The piezoelectric and piezo-photoelectric effects: Emerging strategies for catalytic performance enhancement of low-dimensional nanostructures

The main focus of current attempts at sustainable energy development and environmental remediation is on using catalysts to directly transform primary energy (solar, mechanical, and thermal energies) from the surrounding environment into chemical energy. However, the strong charge recombination is a major factor in why the presently available catalysts are not up to par in their catalytic effectiveness. The creation of polarization electric fields has emerged as one of the most successful solutions to this issue. This review focuses on the principles of the piezoelectric effect in ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and pyroelectric materials, the mechanism of piezoelectric catalysis and piezoelectric photocatalysis, and the integration of polarization electric field and semiconductor properties to promote the separation of electron-hole pairs and regulate the charge migration process in the bulk phase. Based on the comparison and classification of different structure types of piezoelectric catalysts and piezoelectric photocatalysts in low dimensions, optimization techniques to improve piezoelectric properties and catalytic activities were introduced and the latest progress of polarization-facilitated piezoelectric catalysis/piezoelectric photocatalysis in the polarization electric field of renewable energy production and environmental remediation was overviewed. Finally, we outlined the significant obstacles and possible alternatives for designing polarization-enhanced strategies that make use of efficient energy harvesting.