Application of BaTiO₃-based catalysts for piezocatalytic, photocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and bacterial disinfection in wastewater: A comprehensive review

The coupling of piezocatalysis and photocatalysis known as piezo-photocatalysis has attracted a lot of attention as one of the most effective advanced oxidation process (AOPs) for wastewater treatment, especially for the degradation of organic pollutants and disinfection of microbes. To advance this technology, there's a need to develop lead free piezoelectric materials to drive both piezocatalytic and photocatalytic process to prevent secondary pollution due to lead toxicity. Hence, barium titanate (BaTiO₃) has been widely used as lead free piezoelectric material for several applications including water splitting, bacterial disinfection, and wastewater treatment due to its exceptional optical and piezoelectric properties. This work presents a comprehensive review on the application of BaTiO₃ as a promising lead-free piezo-photocatalyst for the catalytic degradation of organic pollutants and bacterial disinfection from aqueous solution. This review article details the optical and piezoelectric properties, modification strategies, and synthetic methods of BaTiO₃. Furthermore, the application of BaTiO₃ as a preferred piezo-photocatalyst for wastewater treatment and a future perspective is presented.