Multi-Energy-Driven Photocatalysis: Mechanism, Progress, and Perspective

Photocatalysis, a technology that can convert solar energy into chemical energy, exhibits tremendous potential for addressing the current environmental pollution and energy crisis. In the past decades, a variety of regulating strategies, including element doping, defect construction, and band engineering, have been developed to improve the performance of photocatalysis. However, single-mode photocatalysis has reached its performance limitation. To further enhance the photocatalytic performance, an emerging strategy is to construct multi-energy-integrated photocatalysis. This strategy has been proven to broaden the light absorption range and enhance the charge separation efficiency. In this review, different types of external energy, including thermal energy, electrical energy, magnetic energy, mechanical energy, and microwave energy for enhancing the performance of photocatalysis, are classified. The fundamental reinforcement mechanisms and advantages of external energy–driven photocatalysis are critically discussed. The state-of-the-art progress of the utilization of external fields in photocatalytic water splitting, pollutant degradation, and chemical synthesis is summarized. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of this promising field are demonstrated.