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Review
. 2023 Aug 11;11(8):692.
doi: 10.3390/toxics11080692.

Recent Developments in Semiconductor-Based Photocatalytic Degradation of Antiviral Drug Pollutants

Zhaocheng Zhang  1 , Dongyang He  2 , Siyu Zhao  2 , Jiao Qu  2
Affiliations
Review

Recent Developments in Semiconductor-Based Photocatalytic Degradation of Antiviral Drug Pollutants

Zhaocheng Zhang et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

The prevalence of antiviral drugs (ATVs) has seen a substantial increase in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to heightened concentrations of these pharmaceuticals in wastewater systems. The hydrophilic nature of ATVs has been identified as a significant factor contributing to the low degradation efficiency observed in wastewater treatment plants. This characteristic often necessitates the implementation of additional treatment steps to achieve the complete degradation of ATVs. Semiconductor-based photocatalysis has garnered considerable attention due to its promising potential in achieving efficient degradation rates and subsequent mineralization of pollutants, leveraging the inexhaustible energy of sunlight. However, in recent years, there have been few comprehensive reports that have thoroughly summarized and analyzed the application of photocatalysis for the removal of ATVs. This review commences by summarizing the types and occurrence of ATVs. Furthermore, it places a significant emphasis on delivering a comprehensive summary and analysis of the characteristics pertaining to the photocatalytic elimination of ATVs, utilizing semiconductor photocatalysts such as metal oxides, doped metal oxides, and heterojunctions. Ultimately, the review sheds light on the identified research gaps and key concerns, offering invaluable insights to steer future investigations in this field.

Keywords: antiviral drug; photocatalysis; photocatalytic mechanism; semiconductor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed photocatalytic degradation mechanism of lamivudine in TiO2 suspension. Copyright Year 2011, Journal of Hazardous Materials © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic of the intermediate transformation products during the photocatalytic degradation of abacavir. Copyright Year 2023, Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, A: Chemistry © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The relationship between the amount of MWCNTs and the degradation efficiency of acyclovir. Copyright Year 2014, Applied Catalysis A: General © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic of the photocatalytic degradation via acyclovir by g-C3N4/TiO2 hybrid photocatalysts. Copyright Year 2016, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Photocatalytic degradation mechanism over Ag2MoO4/g-C3N4 under sunlight irradiation. Copyright Year 2018, Catalysis Today © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 6
Figure 6
TiC/SCN photocatalytic mechanism. Copyright Year 2022, Chemosphere ©Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 7
Figure 7
CuO@Ag@Bi2S3 photocatalytic mechanism of stavudine and zidovudine. Copyright Year 2022, New Journal of Chemistry © Royal Society of Chemistry Ltd.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Photodegradation of ritonavir and lopinavir by the synthesized WU and WW photocatalysts. Copyright Year 2022, Journal of Hazardous Materials © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Possible photodegradation mechanism of nevirapine by the synthesized FL-BP@Nb2O5 photocatalysts. Copyright Year 2020, Chemosphere © Elsevier Pvt Ltd.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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