Emerging strategies in the sustainable removal of antibiotics using semiconductor-based photocatalysts

• Yunus Ahmed,
• Keya Rani Dutta,
• Parul Akhtar,
• Md. Arif Hossen,
• Md. Jahangir Alam,
• Obaid A. Alharbi,
• Hamad AlMohamadi and
• Abdul Wahab Mohammad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 264–285, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.21

• have taken two approaches to developing effective solar light-activated semiconductor-based photocatalysts. The main approach is to improve the absorption of visible light of semiconductor materials by including metal or nonmetal elements. This augmentation can modify the energy band structure or

• more energy-efficient than traditional photocatalysts such as TiO2. The enhanced activity of these heterojunctions was determined under simulated solar light; 87% of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was removed within 1 h [112]. Adding Ag3PO4 to N-doped rGO yielded higher degradation rates of SMX [113

• aqueous solutions, WO3 is mechanically strong and physiochemically stable, and the synthesis of high-purity WO3 is a good option for the degradation of antibiotics under solar light irradiation [114]. WO3 is a catalyst that responds to visible light and has consistent physicochemical properties because of

Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by sol–gel and microwave-assisted sol–gel methods and their photocatalytic properties

• Cristina Maria Vlăduț,
• Crina Anastasescu,
• Silviu Preda,
• Oana Catalina Mocioiu,
• Simona Petrescu,
• Jeanina Pandele-Cusu,
• Dana Culita,
• Veronica Bratan,
• Ioan Balint and
• Maria Zaharescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.104

• their newly proved functionality, namely, the ability to photogenerate distinct reactive oxygen species (·OH or O2−) and to act as photoactive materials in aqueous media. The solar light-induced mineralization of oxalic acid by Mn-doped ZnO materials was clearly observed while similar amounts of

• generated CO2 were measured for both catalysts. These inexpensive semiconductor materials, which proved to be light-responsive, can be further used for developing water depollution technologies based on solar light energy. Keywords: microwave-assisted synthesis; oxalic acid mineralization; semiconductor

• proven to be efficient compounds for the photodegradation of organic pollutants from water, but this approach becomes really valuable when a green energy source (solar light) is used. Furthermore, photomineralization of aqueous pollutants is fully desirable because no harmful intermediates remain. In

Photocatalytic methane oxidation over a TiO₂/SiNWs p–n junction catalyst at room temperature

• Qui Thanh Hoai Ta,
• Luan Minh Nguyen,
• Ngoc Hoi Nguyen,
• Phan Khanh Thinh Nguyen and
• Dai Hai Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1132–1141, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.92

• of TiO2 on p-type SiNWs. The TiO2/SiNWs heterostructure exhibited an outstanding OCM performance under simulated solar light irradiation compared to the single components. This enhanced efficiency was attributed to the intrinsic electrical field formed between n-type TiO2 and p-type SiNWs, which

• gaseous reactants in batch reactor was established at 5 bar, and the photocatalytic system was kept in the dark (20 min) to reach equilibrium before exposure to simulated solar light. The temperature was kept at room temperature via a cooler. Characterization The crystalline structure and morphological

Green synthesis of biomass-derived carbon quantum dots for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

• Dalia Chávez-García,
• Mario Guzman,
• Viridiana Sanchez and
• Rubén D. Cadena-Nava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 755–766, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.63

• stability compared to those synthesized with urea. It was also found that heteroatoms in the CQDs structure play an important role in the photocatalytic activity of the CQDs as well as in the upconversion photoluminescent behavior. Our investigation also revealed that solar light was more effective than

• pomace and watermelon peel. (a) Sunlight radiation in blue, b) light radiation with W lamp in red. Percentage of MB degradation presented by CQDs to be used as catalysts in the degradation of MB dye. a) Solid bars: incandescent light, b) Hatched bars: solar light. Synthesis conditions for CQDs

Titania nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of ethanol under simulated solar light

• Evghenii Goncearenco,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Florian Dumitrache,
• Elena Dutu,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Valentin Serban Teodorescu,
• Alexandra Sandulescu,
• Crina Anastasescu and
• Ioan Balint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 616–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.51

• nanoparticles with dimensions of 40–80 nm, whose number increases with increasing the working pressure. The photocatalytic properties have been investigated regarding the photodegradation of ethanol vapors in Ar with 0.3% O2 using P25 powder as reference under simulated solar light. During the irradiation H2

