Visible-Light Activated Photocatalysts for the Degradation of Chlorinated Organic Contaminants
Visible-Light Activated Photocatalysts for theChlorinated Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have adversely impacted human health and the ecosystem. The natural degradation of POPs is extremely slow because of the high energy of the C-Cl bond. We develop novel nanostructured photocatalysts for the visible light-activated degradation of chlorinated organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perchloroethylene (PCE), and trichloroethylene (TCE). For this, we engineer the heterojunction of Aurivillius and pyrochlore bismuth metal oxides to expand the redox potential of the photocatalyst band gap to enable the degradation of chlorinated organic pollutants.