Theoretical Foundations of Photocatalysis

The technological progress of the twentieth-twenty-first centuries has caused serious problems: the depletion of traditional non-renewable sources (oil, gas, coal) as well as environmental problems, primarily related to the greenhouse effect. The study of the photocatalysis and the development of new effective photocatalytic systems can lead to solving problems associated with the need to replace non-renewable raw materials and energy sources with renewable ones, as well as significantly advance in reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by capturing and further transforming it into value-added products. This Chapter covers general aspects of photocatalytic reactions as well as the photocatalytic materials with the main focus on pyrochlore oxides and methods for improving their activity.