• ][18]. Moreover, investigations have shown the possibility for applying TiO2 in hydrogen production by water decomposition [19][20][21][22][23]. Given the TiO2 bandgap, it is considered a low-efficiency material in photodriven water splitting, because only 3% of the solar light can be used. Different

• compounds. For example, the hydroxyl radical (•OH) is a strong oxidizer. The generation of (•OH) over the samples under simulated solar light irradiation (AM 1.5) has been evaluated according to the PL emission from 451 nm, attributable to the presence of umbelliferone, a derivative of coumarin resulting

Conjugated photothermal materials and structure design for solar steam generation

• Chia-Yang Lin and
• Tsuyoshi Michinobu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 454–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.36

• efficiency in solar steam generation (SSG), three factors must be considered, namely solar light absorption, photothermal conversion efficiency, and vaporization efficiency (Figure 1). In addition, the cost of the materials must be taken into consideration as large quantities at low cost are required

Bismuth-based nanostructured photocatalysts for the remediation of antibiotics and organic dyes

• Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo and
• Faisal Suleiman Mustafa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 291–321, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.26

• [71], and environmental remediation via photocatalysis [25]. Bi-based semiconductors, in particular, are thought to be able to surpass the limitation of the solar light-harvesting capacity of TiO2-based photocatalytic materials because of their smaller bandgaps. Because of its highly anisotropic Fermi

A TiO₂@MWCNTs nanocomposite photoanode for solar-driven water splitting

• Anh Quynh Huu Le,
• Ngoc Nhu Thi Nguyen,
• Hai Duy Tran,
• Van-Huy Nguyen and
• Le-Hai Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1520–1530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.125

• been developed to increase the absorption of visible solar light [6][7]. Notably, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a promising material for visible-light absorption [8]. A combination of TiO2 with CNTs can effectively enhance the separation of e−/h+ pairs based on the high electric conductivity of CNTs

LED-light-activated photocatalytic performance of metal-free carbon-modified hexagonal boron nitride towards degradation of methylene blue and phenol

• Nirmalendu S. Mishra and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1380–1392, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.114

• ]. Nevertheless, the obtained MBN-80 was found to be a potential photocatalyst which can be activated with LED light and has a limited spectrum as compared to solar light. The SEM images of MBN-80 before and after five reuse cycles is depicted in Figure 7e,f. A comparison between the photocatalytic performance of

Recent trends in Bi-based nanomaterials: challenges, fabrication, enhancement techniques, and environmental applications

• Vishal Dutta,
• Ankush Chauhan,
• Ritesh Verma,
• C. Gopalkrishnan and
• Van-Huy Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1316–1336, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.109

• environmental restoration and energy conversion is photocatalysis powered by solar light. Traditional photocatalysts have limited practical uses due to inadequate light absorption, charge separation, and unknown reaction mechanisms. Discovering new visible-light photocatalysts and investigating their

Solar-light-driven LaFe_xNi_1−xO₃ perovskite oxides for photocatalytic Fenton-like reaction to degrade organic pollutants

• Chao-Wei Huang,
• Shu-Yu Hsu,
• Jun-Han Lin,
• Yun Jhou,
• Wei-Yu Chen,
• Kun-Yi Andrew Lin,
• Yu-Tang Lin and
• Van-Huy Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 882–895, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.79

• degrade dye pollutants in water. Therefore, in this study, various contents of Ni-doped LaFeO3 were examined to remove organic pollutants under simulated solar light irradiation. Methylene blue is the representative compound of thiazine dyes and tetracycline is the indicator pollutant to represent the

• oxides since their specific surface areas were low. After 30 min, to confirm the achievement of dark adsorption-desorption equilibrium, the photocatalytic reaction occurred under the irradiation of simulated AM 1.5G solar light with adding H2O2. By monitoring the C/C0 of MB, the performance of all

• min of simulated solar light irradiation due to the Fenton effect of Fe3+ [51]. On the contrary, LaNiO3 did not conduct the Fenton-like effect; therefore, it exhibited poor photocatalytic ability. Fe's phenomenon revealed better catalytic activity than Ni, similar to the previous study [52]. It might

Zinc oxide nanostructures for fluorescence and Raman signal enhancement: a review

• Ioana Marica,
• Fran Nekvapil,
• Maria Ștefan,
• Cosmin Farcău and
• Alexandra Falamaș

