Reseña

This book called "Photocatalysis, Photochemistry and Photobiology: Perspectives in 2021", compiles the most
important and recent advances of research that were developed in three fields of science. These works were
presented, virtually due to the pandemic associated with COVID-19, at the 7th Latin American Congress of
Photocatalysis, Photochemistry and Photobiology (7th LACP3). This Congress, carried out with the support of
the Engineering Institute of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IIUNAM), was held from October
26 to 28, 2021, with the presentation as oral or posters of more than 60 works of eight different countries.
The papers received for this Congress are important contributions with great advances in these three areas of
research, particularly in photocatalysis. However, further research and development are required in these
areas in order to achieve two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): numbers 9 (Water, Industry,
Innovation and Infrastructure) and 13 (Climate Action). Goals adopted on September 25th, 2015, by the leaders
of different countries that were members of the United Nations Organization at that time, to eradicate
poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all, as part of a new agenda to achieve the Sustainable
Development.
In this Congress over three days, we had the remarkable participation of six international plenary speakers, to
which I send my congratulations and deeply thanks. They presented very novel topics that we need to
continue studying and optimizing, and to promote with the industrial and government sectors, such as the
design and operation of best-performing photoreactors and catalysts with a better cost-benefit ratio, but also
our plenary speakers presented the need of developing processes and Materials for the transformation of
pollutants such as CO2, greenhouse gas, into value-added products. All this, in order to increase the feasibility
of the use or application of AOP at an industrial scale, such as in wastewater treatment plants and drinking
water facilities. So far, only a few real cases of the use of these processes are registered worldwide.
Several and very interesting and new topics were also presented in the 7th Latin American Congress of
Photocatalysis, Photochemistry and Photobiology (7th LACP3). However, we need to make more efforts in
research focused on studying the effect of AOP in antimicrobial resistance, which is a topic of an important
health concern due to the increasing impact that antibiotic use has on the resistance of several pathogens.
I hope that in the next 8th LACP3 to be held in June 2023 in Niagara Falls, Canada by Dr. Mehrab Mehrvar,
Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, important advances in these topics will be presented. I take the
opportunity to wish success for the next edition of the Congress.
I also would like to thank Dr. Vicente Rodriguez, professor of the Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica
y Tecnológica AC, co-editor of the Special Issue of the Topics in Catalysis Journal, for the publication the best
Works presented in this Congress, for his help and trust in the organization of this Congress. My thanks also
go to the members of the Technical and Scientific Committees for all their efforts and help provided to select
the Works presented in this Congress.
My special thanks go to the members of the Organizing Committee (Alma, Brenda, Sandra, Tania and Marco
Antonio) and to the technical staff (Amalia, Luis, Valeria and collaborators) for the time, ideas, efforts, and
hard work carried out during months for the good development of this Congress. Of course, I also would like
to thank and give my congratulations to all participants of the 7th LACP3.