Considering the situation that environmental issues become more serious day by day, research on practical applications of semiconductor photocatalysis for environmental purification has attracted broad attention, including the remediation of water pollution, air contaminant treatment, photocatalytic sterilization etc., among which the application of semiconductor photocatalytic properties for the disinfection of soil surfaces, air and water, such as TiO2, is of great interest. In this paper, we give an overview of the photocatalytic antibacterial ability of TiO2 and other novel carbon material semiconductors. We have introduced the background information of photocatalytic disinfection and the disinfection mechanism of pure TiO2. Furthermore, other modified TiO2 sterilization materials are listed, such as those with doping modification. In addition, some novel carbon based nanomaterials are discussed as well in this review, for instance, g-C3N4, carbon nanotubes and graphene nanosheets. Finally, we present an outlook over two dimensional (2D) materials and coupling techniques based on the combination of photocatalysis and other sterilization technologies.
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