Metallic or Metallic Oxide (Photo)catalysts for Environmental Applications

During the last century, industrialization intensified in a growing number of countries around the world, and in various industries, particularly in the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, horticulture, food, and petroleum sectors. This intense industrialization has resulted in the emergence of a large variety of organic pollutants, such as dyes, aromatics, pesticides, solvents, EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals), and PPCPs (Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products). Additionally, various litter is produced as wood or forest residues, waste from food crops (wheat straw, bagasse), horticulture (yard waste), or human waste from sewage plants. All this pollution and waste need to be treated and valorised in order to maintain a safe and clean environment. Numerous innovative catalytic and photocatalytic processes are being developed to eliminate these by-products of our industries. In this Special Issue, we are dealing with innovative (photo)catalytic processes for environmental applications based on metallic or metallic oxide materials. The papers concern either the (photo)catalytic transformation of various waste to produce high-value chemicals, or the (photo)catalytic degradation of pollutants. Advances highlighted in the issue are summarized in the following paragraphs focusing on these two main topics: photocatalysis for pollutant removal and catalytic valorisation of biomass