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Faculty of Arts, Department of Geography, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
Faculty of Arts, Department of Geography, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq.
In this study, the authors examine how journalism affects the societal awareness regarding 2D nanomaterials and their use in photocatalysis, using the content of the press from 2000 to 2025. The analytical approach and historical approach of the study help them to comprehensively examine a variety of sources, such as newspapers, archival repositories, science magazines, press releases, and peer-reviewed journals. The study points to the media discourses of atomic and electronic structures of doped graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and layered metal oxides in influencing popular imagination of interfacial charge transfer, defect engineering, and photocatalytic performance. The paper also illustrates the use of the heteroatoms (N, S, P) and vacancy engineering to introduce to the eyes of journalism as the key to visible-light-driven photocatalytic defect trapping and pollutant degradation. Statistical information shows that the number of references to photocatalysis has changed greatly, as the percentage of mentions grew by 3% in 2000-2005 until 63% in 2021-2025, and the focus has shifted to the discussion of sustainability and environmental impact rather than the excitement surrounding the development of photocatalysis. The findings demonstrate that journalism was not only covering the scientific developments, but also presenting them in the major sociopolitical perspectives of renewable energy, environmental cleanup, and the policy of nanotechnology. This coverage change has helped to transform 2D nanomaterials from unpredictable objects of science to the perspective of sustainable development. Future directions in this field should be on the large-scale incorporation of the 2D nanomaterials in environmental and energy applications, as well as on the issue of ethics and regulations of using the same. Also, the research on how social media influences the formation of population knowledge about the new technologies will provide important information about the changing patterns of science communication.
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