Advances and perspectives of nanomaterials for photocatalytic degradation of biological ethylene toward the postharvest improvement of agricultural products

To date, intensive emphasis is required to develop advanced postharvest technologies to ensure food security, increase nutrition, and improve farmers toward cleaner production. How to effectively degrade the harmful gaseous ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) biosynthesis, which distributes heavy losses of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, has received considerable attention. Among various advanced techniques, photocatalytic degradation of biological C 2 H 4 is proposed as the most promising method to solve this issue. In this context, the recent studies on the photodegradation of C 2 H 4 have been critically summarized and highlighted. Many photocatalysts, including TiO 2 -based and non-TiO 2 -based (metal oxides (ZnO, WO 3 , Ga 2 O 3 ), molybdates (β-Ag 2 MoO 4 ), phosphides (Ag 3 PO 4 ), perovskite oxides (Bi 2 WO 6 )) nanomaterials, have been revealed with credible performance results. Also, varying reaction parameters to optimize the photocatalytic degradation efficacy in the literature are summarized. We also discussed the current status, challenges, and prospects for enhanced photodegradation of C 2 H 4 in this study. The efficacy and economics of photodegradation have played an essential role in selecting a particular type of photocatalyst. Although many efforts have been made, significant improvements are still required for photocatalysis. In this work, we have also successfully suggested some strategies to further promote this concept for controlling and degrading plant-generated C 2 H 4 in fruit and vegetable postharvest in a sustainable and economically feasible manner. Graphical Abstract