Research on Photocatalytic Degradation Properties of Organics with Different New Photocatalysts

Environmental problems related to hazardous organics attract much attention currently. Photocatalysis, an attractive technology using solar energy, has been employed for pollutants degradation for several decades. In recent years, it develops extremely fast. In this review, the photocatalytic degradation properties of organic pollutants with different new photocatalysts are discussed from three aspects, namely, wide and narrow band gap as well as band gap modified photocatalysts. Some new progresses in the area of traditional photocatalysts are also presented. Semiconductor photocatalysts with wide band gap have strong oxidative ability and preferable photostability, however, they have a serious drawback that they only absorb UV light. On the other hand, narrow band gap semiconductor photocatalysts can utilize visible light, while their photocataytic efficiencies are still low and their photostabilities are rather poor. Further investigation concerning the simultaneous enhancement of photoactivity and visible light absorption is proposed.