Engineering carbon materials for organic pollutant removal via adsorption and photodegradation: A review

Engineering carbon materials have garnered significant interest due to their remarkable proficiency in eliminating organic pollutants from wastewater. Both adsorption and photocatalysis stand out as popular methods for water purification, each offering distinct benefits. However, each technique has notable limitations when employed solely. Consequently, combining these two technologies to leverage their strengths for removing organic pollutants presents not only a promising opportunity but also a significant challenge that has not been fully understood. To overcome this challenge, this review outlines the progress in research on engineering carbon materials for adsorption and photodegradation of organic pollutants. It discusses the capacities and the mechanisms of different carbon materials for adsorption and photodegradation of organic pollutants. The synergistic effects of engineering carbon materials on different organic pollutants are also summarized in detail. The factors influencing the removal of organic pollutants by engineering carbon materials are summarized as well. This review highlights the importance and potential of adsorption and photodegradation technology for removing organic pollutants in the environment, introduces recent developments in adsorbents and photocatalysts, and suggests potential research directions.