysts like phase transfer catalysts, crown ethers and biocatalysts have been used. Providing the protocols that every laboratory should adopt, this book elaborates the principles of green chemistry and discusses the planning and preparations required to convert to green laboratory techniques. It includes applications relevant to practicing researchers, students and environmental chemists. This book is useful for students (graduate and postgraduate), researchers and industry professionals in the area of chemical engineering, chemistry and allied fields.

This book describes green photocatalysts and their diverse applications in the fields of environmental sciences and energy. It especially takes a closer look at the removal of air and water pollutants, the generation of hydrogen, photo fuel cells, electrophotocatalysts, solar energy conversions, and green biophotocatalysts. Furthermore it also discusses on the role of catalysts along with their chemical reactions, challenges, past developments and directions for further research on photocatalysts. It includes recent developments of quantum dots (QDs) and photocatalytic applications of QDs such as carbon materials like carbon and graphene based QDs, metal, metal sulfide and metal oxide based QDs as well as a detailed review on various types of templates used for the preparation of porous g-C3N4 and its applications in detail. This is done with special reference to dye degradation, reduction of hexavalent Cr, and reduction of CO2 and for the evolution of H2 photocatalytically. This book offers an intriguing and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of catalysis, material sciences, environment and energy.

Nano-Materials as Photocatalysts for Degradation of Environmental Pollutants: Challenges and Possibilities contains both practical and theoretical aspects of environmental management using the processes of photodegradation and various heterogeneous catalysts. The book's main focus is on the degradation of harmful pollutants, such as petrochemicals, crude oils, dyes, xenobiotic pharmaceutical waste, endocrine disrupting compounds, and other common pollutants. Chapters incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects. This book is useful for undergraduate or university students, teachers and researchers, especially those working in areas of photocatalysis through heterogeneous catalysts. The primary audience for this book includes Chemical Engineers, Environmental Engineers and scientists, scholars working on the management of hazardous waste, scientists working in fields of materials science, and Civil Engineers working on wastewater treatment. Reviews recent trends in the photodegradation of organic pollutants Offers a bibliometric analysis of photocatalysis for environmental abatement Includes many degradation mechanisms of organic pollutants using various catalysts Includes examples on the degradation of organic pollutants from various sources, e.g., pharmaceuticals, dyes, pesticides, etc. Discusses the effect of nanocatalysts on soil, plants and the ecosystem

This book highlights sustainable methods with photocatalytic activities to remediate environment and for energy conversion. The related photocatalytic materials are discussed in detail. Some significant photocatalytic applications in degrading industrial pollutants that include different organic dyes, purifying the polluted air, converting CO2 to alcohol fuels, storing energy from sunlight as ammonia by converting N2 to NH3, and splitting water by optimizing the oxygen evolution process are thoroughly elucidated. The chapters introduce the necessary materials and results, leading to a better conceptualization in order to work in the field of photocatalysis. Some related perspectives and outlooks are discussed in the last chapter for possible future developments.