Along with industrialization and rapid urbanization, environmental remediation is globally a perpetual concept to deliver a sustainable environment. Various organic and inorganic wastes from industries and domestic homes are released into water systems. These wastes carry contaminants with detrimental effects on the environment. Consequently, there is an urgent need for an appropriate wastewater treatment technology for the effective decontamination of our water systems. One promising approach is employing nanoparticles of metal oxides as photocatalysts for the degradation of these water pollutants. Transition metal oxides and their composites exhibit excellent photocatalytic activities and along show favorable characteristics like non-toxicity and stability that also make them useful in a wide range of applications. This study discusses some characteristics of metal oxides and briefly outlined their various applications. It focuses on the metal oxides TiO₂, ZnO, WO₃, CuO, and Cu₂O, which are the most common and recognized to be cost-effective, stable, efficient, and most of all, environmentally friendly for a sustainable approach for environmental remediation. Meanwhile, this study highlights the photocatalytic activities of these metal oxides, recent developments, challenges, and modifications made on these metal oxides to overcome their limitations and maximize their performance in the photodegradation of pollutants.

Energy is the fundamental requirement of all physical, chemical, and biological processes which are utilized for better living standards. The toll that the process of development takes on the environment and economic activity is evident from the arising concerns about sustaining the industrialization that has happened in the last centuries. The increase in carbon footprint and the large-scale pollution caused by industrialization has led researchers to think of new ways to sustain the developmental activities, whilst simultaneously minimizing the harming effects on the enviroment. Therefore, decarbonization strategies have become an important factor in industrial expansion, along with the invention of new catalytic methods for carrying out non-thermal reactions, energy storage methods and environmental remediation through the removal or breakdown of harmful chemicals released during manufacturing processes. The present article discusses the structural features and photocatalytic applications of a variety of metal oxide-based materials. Moreover, the practical applicability of these materials is also discussed, as well as the transition of production to an industrial scale. Consequently, this study deals with a concise framework to link metal oxide application options within energy, environmental and economic sustainability, exploring the footprint analysis as well.

Increasing demand for electricity and the modernization of power systems within competitive markets has induced power systems to operate close to their stability limits. Therefore, the continuous monitoring and control of power systems through voltage stability indices is urgently needed. This is the first-ever effort to examine more than 40 voltage stability indices based on their formulation, application, performance, and assessment measures. These indices are sorted based on a logical and chronological order considering the most recent indices to be applied worldwide. However, the generalizability of these indices in terms of multivariable objectives is limited. Despite its limitation, this study systematically reviews available indices in the literature within the past three decades to compile an integrated knowledge base with an up-to-date exposition. This is followed by a comparative analysis in terms of their similarity, functionality, applicability, formulation, merit, demerit, and overall performance. Also, a broad categorization of voltage stability indices is addressed. This study serves as an exhaustive roadmap of the issue and can be counted as a reference for planning and operation in the context of voltage stability for students, researchers, scholars, and practitioners.

Among the most notable nanotechnology applications is its employment in environmental remediation and biomedical applications. Nonetheless, there is a need for cleaner and sustainable methods in preparing nanomaterials that use cheaper, more environment-friendly precursors than the conventional synthesis process. The green chemistry approach for the preparation of nanoparticles is becoming more attractive as it uses non-toxic chemicals and reagents. It also offers cost-effective synthesis process as it uses readily available plant sources and microbe as redox mediators in converting metallic cations to metal or metal oxide nanoparticles. The extracts of these plants and microbe sources contain phytochemicals and metabolites in variable quantities, which serve as redox mediators and capping agents that stabilize the biosynthesized nanoparticles. The present article reviews the recent studies on the fabrication of silver oxide nanoparticles (Ag₂O-NPs) via plant-mediated and microbe-mediated green synthesis, giving a concise discussion on the green preparation of Ag₂O-NPs employing extracts of different plants and microbial sources. The performances of the biosynthesized Ag₂O-NPs are also reviewed, highlighting their potential use in photocatalysis and biomedical applications.