review · Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
Zinc oxide nanoparticles offer significant potential as sustainable photocatalysts to address environmental pollution, particularly for breaking down organic contaminants and converting carbon dioxide. Environmentally friendly synthesis routes allow the production of functionalised zinc oxide nanoparticles without hazardous chemicals. To improve their catalytic performance, researchers employ modification strategies such as combining zinc oxide with secondary metals, carbon-based materials, and advanced organic polymers. These modified materials show enhanced efficacy in degrading persistent contaminants, including industrial dyes, pharmaceuticals, phenolic compounds, pesticides, herbicides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Understanding the underlying degradation mechanisms and catalytic factors is essential to advance these materials. While zinc oxide photocatalysts present strong opportunities for pollution remediation and carbon conversion, addressing implementation challenges and optimising performance remains necessary for wider practical deployment.
Industrial pollution and rising greenhouse gas emissions demand scalable, sustainable remediation technologies. Zinc oxide nanoparticles produced through eco-friendly methods can clean contaminated water by destroying hazardous pollutants like pesticides and persistent chemicals while concurrently converting carbon dioxide. Understanding how to enhance these photocatalytic processes helps guide the development of cleaner technologies for environmental decontamination and industrial emissions management.
The reviewed approaches point toward applications in industrial wastewater treatment, pollution remediation, and carbon capture. Potential adopters include municipal water utilities, environmental engineering firms, and industrial operators treating chemical effluents. The underlying technology appears to be at an early stage of development, as the review notes that key practical implementation challenges and performance optimization hurdles must still be resolved before real-world deployment can occur.
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• Applications of ZnO in both the degradation of organic pollutants and CO 2 conversion. • Eco-friendly methods for producing ZnO nanoparticles. • Various techniques to enhance catalytic performance of ZnO-based materials. • Underlying mechanisms of catalytic activity of ZnO in the studied processes. • Challenges and prospective of using ZnO-based materials in the future. Photocatalysis has emerged as a promising technology to tackle the escalating environmental pollution. Zinc oxide (ZnO), by the virtue of its excellent properties, offers immense potential for simultaneous CO 2 conversion and organic pollutant degradation. The current review comprehensively scrutinizes the green synthesis routes, modifications, and catalytic applications of ZnO nanoparticles for addressing critical environmental challenges. The review explores various green synthesis methods, emphasizing their eco-friendly nature and potential for imparting specific functionalities to the nanoparticles. Subsequently, it explores a wide range of modification strategies, including bimetallic combinations, integration with carbon-based materials, and hybridization with advanced organic polymers, to enhance the catalytic performance of ZnO. The catalytic efficacy of both pristine and modified ZnO nanoparticles in CO 2 conversion is evaluated, along with their in-depth analysis of the underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, the review extensively covers the exploitation of ZnO-based photocatalysts for the decomposition of diverse organic contaminants, like dyes, pharmaceuticals, phenolic compounds, pesticides, herbicides, PAHs, and PFAS. The mechanisms involved in these degradation processes are elucidated, providing insights into the factors influencing photocatalyst efficiency. This review concludes by highlighting the promising prospects of ZnO nanoparticles as sustainable photocatalysts for environmental remediation and the need for further research to optimize their performance and address practical implementation challenges.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2024.100588
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