Recent advances in photoinduced catalysis for water splitting and environmental applications

Abstract To secure reliable alternative energy sources, the up-conversion of solar energy into storable chemical energy holds promise. This review is organized to highlight recent advances in the fields of solar energy utilization and conversion methods with the aid of various heterogeneous catalysts. Special emphasis has been placed on TiO2 photoanode catalysts, band-gap engineering, TiO2-coupled light-harvesting molecules, and photon-coupled electron transfer via electron transport mediator systems. Furthermore, the coverage of this review extends to the topics of oxygen evolution catalysts, water reduction catalysts, and a system assembly capable of completing the four-electron water-oxidation reaction for efficient photocatalytic water splitting.