Solar-assisted photocatalytic degradation of perfluorinated compounds in water

The protection of water resources is recognized as one of the cornerstones of environmental protection in Europe. Among vast array of persistent pollutants representing a significant risk to or via the European aquatic environment, presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), synthetic organic molecules used to manufacture various consumer and industrials products, is currently set as one of the highest priorities in the field of water quality and treatment. PFAS present a unique challenge for (waste)water treatment plants relying on primary and secondary treatment, thus their upgrade by advanced treatment methods is highly demanded. Current focus is on advanced physical or oxidation/reduction processes, considering also secondary treatment demands and energy efficiency. Accordingly, solar-driven photocatalytic treatment via reduction mechanism seems a promising option for PFAS removal. The main goal of this project entitled ""Solar-assisted photocatalytic degradation of perfluorinated compounds in water"" (acronym SoAPperF) is developing photocatalytic materials for reductive degradation of PFAS, leveraging and improving properties of tailored nano-sized semiconducting materials (NSSMs) to suppress charge carrier recombination and enable their efficient activation under solar irradiation. NSSMs will be designed by the deposition of noble metal (Ag) onto solar-active materials (BiVO4, g-C3N4, N-TiO2, Fe-TiO2, TiO2-WO3) coupled with carbon-based co-catalysts (reduced graphene-oxide, carbon quantum dots). The characterization and evaluation of NSSM include thorough analysis of their structure, surface and composition, nano-organization and morphology, crystallinity, and semiconducting properties, while optoelectronic properties will be predicted by computational quantum chemical approach, enabling tailoring and back-tailoring of NSSM. Solar-assisted PFAS reductive degradation will be conducted in batch and flow through reactors with immobilized NSSM, aiming at elucidating degradation mechanisms and pathways in relationship to changes in sum-water quality parameters.