Zinc oxide based photocatalytic degradation of persistent pesticides: A comprehensive review

By S. Khan, Bhawana Pathak. Environmental Nanotechnology Monitoring & Management, 2020

181 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Pesticides are the most hazardous among the various organic pollutants and possess a great human and environmental threat. The pesticide is considered among the top deadly pollutants mankind is ever exposed to. Pesticide pollution becomes one of the leading environmental concerns because of their bioaccumulation and bio-persistence in the environment. At present, membrane separation, surface adsorption, and biodegradation are the conventional methods used for pesticide removal, but still, pesticides are found prominent in the atmosphere. By utilizing the advancement in nanotechnology, the researcher tried to solve the lethal problem of pesticide pollution to overcome the drawbacks associated with conventional methods. In past decades, nanoscience and technology have emerged as a tool for the detection, removal, and remediation of pesticides using advanced nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanocomposites, nanofiltration membranes. The present review attempt to summarize the recent research carried out on Zinc oxide based photocatalytic degradation of various pesticides. The basic principle of semiconductor mediated photocatalysis, process optimization, factors affecting, experimental conditions and degradation mechanism has been discussed. The kinetic of pesticide degradation has also been reviewed. Photocatalytic degradation has proved to be a fast, cost-effective and eco-friendly technique for the clean-up of the environment from persistent pollutants.

Subfields: Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

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