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2 Multifunctional Photocatalytic Materials for Energy

In Chapter 3 by Davide Barreca et al., the authors summarize recent develop-
ments in photoelectrochemical water splitting based on semiconductor metal oxides.
Fundamentals of photoelectrochemical water splitting are specially emphasized.
Then, some representative photoanodes, including Fe 2 O 3 , WO 3 , ZnO, and BiVO 4 -
based nanomaterials, which are expected to provide diverse functions, such as light
absorption, photogenerated charge separation, and catalysis of the target process, are
individually introduced by highlighting some novel nanostructures as well as their
performance in photoelectrochemical water splitting.
In Chapter 4 by Jiangtian Li et al., it discusses energy band engineering of metal
oxides with visible light absorption ability in photocatalytic application. A brief in-
troduction of the electronic band structures of semiconductors and their principal
relationship with light absorption is shown first. Then the photocatalysis process,
the mandatory energy band requirements for water splitting and CO 2 reduction, and
the two most important pathways for solar fuel production are elucidated in detail.
Thereafter, some representative metal oxide photocatalysts are highlighted with re-
gard to their band structures, electronic parameters, and peak efficiencies. Finally,
strategies including doping, alloying, heterojunction, plasmonics, Z-scheme, and so
on, which are frequently applied to enhance the light harvesting capability of metal
oxides, are fully emphasized.
In Chapter 5 by Luisa M. Pastrana-Martinez et al., the authors pay attention to
graphene-based photocatalysis, in which graphene and its derivatives are generally
introduced, and then graphene-based semiconductor photocatalysts are discussed in
particular, including the synthesis of graphene-based TiO 2 and other semiconductor
photocatalysts as well as the immobilization of graphene photocatalysts in membranes
and films. Finally, energy applications using these graphene-based photocatalysts, es-
pecially photocatalytic hydrogen generation and photocatalytic reduction of carbon
dioxide, are further highlighted.
In Chapter 6 by Hongqi Sun et al., carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) photocatalysts are the
topic in focus. An overview of recent developments regarding carbon nitride for hy-
drogen generation is provided first. Summarization of the morphology, copolymeriza-
tion, doping, hybridization, and sensitization of carbon nitride is then shown in detail.
In addition, CO 2 reduction and energy storage using modified g-C 3 N 4 are also briefly
introduced. At last, challenges and perspectives of carbon nitride in future research
are proposed.
In Chapter 7 by Syed Farooq Adil et al., the authors present another promising
application of graphene-based materials in solar cells. Several types of solar cells
are reported to employ graphene-based materials, such as dye-sensitized solar cells
(DSSCs), perovskite solar cells (PSCs), organic solar cells (OSCs), and heterojunc-
tion solar cells (HSCs). Several roles of graphene-based materials in solar cells are
emphasized, including their roles as transparent conducting materials, non- transparent
electrodes, catalytic counter electrodes, charge transporters, electrolytes, and light-
harvesting materials.
In Chapter 8 by Wenxi Guo et al., the latest developments for several commonly used
metal oxide-based semiconductor nanomaterials, mainly TiO 2 , ZnO, SnO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and
Nb 2 O 5 , applied in different solar cells, such as DSSCs, quantum-dot sensitized solar