Visible-light responsive organic nano-heterostructured photocatalysts for environmental remediation and H2 generation

The ease of molecular design and functionalization make organic semiconductors (OSCs) unit the electronic, chemical and mechanical benefits with a material structure. The easily tunable optoelectronic properties of OSCs also make it promising building blocks and thereby provide more possibilities in photocatalytic applications. So far, organic nanostructures have gained great impetus and found wide applications in photocatalytic organic synthesis, remediation of water and air, as well as water splitting into hydrogen. But they still suffer from low charge separation and sunlight absorption efficiencies. Accordingly, many strategies have been explored to address these issues, and one of the most effective solutions is to develop nano-heterostructures. To give an impulse for the developments of this field, this review attempts to make a systematic introduction on the recent progress over the rational design and fabrication of organic nano-heterostructured photocatalysts, including the types of organic semiconductor/semiconductor (OSC/SC), organic semiconductor/metal (OSC/M), organic semiconductor/carbon (OSC/C), and OSC-based multinary nano-heterostructures. The emphasis is placed on the structure/property relationships, and their photocatalytic purposes in environmental and energy fields. At last, future challenges and perspectives for the ongoing development of OSC materials and their use in high-quality optoelectronic devices are also covered. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.