Advances in the Engineering of Photocatalytic Reactors

Photocatalytic reactors have gained significant attention in recent years due to their potential applications in environmental remediation, energy production, and chemical synthesis. These reactors harness the power of light to drive chemical reactions at the surface of a photocatalyst, typically a semiconductor material. Several parameters should be considered for the design of a photocatalytic rector. These include the choice of irradiation source depending on the bandgap of the photocatalyst and the desired reaction, the reactor materials and operating conditions. Moreover, the photoreactor geometry influences the light distribution, mass transfer, and overall efficiency. Common photoreactor configurations include slurry, fixed bed, fluidized bed and membrane reactors.



While significant progress has been made in photocatalytic reactor design, further research is still needed to address challenges such as efficiency, selectivity, and scalability.

Future perspectives to address such features could be:

• the development of photocatalysts with specific properties for targeted applications;

• the coupling of photocatalytic reactors with renewable energy sources to create sustainable systems;

• the use of heterogeneous photocatalysis with other technologies (e.g., membrane separation, electrochemistry) to enhance performance and broaden applications.

• the combining of multiple unit operations within a single reactor to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency.

• the use of computational tools to optimize photoreactor design and predict performance.



We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to photocatalytic reactors for:

• Water purification

• Air purification

• Fuels production

• Chemical synthesis (including selective oxidation and reduction reactions)

• Design and modelling of innovative photoreactor configurations.