Strategic facet engineering of bismuth-based photocatalysts for the applications in solar-to-chemical conversion

Semiconductor photocatalysis is a promising tactic to simultaneously overcome global warming and the energy crisis as it can directly convert inexhaustible solar energy into clean fuels and valuable chemicals, hence being employed in various energy applications. However, the current performance of photocatalysis is largely impeded by the fast recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and insufficient light absorption. Among various materials, bismuth-based photocatalysts have stood out as excellent candidates for efficient photocatalysis due to their unique controllable crystal structures and relatively narrow band gap. These features endow the selective exposure of active facets (facet engineering) and wide light absorption range, resulting in tunable photocatalytic activity, selectivity, and stability. Therefore, it is of great potential to use facet-engineered bismuth-based photocatalysts for efficient energy applications (e.g., water splitting, CO₂ reduction, N₂ fixation, and H₂O₂ production) to achieve sustainable development. Herein, the introduction provides the overview of this research, while the synthesis, modification strategy, and the latest progress of facet-engineered bismuth-based photocatalysts in energy application were summarized and highlighted in this review paper. Lastly, the conclusion and outlooks of this topic were concluded to give some insights into the direction and focus of future research.