Carbon-Based Nanomaterials for Catalytic Wastewater Treatment: A Review

Carbon-based nanomaterials (CBM) have shown great potential for various environmental applications because of their physical and chemical properties. The unique hybridization properties of CBMs allow for the tailored manipulation of their structures and morphologies. However, owing to poor solar light absorption, and the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, pristine carbon materials typically have unsatisfactory photocatalytic performances and practical applications. The main challenge in this field is the design of economical, environmentally friendly, and effective photocatalysts. Combining carbonaceous materials with carbonaceous semiconductors of different structures results in unique properties in carbon-based catalysts, which offers a promising approach to achieving efficient application. Here, we review the contribution of CBMs with different dimensions, to the catalytic removal of organic pollutants from wastewater by catalyzing the Fenton reaction and photocatalytic processes. This review, therefore, aims to provide an appropriate direction for empowering improvements in ongoing research work, which will boost future applications and contribute to overcoming the existing limitations in this field