Photocatalytic Processes in Advanced Nanomaterials

Photocatalysis harnesses light energy to drive chemical transformations at a catalyst’s surface, offering a sustainable route to solar fuel generation, environmental remediation and chemical synthesis. Advanced nanomaterials, ranging from two-dimensional metal chalcogenides to oxide–chalcogenide composites, exhibit tunable band structures, high surface-to-volume ratios and engineered defect sites that enhance light absorption and charge carrier dynamics. Recent advances have focused on the rational design of heterojunctions and Z-scheme architectures to promote efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, thereby suppressing recombination and boosting redox reactivity. Oxygen vacancies, dopants and surface functionalisation further tailor the electronic structure and active site distribution, enabling selective conversion of CO2 to value-added chemicals or splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen under visible and near-infrared illumination. Integration of plasmonic metals, single-atom co-catalysts and conductive supports has opened new avenues for practical solar-to-chemical energy conversion, with demonstrated improvements in photochemical quantum efficiency, stability and scalability.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have shown that interstitial carbon doping of tin disulfide nanosheets can induce microstrain and tailor light-harvesting properties, leading to a record high photochemical quantum efficiency for CO2 reduction under visible light. The incorporation of low-level dopants within the chalcogenide lattice not only extends absorption onset but also suppresses charge recombination, resulting in enhanced hydrocarbon formation rates. Investigations into defect-engineered layered oxides have revealed that controlled introduction of oxygen vacancies and surface heteroatoms promotes strong redox activity and stability during long-term photocatalytic operation, offering a blueprint for next-generation artificial photosynthetic systems.

Photocatalytic Processes in Advanced Nanomaterials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in photocatalytic processes in advanced nanomaterials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Photocatalysis: Light-driven activation of a catalyst to accelerate redox reactions without being consumed.

Nanomaterial: A substance with structural features at the nanoscale, typically below 100 nm, offering high surface area and unique electronic properties.

Heterojunction: An interface between two semiconductors with differing band structures that promotes charge separation.

Z-scheme: A charge transfer mechanism in photocatalysis where electrons and holes migrate along a stepped energy alignment to maximise redox potentials.

Charge separation: The spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes to prevent recombination and enable surface reactions.

Band gap: The energy difference between a material’s valence and conduction bands that determines its light absorption threshold.

Oxygen vacancy: A defect site in oxide lattices where an oxygen atom is missing, often acting as an electron trap and active centre for adsorption.

References

1. Enhanced photocatalytic reduction of CO2 using a novel 2D/0D SnS2/CeO2 binary photocatalyst with Z-scheme heterojunction and oxygen vacancy. Journal of CO2 Utilization (2023).
2. Carbon-doped SnS2 nanostructure as a high-efficiency solar fuel catalyst under visible light. Nature Communications (2018).
3. SnS2/TiO2 Nanocomposites for Hydrogen Production and Photodegradation under Extended Solar Irradiation. Catalysts (2021).
4. Ni loaded SnS 2 hexagonal nanosheets for photocatalytic hydrogen generation via water splitting. RSC Advances (2023).