Nanoparticles in advanced oxidation processes

Photocatalysis using semiconductor nanoparticles as an advanced oxidation technique (AOT) has been a focus of research by a number of groups during the last two decades. The photocatalytic approach has been adopted successfully to develop self-cleaning glasses and air purification systems. Enhancing the photoconversion efficiency, maximizing the rate of degradation, and extending the photoresponse of the semiconductor catalyst into the visible range still pose a major challenge. Recent developments that address these issues and new approaches that expand the scope of semiconductor and metal nanoparticles in AOTs and related applications are presented in this overview.