Graphene Related Materials and Composites: Strategies and Their Photocatalytic Applications in Environmental Remediation

Abstract

Photochemical reactions hold great promise in solving energy and environment related problems and likely contribute towards development of sustainable society. Despite of recent advancements, the inherent catalytic efficiency of conventional photocatalyst has been severely limited by myriad complexity associated with (i) ineffective light absorption in visible region, (ii) unproductive recombination’s of e−/h+ pair in excited state, and (iii) low chemical stability. Contemporary researches on photocatalysts that can be viable for commercial applications has yet to be realized. Graphene has attracted an immense research interests to enhancing the photocatalysts efficiency endowing from their unique optical and electronic properties and salient features such as surface area, mechanical strength and photochemical stability. In this book chapter, we discussed graphene related material (GRMs) to produce hybrid architectures or nanocomposites that can be used as efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants (dyes, pharmaceutical wastes, pesticides etc.) in wastewater. Lastly, we summarize the key insights in photocatalytic electron transfer mechanism, challenges and future perspective which help understand the rationale of GRMs in this field.