Issue 26, 2018

Recent progress in biochar-supported photocatalysts: synthesis, role of biochar, and applications

Abstract

Incorporating photocatalytic nanoparticles with biochar templates can produce biochar-supported photocatalysts (BSPs) and combine the advantages of biochar with catalytic nanoparticles. The obtained composite exhibits excellent surface properties, crystallinity, chemical stability, recoverability, and higher photocatalytic competency than the bare semiconductor photocatalyst. The literature and advances in BSPs based on the combination of low-cost biochar and catalytic nanoparticles are presented in this review. Various synthetic techniques and physicochemical properties of BSPs are summarized. The article then discusses in detail the important role of biochar in influencing the photocatalytic performance of BSPs such as supporting nanoparticles, increasing the surface area and the number of active sites, shuttling electrons, acting as an electron reservoir, increasing charge separation, and reducing band gap energy. Furthermore, the synergistic effects of adsorption and photodegradation of organic pollutants by BSPs are discussed with in-depth mechanistic evidence. Finally, the application of BSPs in various fields and constructive suggestions for their future development are reported.

Graphical abstract: Recent progress in biochar-supported photocatalysts: synthesis, role of biochar, and applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 mar 2018
Accepted
25 mar 2018
First published
17 apr 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2018,8, 14237-14248

Recent progress in biochar-supported photocatalysts: synthesis, role of biochar, and applications

M. M. Mian and G. Liu, RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 14237 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA02258E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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