Welcome to 2021 research seminars by the University of Adelaide and hosted by the Joint Chemical and Industrial Chemistry Committee, South Australia.

Current freshwater and marine systems have long suffered from severe pollution of hazardous organic contaminants and microplastics. These micropollutants are highly toxic and cannot be completely removed by the conventional water treatment plants, posing great threats to the aquatic ecosystems and human health. In this seminar, we will introduce a powerful purification technology, Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), which exploit highly oxidizing species to directly decompose organic contaminants in soil and water.

Functional nanocarbon materials, such as graphene, nanotubes, diamond nanocrystals and biochars, are manufactured as ‘green’ catalysts to drive AOPs reactions, which manifest high reactivity, selectivity, and stability in practical water treatment. Advanced strategies, such as surface functionalisation and structure engineering, were applied to fine-tune the chemistry and electronic features of nanocarbons, thus regulating the mechanisms and kinetics in purification. The AOPs technology involves multidisciplines of chemistry, materials sciences, and environmental nanotechnology, and AOPs will help address the emerging issues of water pollution, microplastic control, and bacteria/virus contamination in the post-COVID era.