4G-PHOTOCAT allies the expertise of seven academic and three industrial partners from five EU countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Poland, and Finland) and two Southeast Asian countries (Malaysia and Vietnam) for the development of a novel generation of low-cost nano-engineered photocatalysts for sunlight-driven water purification in paintable photoreactors.

4G-PHOTOCAT is a collaborative research project for Specific International Cooperation Actions (SICA) to promote the participation of emerging economies and developing countries from the Southeast Asian region. It is supported by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Technological Development (Grant No.: 309636).

4G-PHOTOCAT is a three-years research project started on 01.01.2013.

Project Objectives

Within the framework of the 4G-PHOTOCAT project, researchers and industrial partners from seven different countries join their efforts in order to:

• Develop  a cost-efficient photocatalyst with a considerably improved degradation rate. For that purpose, sunlight-absorbing, innovative composite materials consisting of semiconductors and nanostructured materials are fabricated.
• Achieve the optimal architecture for the product. Advanced chemical deposition techniques with a high degree of control over composition and morphology are employed.
• Implement the newly developed photocatalysts into a liquid paints that can be utilized for the production of low-cost painted photoreactors. Such photoreactors can be used, for example, for water decontamination in remote rural areas of Vietnam and other countries.