Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Selective Formation of High-Value-Added Molecules: Some Chemical and Engineering Aspects

Abstract

This review deals with the parameters that influence heterogeneous photocatalysis (PC) for selective synthesis of high-value chemicals by itself or in combination with other technologies. In particular, the parameters related to the photocatalysts, such as crystallinity degree, type of polymorph, surface acid–base properties, exposure of particular crystalline facets, coupling of different semiconductors, position of the valence and conduction band edge, addition of doping agents, and those related to the reaction system, such as setup configuration and reactor geometry, type of solvent, type and amount of photocatalyst, affecting the selectivity toward specific products are described and discussed. The presented results highlight that a precise evaluation of the efficiency of the process is a challenging but necessary task to be approached in order to allow real applications of photocatalytic processes.

Recent Developments of TiO2-Based Photocatalysis in the Hydrogen Evolution and Photodegradation: A Review

“…In addition, there are a number of works in which TiO 2 -based photocatalysts were used to neutralize harmful to the atmosphere gases [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Chemical stability, easy accessibility, nontoxicity and the ability to oxidize under the influence of radiation, allow TiO 2 -based photocatalysts to solve the main global problems associated with pollution of the environment and need for renewable energy [ 10 , 11 ]. Currently, TiO 2 as a photocatalyst is commercially produced in powder form.…”

Innovative and Cost-Efficient BiOI Immobilization Technique on Ceramic Paper—Total Coverage and High Photocatalytic Activity

“…One of the most impedimental factors of photocatalytic industrial water treatment is the immobilization of the semiconductor to eliminate the separation/filtration costs [ 1 ]. In most cases, UV active titanium dioxide was used in photocatalytic water purification applications and on the semi-industrial scale (both immobilized and in suspension as well) [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. This material has some advantages and disadvantages [ 6 ], but it is much more critical to solve the immobilization related problems.…”

Hydrogen Production and Organic Synthesis in Photocatalytic Membrane Reactors: A Review

“…mineralize) efficiently almost every organic pollutant, in the last decade photocatalytic processes have been mainly applied in the field of environmental remediation [13][14][15]. Despite that, in last decade some studies have been carried out on the application of photocatalysis for synthesis such as selective reduction and oxidation [16][17][18], hydrogen production [19][20][21] and CO 2 conversion [22,23] to develop, in perspective, environmentally benign synthetic processes. These studies demonstrated that interesting selectivity can be obtained by using photocatalytic processes in comparison to conventional methods by appropriately selecting some photocatalytic parameters (e.g.…”