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Recent Advances in Photocatalysis in Water and Wastewater Treatment

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 619

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Applied and Basic Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano, Potenza, Italy
Interests: water treatment; degradation; adsorption; wastewater; water reuse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
Interests: pesticides and biopesticides; natural extracts of terrestrial and marine plants; secondary metabolites; toxicity assessment; liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global water scarcity, driven by climate change, population growth, and increasing demand, has intensified the need for innovative solutions to secure freshwater resources. The reuse of unconventional water sources, such as treated wastewater, has become essential, particularly for applications like agricultural irrigation. However, the development of efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective treatment technologies is critical to ensuring that treated water meets safety standards and is suitable for reuse. Photocatalysis, an advanced oxidation process (AOP), has emerged as a promising solution for water treatment due to its ability to degrade organic pollutants and inactivate microbial contaminants. Recent advancements in photocatalytic materials, combined with low-cost adsorption technologies, present effective and energy-efficient alternatives to conventional treatment methods.

In addition to large-scale treatment solutions, there is a growing need to develop decentralized, low-cost systems for treating wastewater in rural or underserved areas. These systems, based on AOPs and adsorption, offer practical, scalable solutions for local communities by reducing infrastructure costs and enhancing accessibility to clean water. However, challenges remain in optimizing these processes for practical application, including material cost, scalability, system reliability, and efficiency.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the most recent advances in photocatalytic and adsorption-based technologies for decentralized wastewater treatment, with an emphasis on their application to unconventional water reuse in agriculture and other sectors. We invite original research and review articles that focus on innovative and cost-effective solutions for water treatment.

Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Photocatalytic degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants;
  • Development and characterization of novel photocatalytic and adsorbent materials;
  • Low-cost decentralized wastewater treatment systems using AOPs and adsorption;
  • Mass transfer dynamics and reactor modeling;
  • Pilot-scale applications and real-world case studies in decentralized systems;
  • Design and optimization of decentralized treatment processes for sustainable water reuse;
  • Reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture and other sectors.

We encourage contributions that explore hybrid and integrated systems for more effective, affordable, and energy-efficient water treatment, with a focus on sustainable water management and the circular economy.

Dr. Monica Brienza
Prof. Dr. Laura Scrano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photocatalysis
  • wastewater reuse
  • decentralized treatment
  • low-cost water treatment
  • AOPs
  • adsorption
  • water scarcity
  • agricultural irrigation
  • process optimization
  • sustainable water management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 1853 KiB  
Article
Degradation of Micropollutants in Wastewater Using Photocatalytic TiO2@Ag-NPs Coatings Under Visible Irradiation
by Cristian Yoel Quintero-Castañeda, Claire Tendero, Thibaut Triquet, Arturo I. Villegas-Andrade, María Margarita Sierra-Carrillo and Caroline Andriantsiferana
Water 2025, 17(11), 1632; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17111632 - 27 May 2025
Viewed by 144
Abstract
The contamination of aquatic ecosystems by the micropollutants in wastewater discharges is currently a critical issue. Therefore, the development of novel treatment processes and materials is essential to ensure the availability of safe water. The present study aims to develop a photocatalytic material [...] Read more.
The contamination of aquatic ecosystems by the micropollutants in wastewater discharges is currently a critical issue. Therefore, the development of novel treatment processes and materials is essential to ensure the availability of safe water. The present study aims to develop a photocatalytic material composed of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs)-doped TiO2 supported on a Pyrex® plate (TiO2@Ag-NPs) exhibiting catalytic activity under visible irradiation (λ > 400 nm). The effects of Ag-NPs doping on the TiO2 matrix, the resistance of the coating at the catalyst/substrate interface, and the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the photocatalyst for a micropollutant (diuron) of the pesticide family were studied. The photocatalyst was characterised using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, and scratch tests. The solution concentrations were monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography and total organic carbon analyses. A 32% diuron removal was achieved using photocatalytic TiO2@Ag-NPs under visible irradiation, whereas undoped TiO2 showed no activity. Furthermore, the effects of the nanoparticle growth mode on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2@Ag-NPs were explored. The presence of a TiO2 sublayer ensured the adhesion of the coating and promoted the dispersion of nanoparticles within the matrix. It ensured chemical continuity (TiO2@Ag-NPs/Pyrex®), reduced the bandgap, and decreased electron–hole pair recombination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photocatalysis in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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