Phosphorene-Based Heterostructured Photocatalysts

Semiconductor photocatalysis is a potential pathway to solve the problems of global energy shortage and environmental pollution. Black phosphorus (BP) has been widely used in the field of photocatalysis owing to its features of high hole mobility, adjustable bandgap, and wide optical absorption range. Nevertheless, pristine BP still exhibits unsatisfactory photocatalytic activity due to the low separation efficiency of photoinduced charge carriers. In recent years, the construction of heterostructured photocatalysts based on BP has become a research hotspot in photocatalysis with the remarkable improvement of photoexcited charge-separation efficiency. Herein, progress on the design, synthesis, properties, and applications of BP and its corresponding heterostructured photocatalysts is summarized. Furthermore, the photocatalytic applications of BP-based heterostructured photocatalysts in water splitting, pollutant degradation, carbon dioxide reduction, nitrogen fixation, bacterial disinfection, and organic synthesis are reviewed. Opportunities and challenges for the exploration of advanced BP-based heterostructured photocatalysts are presented. This review will promote the development and applications of BP-based heterostructured photocatalysts in energy conversion and environmental remediation.