Recent Advances in Iron Oxide-Based Heterojunction Photo-Fenton Catalysts for the Elimination of Organic Pollutants

Organic pollutants released into water bodies have posed a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems. The elimination of organic pollutants from water through the photo-Fenton process has attracted extensive attention. Among various photo-Fenton catalysts, iron oxides have been intensively studied due to their environmentally benign characteristics and abundance. However, the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers (e−–h+) and slow Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling of iron oxides restrict their catalytic performance. Thus, this state-of-the-art review focuses on the recent research development regarding iron oxide-based heterojunctions with enhanced catalytic performance to eliminate organic pollutants. This review provides a fundamental understanding of the iron-based heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction. In addition, various heterojunctions for photocatalytic applications are comprehensively summarized. A thorough discussion is held on the material design for iron oxide-based heterojunctions with improved photo-Fenton catalytic performance. Ultimately, the challenges and prospects of iron oxide-based heterojunction catalysts for photo-Fenton water decontamination are outlined.