TY - JOUR

T1 - Polarization-enhanced photocatalytic activity in non-centrosymmetric materials based photocatalysis

T2 - A review

AU - Zhu, Qiuhui

AU - Zhang, Ke

AU - Li, Danqing

AU - Li, Nan

AU - Xu, Jingkun

AU - Bahnemann, Detlef W.

AU - Wang, Chuanyi

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21976116 ), Shaanxi Science and Technology Program (No. 2020KWZ-005 ), SAFEA of China (High-end Foreign Expert Project) , and Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation of Germany (Group-Linkage Program) .

PY - 2021/12/15

Y1 - 2021/12/15

N2 - The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy through semiconductor-based photocatalysis technology is an appealing strategy towards resolving the energy crisis and environmental pollution issues. However, the practical application of photocatalysis is impeded by its limited photocatalytic efficiency due to the intrinsic nature of photocatalysts, i.e., recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. To this end, non-centrosymmetric (NCS) based photocatalytic materials including piezoelectrics, pyroelectrics, ferroelectrics and nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are attractive, which can not only convert mechanical energy and temperature fluctuation in the environment besides solar energy into secondary energy, but can also promote the separation of photogenerated charge carriers due to their built-in electric field resultant polarization, thus greatly improving their photocatalytic performance. Here, we first surveyed the recent advances in of NCS-based photocatalytic materials. Further, the correlation of their polarization-related physical properties with their photocatalytic activities and the strategies towards improving polarization of NCS materials were systematically summarized and highlighted, aiming to clarify the correlation of the improvement of polarization with the enhanced photocatalytic performance. Subsequently, the photocatalytic mechanism and multiple applications of photocatalysis in environmental remediation and energy conversion based on NCS materials were presented. Meanwhile, we discussed the remaining challenges for NCS materials and strategies for enhancing their photocatalytic efficiency. Finally, the development trend and future perspectives of NCS photocatalytic materials in environmental chemical engineering is presented.

AB - The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy through semiconductor-based photocatalysis technology is an appealing strategy towards resolving the energy crisis and environmental pollution issues. However, the practical application of photocatalysis is impeded by its limited photocatalytic efficiency due to the intrinsic nature of photocatalysts, i.e., recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. To this end, non-centrosymmetric (NCS) based photocatalytic materials including piezoelectrics, pyroelectrics, ferroelectrics and nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are attractive, which can not only convert mechanical energy and temperature fluctuation in the environment besides solar energy into secondary energy, but can also promote the separation of photogenerated charge carriers due to their built-in electric field resultant polarization, thus greatly improving their photocatalytic performance. Here, we first surveyed the recent advances in of NCS-based photocatalytic materials. Further, the correlation of their polarization-related physical properties with their photocatalytic activities and the strategies towards improving polarization of NCS materials were systematically summarized and highlighted, aiming to clarify the correlation of the improvement of polarization with the enhanced photocatalytic performance. Subsequently, the photocatalytic mechanism and multiple applications of photocatalysis in environmental remediation and energy conversion based on NCS materials were presented. Meanwhile, we discussed the remaining challenges for NCS materials and strategies for enhancing their photocatalytic efficiency. Finally, the development trend and future perspectives of NCS photocatalytic materials in environmental chemical engineering is presented.

KW - Built-in electric field

KW - Energy conversion

KW - Environmental remediation

KW - Non-centrosymmetric materials

KW - Polarization

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113707273&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.cej.2021.131681

DO - 10.1016/j.cej.2021.131681

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85113707273

VL - 426

JO - Chemical Engineering Journal

JF - Chemical Engineering Journal

SN - 1385-8947

M1 - 131681

ER -