Application of Photocatalytic Materials in Sensors

Abstract Photocatalysis technology can not only decompose water, toxic and harmful substances in the environment, but also directly convert solar energy into electricity and other clean energy. Therefore, the application of photocatalytic materials in sensors has great potential. The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the application and potential of photocatalytic materials in sensors. The content includes the application of various photocatalytic materials in sensors. The photocatalytic materials mainly include n‐type semiconductor materials TiO 2 , ZnO, SnO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , WO 3 , In 2 O 3 and nonmetallic semiconductor C 3 N 4 . Sensors include gas sensors, photoelectrochemical sensors, electrochemical sensors, photocatalytic sensors, and other sensors. The results show that photocatalytic materials are most widely used in gas sensors. In addition to using photocatalytic materials to detect gas, the most common method is to use photocatalytic materials to detect the concentration of metal ions and organic substances in water. The most widely used photocatalytic material is titanium dioxide, and C 3 N 4 as a nonmetallic semiconductor is rarely used in sensors. It can be concluded that photocatalytic materials have great potential in the application of sensors, among which C 3 N 4 as a nonmetallic semiconductor photocatalytic material has more potential.