Department of Green Energy Technology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India

Water is an essential requirement for both domestic and industrial purposes. The depletion of accessible resources and an upsurge in the water pollution affect both. One of the main causes of water pollution is industrial discharges, specifically the effluents that emanate from textile factories. From these factories, toxic pollutants are often discharged without any monitoring of pollutant control or eradication. The use of the photodegradation technique has successfully demonstrated the efficient decomposition of these toxic pollutants. Different sizes and shapes of materials have already been explored as photocatalysts. Among them, nanometric photocatalysts turned out to be the most effective. To achieve further advances, biopolymers are introduced alongside nanostructured materials for better recycling, biodegradable, and as an eco-friendly approach. This review aims to explore into metal-biopolymer and metal oxide-biopolymer composites from synthesis to application perspectives. We have also elaborated particularly on studies that explore the composition of metals and metal oxides with biopolymers for the application of dye degradation.

Keywords: Bio-derived metal and metal oxide; biopolymer; nanocomposites; dye degradation; environmental applications