The practicality and prospects for disinfection control by photocatalysis during and post-pandemic: A critical review

The prevalence of global health implications from the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the innovation and largescale application of disinfection technologies for contaminated surfaces, air, and wastewater as the significant transmission media of disease. To date, primarily recommended disinfection practices are energy exhausting, chemical driven, and cause severe impact on the environment. The research on advanced oxidation processes has been recognized as promising strategies for disinfection purposes. In particular, semiconductor-based photo catalysis is an effective renewable solar-driven technology that relies on the reactive oxidative species, mainly hydroxyl (center dot OH) and superoxide (center dot O-2(-)) radicals, for rupturing the capsid shell of the virus and loss of pathogenicity. However, the limited understanding of critical aspects such as viral photo-inactivation mechanism, rapid virus mutagenicity, and virus viability for a prolonged time restricts the large-scale application of photocatalytic disinfection technology. In this work, fundamentals of photocatalysis disinfection phenomena are addressed with a reviewed remark on the reported literature of semiconductor photocatalysts efficacies against SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, to validate the photocatalysis process on an industrial scale, we provide updated data on available commercial modalities for an effective virus photo-inactivation process. An elaborative discussion on the long-term challenges and sustainable solutions is suggested to fill in the existing knowledge gaps. We anticipate this review will ignite interest among researchers to pave the way to the photocatalysis process for disinfecting virus-contaminated environments and surfaces for current and future pandemics.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for innovative and large-scale disinfection technologies for contaminated surfaces, air, and wastewater. Semiconductor-based photocatalysis shows promise as an effective method, but there are still critical aspects that need to be addressed for its large-scale application.