Application of polysaccharide-based biopolymers as supports in photocatalytic treatment of water and wastewater: a review

Rising health issues of Worldwide pollution by fossil fuel products are Fostering the development of safer materials such as biopolymers in many sectors such as food, pharmaceutical, medical and environmental industries. Indeed, biopolymers are often safe, biodegradable, cheap and easy to modify. Here we review photocatalysts based on polysaccharides for wastewater treatment. Polysaccharides include starch, cellulose, carrageenan, alginate, chitin, chitosan and gum. The main reasons for using biodegradable biopolymers are their ability to adsorb pollutants and to be modified with nanoparticles and semiconductors. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.