Recent advances in photocatalytic degradation of persistent organic pollutants: Mechanisms, challenges, and modification strategies

Ecosystems and human health are seriously threatened by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which are hazardous, resistant to environmental degradation, and have the capability of bioaccumulating. The sources, ecological dispersion, and potential adverse impacts of POPs are investigated in this study, which further highlights the urgent need to develop successful remediation technologies. As it can use light energy to promote degradation, photocatalysis is a promising approach among other methods. The review explores many evolved photocatalyst materials, such as those based on nanomaterials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), carbon, and hybrids, highlighting their characteristics and functions in the removal of pollutants. Enhancing photocatalytic performance through modification techniques such as surface changes, doping, and co-catalyst insertion is explored. The focus is on the degrading mechanisms specific to POPs and further examines the basic ideas and processes of photocatalysis. Despite its enormous significance, environmental stability, electron-hole pair recombination, and limited light absorption are some of the obstacles that photocatalysis faces. Finally, this analysis calls for novel materials and optimization techniques to overcome existing constraints and enhance the effectiveness of POP removal, highlighting future directions for photocatalyst research. • The sources of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and their environmental impacts are addressed. • The removal of POPs using novel photocatalytic materials that offer enhanced degradation efficiency and environmental compatibility. • Various modification strategies have significantly enhanced the performance of photocatalysts in degrading pollutants.