Spotlighting graphene-based catalysts for the mitigation of environmentally hazardous pollutants to cleaner production: A review

In recent years, population growth and industrial development have raised concerns about environmental pollution and had negative effects on the entire ecosystem. Cleaner production is an effective strategy to reduce these negative effects and prevent damage to the environment. Graphene (GR)-based catalysts as eco-friendly catalysts for the mitigation of environmentally hazardous pollutants, such as pollutant degradation, CO2 reduction, and air purification, have been introduced as one of these cleaner production strategies. In this review, the benefits of GR-based catalysts for the breakdown of organic contaminants are highlighted. Besides, critical considerations, potential solutions, challenges, and upcoming development opportunities for GR-based catalysts in sustainable applications were discussed. The main observations are: (i) GR-based catalysts are different types, and there are several methods to synthesize them, (ii) GR-based catalysts are efficient catalysts for the mitigation of environmentally hazardous pollutants, and (iii) several issues must be resolved for the broad applicability of GR-based catalysts, namely, a) unclear mechanisms and/or lack of a basic understanding of the function of GR; b) complex problems related to the preparation of GR; c) graphene's derivates on a large scale; d) finite stability in specific reactions (e.g., photocatalysis); and e) development of synthetic methods for producing large quantities of high-quality GR nanomaterials. Accordingly, the research and development space has clearly shown that GR-based nanomaterials are the basis for future catalysts for cleaner production.