Yang Lingling, Zhou Han, Fan Tongxiang, Zhang Di
State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240, P.R. China.
Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2014 Apr 21;16(15):6810-26. doi: 10.1039/c4cp00246f. Epub 2014 Mar 6.
Artificial photosynthesis is a highly-promising strategy to convert solar energy into hydrogen energy for the relief of the global energy crisis. Water oxidation is the bottleneck for its kinetic and energetic complexity in the further enhancement of the overall efficiency of the artificial photosystem. Developing efficient and cost-effective photocatalysts for water oxidation is a growing desire, and semiconductor photocatalysts have recently attracted more attention due to their stability and simplicity. This article reviews the recent advancement of semiconductor photocatalysts with a focus on the relationship between material optimization and water oxidation efficiency. A brief introduction to artificial photosynthesis and water oxidation is given first, followed by an explanation of the basic rules and mechanisms of semiconductor particulate photocatalysts for water oxidation as theoretical references for discussions of componential, surface structure, and crystal structure modification. O2-evolving photocatalysts in Z-scheme systems are also introduced to demonstrate practical applications of water oxidation photocatalysts in artificial photosystems. The final part proposes some challenges based on the dynamics and energetics of photoholes which are fundamental to the enhancement of water oxidation efficiency, as well as on the simulation of natural water oxidation that will be a trend in future research.
人工光合作用是一种极具前景的策略，可将太阳能转化为氢能，以缓解全球能源危机。水氧化是进一步提高人工光系统整体效率的动力学和能量学复杂性的瓶颈。开发高效且经济高效的水氧化光催化剂的需求日益增长，半导体光催化剂因其稳定性和简易性最近受到了更多关注。本文综述了半导体光催化剂的最新进展，重点关注材料优化与水氧化效率之间的关系。首先简要介绍人工光合作用和水氧化，接着解释半导体颗粒光催化剂用于水氧化的基本规则和机理，作为讨论成分、表面结构和晶体结构改性的理论参考。还介绍了Z型系统中的析氧光催化剂，以展示水氧化光催化剂在人工光系统中的实际应用。最后一部分基于对提高水氧化效率至关重要的光空穴动力学和能量学，以及天然水氧化模拟（这将是未来研究的一个趋势）提出了一些挑战。
