Semiconductor polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalysts have attracted dramatically growing attention in the field of the visible-light-induced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) because of their facile synthesis, easy functionalization, attractive electronic band structure, high physicochemical stability and photocatalytic activity. This review article presents a panorama of the latest advancements in the rational design and development of g-C3N4 and g-C3N4-based composite photocatalysts for HER application. Concretely, the review starts with the development history, synthetic strategy, electronic structure and physicochemical characteristics of g-C3N4 materials, followed by the rational design and engineering of various nanostructured g-C3N4 (e.g. thinner, highly crystalline, doped, and porous g-C3N4) photocatalysts for HER application. Then a series of highly efficient g-C3N4 (e.g., metal/g-C3N4, semiconductor/g-C3N4, metal organic framework/g-C3N4, carbon/g-C3N4, conducting polymer/g-C3N4, sensitizer/g-C3N4) composite photocatalysts are exemplified. Lastly, this review provides a comprehensive summary and outlook on the major challenges, opportunities, and inspiring perspectives for future research in this hot area on the basis of pioneering works. It is believed that the emerging g-C3N4-based photocatalysts will act as the “holy grail” for highly efficient photocatalytic HER under visible-light irradiation.

Semiconductor polymeric graphitic carbon nitride photocatalysts: the “holy grail” for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction under visible light

One-dimensional (1D) metal-oxide nanostructures are ideal systems for exploring a large number of novel phenomena at the nanoscale and investigating size and dimensionality dependence of nanostructure properties for potential applications The construction and integration of photodetectors or optical switches based on such nanostructures with tailored geometries have rapidly advanced in recent years Active 1D nanostructure photodetector elements can be configured either as resistors whose conductions are altered by a charge-transfer process or as field-effect transistors (FET) whose properties can be controlled by applying appropriate potentials onto the gates Functionalizing the structure surfaces offers another avenue for expanding the sensor capabilities This article provides a comprehensive review on the state-of-the-art research activities in the photodetector field It mainly focuses on the metal oxide 1D nanostructures such as ZnO, SnO(2), Cu(2)O, Ga(2)O(3), Fe(2)O(3), In(2)O(3), CdO, CeO(2), and their photoresponses The review begins with a survey of quasi 1D metal-oxide semiconductor nanostructures and the photodetector principle, then shows the recent progresses on several kinds of important metal-oxide nanostructures and their photoresponses and briefly presents some additional prospective metal-oxide 1D nanomaterials Finally, the review is concluded with some perspectives and outlook on the future developments in this area

A comprehensive review of one-dimensional metal-oxide nanostructure photodetectors

Enhanced photocatalytic H2-production activity of WO3/TiO2 step-scheme heterojunction by graphene modification

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising strategy for addressing the worldwide environmental pollution and energy shortage issues. However, unlike TiO2 with good photostability, the intrinsic drawback of photoinduced decomposition, i.e., photocorrosion, of semiconductors significantly challenges durable photocatalysis. In this review, the photocorrosion mechanisms of typical semiconductors and different characterization methods proposed for monitoring the photocorrosion process of semiconductor-based composite photocatalysts are elaborated. Dedicated emphasis is put on the strategies for improving the anti-photocorrosion property of semiconductor-based photocatalysts, including modifying the crystal structure or morphology of semiconductors, doping with heteroatoms, hybridizing with various semiconductors and/or cocatalysts, and regulating the photocatalytic reaction conditions. Finally, we cast a personal prospect on the future development of the rational design of corrosion-controlled semiconductor-b...

Photocorrosion Inhibition of Semiconductor-Based Photocatalysts: Basic Principle, Current Development, and Future Perspective

The use of solar energy to catalyze the photo-driven processes has attracted tremendous attention from the scientific community because of its great potential to address energy and environmental is...

Perovskite Oxide Based Materials for Energy and Environment-Oriented Photocatalysis

Development of noble metal free catalysts for hydrogen evolution is the need of the hour for energy applications. In this regard, we designed and synthesized ternary heterojunction nanocomposites, consisting of ZnO nanoparticles anchored on MoS2-RGO nanosheets, as heterogeneous catalysts for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution. In photocatalytic process, catalyst dispersed in electrolytic solution (S2-, SO32-) recorded an enhanced rate of H2 evolution and the optimization experiments reveals that ZnO with 4.0 wt% of MoS2-RGO nanosheets (ZMG4) showed the highest photocatalytic H2 production of 28.616 mmol h-1 gcat-1 under sunlight irradiation, which is about 56 times higher than bare ZnO and several times higher than other ternary photocatalysts. The superior catalytic activity can be attributed to in situ generation of ZnS, which leads to improved interfacial charge transfer to cocatalyst MoS2, in turn RGO where plenty of active sites available for photocatalytic reaction. The recyclability experiments of optimized photocatalyst proved its stability. In addition, the ternary nanocomposites also show its multi-functional properties for hydrogen evolution activity under electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic conditions due to the high electrode-electrolyte contact area. Thus, the present work provides very useful insights in the development of inexpensive, multi-functional catalysts without noble metal loading to achieve high rate of H2 generation.

Efficient Electron Transfer across a ZnO-MoS2 -Reduced Graphene Oxide Heterojunction for Enhanced Sunlight-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Utilization of the total solar spectrum efficiently for photocatalysis has remained a huge challenge for a long time. However, designing a system by rationally combining nanocomponents with complementary properties, such as upconversion nanoparticles, semiconductors, plasmonic metals, and carbonaceous support, offers a promising route for efficient utilization of solar energy by harnessing the broadband spectrum. In this work, a series of novel quaternary plasmonic photocatalysts comprising of lanthanide-doped NaYF4@CdS (UC) core–shell nanostructures decorated with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets were prepared using the multistep hydrothermal method. The different components of the prepared nanocomposites could be efficiently employed to utilize both the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions. Specifically in this work, the utility of these quaternary nanocomposites for photocatalytic degradation of a colorless pharmaceutical pollutant, ciprofloxacin, under ...

Rational Design and Development of Lanthanide-Doped NaYF4@CdS–Au–RGO as Quaternary Plasmonic Photocatalysts for Harnessing Visible–Near-Infrared Broadband Spectrum

Ashish Kumar

Papers

Perovskite Oxide Based Materials for Energy and Environment-Oriented Photocatalysis

Efficient Electron Transfer across a ZnO-MoS2 -Reduced Graphene Oxide Heterojunction for Enhanced Sunlight-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Rational Design and Development of Lanthanide-Doped NaYF4@CdS–Au–RGO as Quaternary Plasmonic Photocatalysts for Harnessing Visible–Near-Infrared Broadband Spectrum

Vacancy Engineering in Semiconductor Photocatalysts: Implications in Hydrogen Evolution and Nitrogen Fixation Applications

Two dimensional N-doped ZnO-graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution