ZnO-based photocatalysts have attracted significant attention for their potential use in advanced oxidation processes for environmental remediation. However, critical challenges, such as rapid charge carrier recombination and narrow light absorption, and poor long-term stability necessitate material modifications to enhance performance. This review provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of recent developments in ZnO-based photocatalysts, including heterojunctions with metal oxides, carbon-based hybrids, metal/non-metal doping, and metal–organic framework materials. Furthermore, emerging trends, such as the integration of atomistic calculations and machine learning (ML) techniques in material design, property prediction, and the optimization of photocatalytic performance, are critically examined. These modern computationally driven approaches provide new insights into band gap engineering, charge transport mechanisms, and the optimization of synthesis parameters, thereby accelerating the discovery of high-performance ZnO-based photocatalysts. However, their practical integration remains limited due to the availability of high-quality datasets and the lack of interdisciplinary methodologies. The review also discusses key research gaps, including emerging environmental applications, as well as stability and scalability challenges, providing a roadmap for future research in data-driven photocatalysis. By evaluating current research, this review aims to provide a foundation for the modification of next-generation ZnO-based photocatalysts for environmental applications.

Due to the inability of conventional wastewater treatment procedures to remove organic pharmaceutical pollutants, active pharmaceutical components remain in wastewater and even reach tap water. In terms of pharmaceutical pollutants, the scientific community focuses on β-blockers due to their extensive (over)usage and moderately high solubility. In this study, the photocatalytic activity of V₂O₅ was investigated through the degradation of nadolol (NAD), pindolol (PIN), metoprolol (MET), and their mixture under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in water. For the preparation of V₂O₅, facile hydrothermal synthesis was used. The structural, morphological, and surface properties and purity of synthesized V₂O₅ powder were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray, and Raman spectroscopy. SEM micrographs showed hexagonal-shaped platelets with well-defined morphology of materials with diameters in the range of 10–65 µm and thickness of around a few microns. X-ray diffraction identified only one crystalline phase in the sample. The Raman scattering measurements taken on the catalyst confirmed the result of XRPD. Degradation kinetics were monitored by ultra-fast liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The results showed that in individual solutions, photocatalytic degradation of MET and NAD was relatively insignificant (<10%). However, in the PIN case, the degradation was significant (64%). In the mixture, the photodegradation efficiency of MET and NAD slightly increased (15% and 13%). Conversely, it reduced the PIN to the still satisfactory value of 40%. Computational analysis based on molecular and periodic density functional theory calculations was used to complement our experimental findings. Calculations of the average local ionization energy indicate that the PIN is the most reactive of all three considered molecules in terms of removing an electron from it.

In this study, Cu-doped TiO₂ combined with natural zeolite (ZT) was synthesized and applied as a fixed powder layer on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) tablets. The material’s morphology, structural, and chemical properties were characterized using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. The antioxidant capacity was evaluated by assessing the neutralization of hydroxyl radicals and iron (III) ions. For the first time, tablets with Cu-TiO₂ and ZT deposited on PMMA as the carrier were investigated for removing two dyes, methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB), from water under simulated solar (SS) and UVC irradiation. Under SS irradiation, the Cu-TiO₂/PMMA and Cu-TiO₂/ZT/PMMA tablets achieved about 21% degradation of MB after 240 min. This result is particularly noteworthy because SS radiation provides lower energy compared with UVC, making the process more economically efficient. Furthermore, the photocatalysts are immobilized on a stable carrier, which enhances the method’s cost-effectiveness by reducing material loss and simplifying recovery. In the presence of ZT/PMMA tablets, 69% of MB was removed by adsorption after 240 min. Additionally, we explored the mechanism of degradation, revealing that the enhanced generation of hydroxyl radicals plays a pivotal role in the effective degradation of MB. At the same time, photogenerated holes contribute to the removal of MO. The overall results suggest that the tablets obtained are a promising solution for water purification due to their effectiveness, simplicity, and low processing cost.