Recent advances in visible light-activated photocatalysts for degradation of dyes: A comprehensive review.

The rapid development in industrialization and urbanization coupled with an ever-increasing world population has caused a tremendous increase in contamination of water resources globally. Synthetic dyes have emerged as a major contributor to environmental pollution due to their release in large quantities into the environment, especially owing to their high demand in textile, cosmetics, clothing, food, paper, rubber, printing, and plastic industries. Photocatalytic treatment technology has gained immense research attention for dye contaminated wastewater treatment due to its environment-friendliness, ability to completely degrade dye molecules using light irradiation, high efficiency, and no generation of secondary waste. Photocatalytic technology is evolving rapidly, and the foremost goal is to synthesize highly efficient photocatalysts with solar energy harvesting abilities. The current review provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent advances in highly efficient visible light-activated photocatalysts for dye degradation, including methods of synthesis, strategies for improving photocatalytic activity, regeneration and their performance in real industrial effluent. The influence of various operational parameters on photocatalytic activity are critically evaluated in this article. Finally, this review briefly discusses the current challenges and prospects of visible-light driven photocatalysts. This review serves as a convenient and comprehensive resource for comparing and studying the fundamentals and recent advancements in visible light photocatalysts and will facilitate further research in this direction. [Display omitted] • An extensive review of high-performing visible-light-activated photocatalysts for dye degradation. • Summary of various methods of synthesis and strategies to further improve the photocatalytic activity. • Discussion on recyclability and regeneration performance of the photocatalysts. • Critical analysis of various factors affecting photocatalytic dye degradation. • Discussion on challenges that need to be addressed and future perspectives to achieve sunlight-driven dye degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]