Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect

Huang, Yu; Ho, Steven Sai Hang; Lu, Yanfeng; Niu, Ruiyuan; Xu, Lifeng; Cao, Junji; Lee, Shuncheng

doi:10.3390/molecules21010056

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Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect

by

Yu Huang

^1,2,*,

Steven Sai Hang Ho

^1,3

,

Yanfeng Lu

¹,

Ruiyuan Niu

¹,

Lifeng Xu

¹,

Junji Cao

^1,2,* and

Shuncheng Lee

⁴

¹

Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China

²

State Key Lab of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG), Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China

³

Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, USA

⁴

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Molecules 2016, 21(1), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21010056

Submission received: 12 November 2015 / Revised: 27 December 2015 / Accepted: 28 December 2015 / Published: 4 January 2016

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Structural Photocatalytic Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications)

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Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous in indoor environments. Inhalation of VOCs can cause irritation, difficulty breathing, and nausea, and damage the central nervous system as well as other organs. Formaldehyde is a particularly important VOC as it is even a carcinogen. Removal of VOCs is thus critical to control indoor air quality (IAQ). Photocatalytic oxidation has demonstrated feasibility to remove toxic VOCs and formaldehyde from indoor environments. The technique is highly-chemical stable, inexpensive, non-toxic, and capable of removing a wide variety of organics under light irradiation. In this paper, we review and summarize the traditional air cleaning methods and current photocatalytic oxidation approaches in both of VOCs and formaldehyde degradation in indoor environments. Influencing factors such as temperature, relative humidity, deactivation and reactivations of the photocatalyst are discussed. Aspects of the application of the photocatalytic technique to improve the IAQ are suggested.

Keywords: VOCs; formaldehyde; photocatalysis; review; influencing factors

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MDPI and ACS Style

Huang, Y.; Ho, S.S.H.; Lu, Y.; Niu, R.; Xu, L.; Cao, J.; Lee, S. Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect. Molecules 2016, 21, 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21010056

AMA Style

Huang Y, Ho SSH, Lu Y, Niu R, Xu L, Cao J, Lee S. Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect. Molecules. 2016; 21(1):56. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21010056

Chicago/Turabian Style

Huang, Yu, Steven Sai Hang Ho, Yanfeng Lu, Ruiyuan Niu, Lifeng Xu, Junji Cao, and Shuncheng Lee. 2016. "Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect" Molecules 21, no. 1: 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21010056

APA Style

Huang, Y., Ho, S. S. H., Lu, Y., Niu, R., Xu, L., Cao, J., & Lee, S. (2016). Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect. Molecules, 21(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21010056

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Removal of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds via Photocatalytic Oxidation: A Short Review and Prospect

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