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 472–490, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.40

• milli-Q water to the freshly prepared Ag nanowire solution [55]. A higher photocatalytic activity was shown for the Ag–ZnO core–shell particles compared to ZnO alone under solar light irradiation. SERS applications of ZnO-based nanostructures SERS is a powerful technique with promising applications for

Tin dioxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysts for nitrogen oxide oxidation: a review

• Viet Van Pham,
• Hong-Huy Tran,
• Thao Kim Truong and
• Thi Minh Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 96–113, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.7

• SnO2 microspheres exhibited a photocatalytic activity towards NO decomposition comparable to that of commercial P25 TiO2. Specifically, SnO2 microspheres can degrade 57.2% NO (1 ppm of initial concentration) under solar light. However, the photocatalytic mechanism of NO degradation has not been

• % after 30 min under solar light irradiation, and the conversion efficacy from NO to NO2 is 1.66%. The high photocatalytic performance and the stability of SnO2 NPs under solar light is promising for potential application [69]. Recent approaches in the modification of SnO2 for photocatalytic NOx oxidation

• photocatalytic NO removal under solar light for the first time. Furthermore, they found that the introduction of SnO2 NPs increases the photostability of PANI during the photocatalytic process, which holds great potential for scalable manufacturing. Also, this work thoroughly discussed the adsorption and

A Au/CuNiCoS₄/p-Si photodiode: electrical and morphological characterization

• Adem Koçyiğit,
• Adem Sarılmaz,
• Teoman Öztürk,
• Faruk Ozel and
• Murat Yıldırım

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 984–994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.74

• the device. Furthermore, the CuNiCoS4 layer can also increase the current at zero bias voltage due its high absorption of the solar light. The CuNiCoS4 layer has a suitable bandgap value for the solar spectrum and can be used for optoelectronic applications, such as photodiode or photodetector, due to

Boosting of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via chlorine doping of polymeric carbon nitride

• Malgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Michalina Kijaczko,
• Wojciech Kukulka,
• Daria Baranowska,
• Martyna Baca,
• Beata Zielinska and
• Ewa Mijowska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 473–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.38

• due to fossil fuels used in the energy industry, the combustion of which generates CO2 emissions. The ideal solution of these problems appears to be the use of photocatalysis. The solar light, as a driving force, has been widely used in different fields, such as water in water-splitting to generate

• with hydrogen evolution under simulated solar light. A series of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques have been used to characterize the morphology, chemical structure, optical, photophysical, and electrical properties of the obtained carbon nitrides. Results and Discussion The detailed analysis of

• of the photocatalytic hydrogen generation process under simulated solar light irradiation is presented in Figure 7. It is clear that the designed modification of the samples strongly boosts the photocatalytic efficiency. The hydrogen evolution of Cl-PCN was approx. 4.4 times higher after 3 h in

A review on nanostructured silver as a basic ingredient in medicine: physicochemical parameters and characterization

• Gabriel M. Misirli,
• Kishore Sridharan and
• Shirley M. P. Abrantes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 440–461, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.36

• release of Ag+ in solution and exposure of unoxidized metallic silver, which may undergo additional oxidation leading to the corrosion of AgNPs [50]. This oxidative dissolution can be influenced by extrinsic factors, such as artificial/solar light and storage temperature as well as by intrinsic factors

Photothermally active nanoparticles as a promising tool for eliminating bacteria and biofilms

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Laura D’Alfonso,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1134–1146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.98

• activity against Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacterial strains. In order to overcome the NIR laser limits and to irradiate larger areas, the nanocages were used to induce the photothermal sterilization upon solar light irradiation [75]. In a very recent article, published in 2019

• spectrum, is another well-known suitable agent for the NIR photothermal conversion [89]. This material is prepared by assembling polyelectrolyte-stabilized reduced graphene sheets on a quartz surface to efficiently generate localized heating under simulated solar light irradiation, resulting in a >90

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

• Wei Fang,
• Liang Yu and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 631–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.50

• narrow direct bandgap of 1.2–1.79 eV [14]. Because of that, CuO is usually used in combination with large-bandgap semiconductors, such as ZnO and TiO2, in order to improve their photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation [15]. It was reported that the p–n heterojunction between ZnO and CuO has

