Recent Advances in the Strategies for Developing and Modifying Photocatalytic Materials for Wastewater Treatment

In recent decades, the rising wastewater output from industrial pollution has inflicted severe harm on both surface and groundwater, leading to substantial environmental damage. The elimination of harmful, toxic materials and wastewater remediation are pressing global concerns and pose a formidable challenge for scientists worldwide. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has been recognized as a promising, effective, energy-free, and eco-friendly process capable of completely degrading various organic pollutants. Finding a material that simultaneously satisfies various thermodynamic and kinetic criteria, coupled with good thermal- and photo-stability, is a challenging task necessitating the modification of existing materials or the synthesis of new ones to meet the required standards. This present study comprehensibly elaborates on different approaches to the modification of various photocatalytic systems, both organic and inorganic, in order to obtain more efficient and feasible catalysts for practical applications. In addition, the current status of the application of photocatalysts in dye wastewater treatment is summarized, projecting the future direction for wastewater management by photocatalytic processes.