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Today, as a result of the advancement of technology and increasing environmental problems, the need for clean energy has considerably increased. In this regard, hydrogen, which is a clean and sustainable energy carrier with high energy density, is among the well-regarded and effective means to deliver and store energy, and can also be used for environmental remediation purposes. Renewable hydrogen energy carriers can successfully substitute fossil fuels and decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and reduce the rate of global warming. Hydrogen generation from sustainable solar energy and water sources is an environmentally friendly resolution for growing global energy demands. Among various solar hydrogen production routes, semiconductor-based photocatalysis seems a promising scheme that is mainly performed using two kinds of homogeneous and heterogeneous methods, of which the latter is more advantageous. During semiconductor-based heterogeneous photocatalysis, a solid material is stimulated by exposure to light and generates an electron–hole pair that subsequently takes part in redox reactions leading to hydrogen production. This review paper tries to thoroughly introduce and discuss various semiconductor-based photocatalysis processes for environmental remediation with a specific focus on heterojunction semiconductors with the hope that it will pave the way for new designs with higher performance to protect the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI nanocomposite was obtained via a wet/hydrothermal method. • Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI had high activity and good stability in photocatalytic process. • Investigation of synergistic effects of catalyst for H 2 production processes. • The prepared Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI displayed excellent antifungal activity. In this project, the Au and Ce co-doped SnS 2 decoration on hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI) nanocomposites were prepared via wet/hydrothermal chemical method. Compared with pure SnS 2 and co doped SnS 2 , Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI nanocomposite indicated higher photo-degradation performance for the reduction of chromium (VI) under visible light irradiation. Therewith, Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI nanocomposites was applied for photo-degradation of drug. The possible mechanism shows the superoxide anion radical (O 2 −) plays important role in in the removal of Cr(VI). The Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI nanocomposites shows the best photocatalysis activity for water reduction. The prepared Au/Ce/SnS 2 /HPEI displayed excellent antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Sn decorated Fe NPs was functionalized with leucine by chemical reduction technique. • The bimetallic Sn decorated Fe NPs was used for detection of trivalent chromium. • The Sn-Fe NPs catalyst was used to degradation of methyl orange. • The particles exhibited excellent antibacterial activities. In this project, Sn-Fe bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared by a facile method. The bimetallic nanoparticles of it could be well established by a field emission scanning electron microscope micrographs. Due to the excellent synergistic influence between Sn-Fe nanoparticles and leucine indicated a great performance for determination of Cr3+. The material was characterized using the XRD, DLS, and zetasizer for the evaluation of crystal structure and morphology information. The potential and effective size of Sn-Fe NPs was −29.10 mV and 30 nm, respectively. Cr3+ ions interaction with the Sn-Fe NPs-leucine probe was carried out in 1 min as response time. The limit of detection of Sn-Fe NPs for Cr(III) colorimetric method was 0.25 nM. The prepared nanoparticles showed impressive photocatalysis efficiency for degradation of MO was about 95.1% in 35 min, thus the prepared nanoparticles may be developed for the detoxification of pollution. The prepared nanoparticles depicted effective antibacterial activity against C. botulinum and, H. pylori bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]