Fabrication of Ag-modified hollow titania spheres via controlled silver diffusion in Ag–TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures

• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Malwina Liszewska,
• Bogusław Budner,
• Marta Michalska-Domańska,
• Krzysztof Kopczyński and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 141–146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.12

• range than the Ag–TiO2 CSNs they are made from. In addition, a significant number of AgNPs can be observed on their surface and, therefore, based on the existing literature, these nanostructures should be of great interest for applications in solar light-driven photocatalysis and photovoltaics [30

Polyvinylpyrrolidone as additive for perovskite solar cells with water and isopropanol as solvents

• Chen Du,
• Shuo Wang,
• Xu Miao,
• Wenhai Sun,
• Yu Zhu,
• Chengyan Wang and
• Ruixin Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2374–2382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.228

• SUPRA55. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were collected with a SmartLab from Rigaku at 40 kV and 150 mA by using Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.15405 nm). The photovoltaic performance of the PSCs was recorded using a Keithley 4200 source meter under one-sun AM 1.5G (100 mW·cm−2) illumination with a solar light

Improvement of the thermoelectric properties of a MoO₃ monolayer through oxygen vacancies

• Wenwen Zheng,
• Wei Cao,
• Ziyu Wang,
• Huixiong Deng,
• Jing Shi and
• Rui Xiong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2031–2038, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.199

• concentration of O vacancy concentrations. Hydrogen-ion intercalation [12] and solar-light irradiation [13] can turn MoO3 into MoO3−x and hence increase the electrical conductivity. Understanding the effect of O vacancies in MoO3 is very beneficial for its thermoelectric applications. Moreover, low-dimensional

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• photodegradation of diverse organic compounds, including the photodecolorization of dyes such as methylene blue (MB), methyl green (MG), acid red G, acid yellow 11, acid orange 11, and Congo red, in water, as well as other photo-applications, for instance, water splitting under UV or visible/solar light

• harmful organic compounds, such as pesticides, phenols, dyes, and pharmaceuticals drugs to water, CO2, and non-toxic inorganic residues under solar light or UV irradiation. Advantages such as low cost and chemical stability are essential requirements of this type of photocatalysts [25][26]. In addition

• reduction of the TiO2 bandgap leading to improved efficiency in the degradation of antipyrine, atrazine, rhodamine B and phenol using solar-light irradiation. Chen and co-workers [148] have also studied the doping of TiO2@montmorillonite introducing heteroelements such as C and V. A bandgap reduction to

Reduced graphene oxide supported C₃N₄ nanoflakes and quantum dots as metal-free catalysts for visible light assisted CO₂ reduction

• Md Rakibuddin and
• Haekyoung Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.44

• promising for CO2 photoreduction because of their excellent activity and environmental sustainability. Keywords: CO2 reduction; metal-free hybrid; nanoflakes; photocatalyst; quantum dots; Introduction The solar-light-assisted photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into useful chemicals, such as HCOOH, HCHO, CH4

Zn/F-doped tin oxide nanoparticles synthesized by laser pyrolysis: structural and optical properties

• Florian Dumitrache,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Elena Dutu,
• Ion Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Alina Ilie,
• Marius Dumitru,
• Cristian Mihailescu,
• Adriana Smarandache and
• Gabriel Prodan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 9–21, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.2

• -ion microbatteries [29], as photocatalysts for brilliant green dye degradation in solution under solar light [30] and even as a component for supercapacitors [31]. The in situ synthesis of SnO2-based nanoparticles co-doped with F and Zn is demonstrated in this work. For this purpose we use the

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2209–2235, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.207

• perovskites (HPs) and applications of these exciting materials as light harvesters in photovoltaic systems. Special emphasis is placed on the influence of the spatial organization of HP materials both on the micro- and nanometer scale on the performance and stability of perovskite-based solar light converters

• nanoscale levels with respect to the performance and stability of perovskite-based solar light converters. The survey starts from HPs with lead ions partially substituted by isovalent cations of other less toxic metals, then focuses on lead-free HPs where the central metal ion is in the oxidation state of

• the HP composition [92]. By simultaneously tuning the composition of Pb–Sn and halide components, a solar light absorber was designed with a bandgap of 1.35 eV ideal for the solar light harvesting. The inverted cells based on MAPb0.5Sn0.5(I0.8Br0.2)3 demonstrated PCEs of up to 17.63% [70]. A