article · Applied Materials Today
Organic pollutants in water pose significant environmental and health hazards due to their persistence, high solubility, and resistance to standard biological degradation. Advanced oxidation processes have emerged as effective methods for breaking down these recalcitrant contaminants. Copper-based catalysts, operating in both homogeneous and heterogeneous states, provide cost-effective and high-performing options across various advanced oxidation systems. These setups include photocatalysis, Fenton-like reactions, persulfate activation, and ultrasonic irradiation. Evaluating these catalysts involves examining degradation mechanisms, pollutant abatement pathways, material stability, and catalyst reusability. Several operating parameters also influence overall process efficiency. Although copper-based materials show strong potential for water purification, specific operational challenges remain to be resolved through further targeted exploration.
Persistent organic pollutants in water supplies threaten ecosystems and human health, contributing to severe diseases and ecological imbalances. Because standard treatment facilities cannot easily break down these substances, developing affordable and potent chemical degradation methods is essential. Copper-based oxidation processes offer a potentially accessible route to neutralise hazardous, non-biodegradable chemicals in contaminated water resources.
The reviewed processes could enable more effective water treatment systems aimed at destroying persistent organic pollutants. Likely end users include municipal water utilities and operators of industrial wastewater treatment plants. The technology remains at an early research stage, as current evidence focuses on mechanisms, reusability, and unresolved performance challenges that require further laboratory exploration before practical deployment.
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Organic pollutants are harmful to the environment due to their bio-accumulative and long-persistent nature, causing adverse effects on plants, animals, and humans. Their rapid spread beyond target applications in the ecosystem could be responsible for various fatal diseases and eco imbalances. Conventional techniques for removing these pollutants are ineffective because of their high solubility in water and nonbiodegradability. In contemporary times, we have witnessed a notable surge in interest in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for water treatment processes. This heightened attention is attributed to their exceptional degradation efficiency for recalcitrant organic pollutants. This review, therefore, focuses on copper-based homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts for AOPs that offer both cost-effectiveness and high performance. Emphasis is placed on the use of copper-based catalysts in photocatalysis, Fenton-like process (including photo-Fenton (Fe2+/UV/H2O2)), persulfates activation, and ultrasonic irradiation. The catalytic performance, mechanism, and pathway for the abatement of the target pollutants by the copper-based catalysts in each AOP are described in detail. The reusability, stability, and factors affecting the AOPs are briefly highlighted. We further provide perspectives on the key opportunities and challenges associated with copper-based catalysts in AOPs, recommending further exploration for enhanced applications in future studies.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.apmt.2023.102053
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