Aerogels in photocatalysis

Abstract The contamination of water resources has become a global problem. Advanced oxidation process (AOP) is one of the most applied technology for the degradation and decontamination of wastewater and potable water. The use of powdered nanomaterials in photocatalysis is very common in AOP for the mineralization of organic contaminants in the water systems. However, the AOP has shown excellent results, handling of powdered catalysts, and its separation from the aquatic system poses a challenge to the scientific community. Moreover, the complete recovery of powdered catalysts is a big issue that leads to nano-toxicity. In the last decade, monolith aerogel based semiconductor photocatalysts have been developed and investigated for the decontamination of the wastewater. The aerogels based semiconductor photocatalysts possess excellent features such as high stability, large surface area, high porosity, mechanical strength, easy separation, and visible light active, making it materials for the next generation. In this chapter, the photocatalytic properties of various kinds of aerogels based semiconductor photocatalysts have been summarized. The role of aerogel’s support on the photocatalytic properties also has been discussed.