The synergistic effect of surface vacancies and heterojunctions for efficient photocatalysis: A review

Photocatalysis is an economical and environment-friendly technology with promising application, while the development of efficient photocatalyst is full of challenge. Fabrication of vacancies and heterojunctions have been demonstrated to be two of the most utilized and effective modulation strategies to improve photoactivity. Experimental and theoretical calculations have shown that the coexistence of vacancies and heterojunctions exhibits better photocatalytic activity and stability compared to separate one. However, there has been no review to systematically unveil the synergistic mechanism of vacancies and heterojunctions. In this paper, the types, synthesis methods and characterization strategies of heterojunctions and vacancies are discussed respectively. Besides, the synergistic promotion mechanism of heterojunctions and vacancies for efficient photoactivity is also elaborated. Furthermore, the challenges and development directions in synergistic photocatalysis based on vacancies and heterojunctions are summarized.