Recent advances in photocatalytic degradation of the agrochemical pollutant 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D) using nanomaterials

Abstract

Abstract Agrochemicals like 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D) remain one of the widely used herbicides contributing to environmental pollution, especially the aquatic system, which is the lifeblood of nature. Interestingly, to eliminate this hazardous pollutant, the photocatalytic degradation technique as an advanced oxidation process has come to the fore among emerging remediation technologies because of its ability to degrade and mineralize organic pollutants into non‐toxic molecules like CO 2 and H 2 O. Thus, this study aims to critically and extensively review recent advances on the photocatalytic degradation of 2,4‐D in aqueous environments using nano‐architecture materials. Notably, the study revealed key advancements in the area of heterojunction formation, metal‐free photocatalyst, hybrid/assisted system, ternary nanocomposites, oxygen vacancy, biogenic nanomaterials, and the use of natural sunlight. Interestingly, these advancing areas were found to be delivering better photocatalytic degradation efficiency for 2,4‐D. Moreover, various nano‐architecture photocatalysts can degrade 2,4‐D multiple times (3–11 times with >70% efficiency in the last cycle) without seriously trading off their original structural integrity and performance. A few available studies also proved that 2,4‐D degradation byproducts have low ecotoxicity. At the end, challenges and future perspectives were identified in the area of competition with existing remediation technologies, pilot‐scale study, and validation.