Photocatalytic remediation of selected emerging organic pollutants in industrial effluent using conducting polymeric-based nanocomposites photocatalysts -A review
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Date
2025-11-15
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Emerging organic pollutants in industrial effluents pose huge environmental and health challenges, with conventional effluent treatment methods often insufficient for effective abatement of these toxic pollutants. This is the rationale behind the need for the development of a novel class of photocatalysts known as conducting polymeric-based nanocomposites for proficient photocatalytic remediation of these pollutants. The pollutants of interest in this review are the pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), pesticides and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with appreciable presence in industrial wastewater. The review comparatively reported various state-of-the-art engineering approaches for the fabrication of this class of nanocomposite photocatalysts with well-tailored properties for high-performance especially under visible photon irradiation. The findings identified in-situ polymerization, hydrothermal methods and facile decoration as proficient approaches for the development of this class of novel photocatalysts with over 90 % photocatalytic performance. The study also underscored the concise impacts of the conducting polymers especially their ability to serve as structural support thereby preventing possible leaching of other photocatalytic materials, especially metals. The review also presents the appreciable benefits of lowered agglomeration and efficient separation of electron-hole pairs and unique heterostructures formed due to the synergistic effect of the macromolecules with other materials in the nanocomposite. These attributes point to the stability and recyclable potentials of these fabricated photocatalysts and their versatile applicability for the remediation of targeted EOPs in wastewater.
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG - 6: Clean Water and Sanitation