Configuration regulation of active sites by accurate doping inducing self-adapting defect for enhanced photocatalytic applications: A review

It is still a challenge to recognize and comprehend active sites for designing novel photocatalyst systems and uncovering site-mediated reaction mechanism comprehensively. More attentions should be focused on regulating local geometry and electronic structure around active sites. Doping engineering and defect engineering have been considered as effective strategies to modulate local configuration and regulate electronic structure of active sites. Indeed, dopant sites render nonequilibrium state and rearrange electron cloud density of local coordination lattice, releasing lattice strain by escaping adjacent atoms. Dopant site synergizing induced vacancy site would reconstruct local configuration of dopant sites, regulating to be dual sites with asymmetric geometry. Herein, we provide a systematic overview for doping engineering. We particularly concern double strategies of doping engineering and defect engineering for synergetic photocatalytic performance. The asymmetric geometry of reconstructed active sites may bring about unique electronic properties by doping engineering inducing defect engineering, whose mechanism was revealed and presented thoroughly. Finally, we outline different photocatalyst systems with dopant synergizing induced anion vacancy for different photocatalytic application, such as energy conversion and pollutants removal. Furthermore, the main aspects of fabricating doped, defective photocatalyst and photocatalyst systems with dopant induced vacancy are described.