article · InfoMat
Defect engineering plays a critical role in enhancing photocatalytic materials by modifying light absorption, charge separation, and surface reaction dynamics. While understanding these defect mechanisms remains challenging, systematically categorising defect types clarifies their functional roles. Key defect categories include vacancies such as oxygen and metal vacancies, anion and cation doping, interstitial and antisite defects, surface irregularities, and interfacial boundaries in core-shell or heterostructure systems. Introducing these defects improves performance by narrowing band gaps, enhancing light capture, facilitating charge movement, suppressing recombination, and increasing catalytic active sites. Defect engineering also tailors electronic structures, creates mid-gap states, and improves structural stability and photocorrosion resistance. Recent developments span defective nanostructures, defect-rich metal-organic frameworks, and novel heterostructures, providing adaptable platforms for energy and environmental operations.
Photocatalysts harness light to drive chemical reactions, but standard materials often suffer from poor light absorption and rapid charge recombination. Understanding and intentionally engineering structural defects provides a precise pathway to overcome these limitations. This knowledge facilitates the design of robust, high-efficiency catalytic materials essential for advancing clean renewable energy systems and environmental remediation solutions.
The abstract positions defect-engineered photocatalysts for renewable energy and environmental applications. Potential users include developers of advanced materials, solar conversion systems, and environmental remediation platforms. As this work is an analytical review synthesising classification schemes and emerging laboratory designs such as metal-organic frameworks, the underlying concepts appear to be at the stage of early-stage to applied material research.
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Abstract Defect engineering in photocatalytic materials has garnered significant interest due to the considerable impact of defects on light absorption, charge separation, and surface reaction dynamics. However, a limited understanding of how these defects influence photocatalytic properties remains a persistent challenge. This review comprehensively analyzes the vital role of defect engineering for enhancing the photocatalytic performance, highlighting its significant influence on material properties and efficiency. It systematically classifies defect types, including vacancy defects (oxygen and metal vacancies), doping defects (anion and cation), interstitial defects, surface defects (step edges, terraces, kinks, and disordered layers), antisite defects, and interfacial defects in the core–shell structures and heterostructure borders. The impact of complex defect groups and manifold defects on improved photocatalytic performance is also examined. The review emphasizes the principal benefits of defect engineering, including the enhancement of light adsorption, reduction of band gaps, improved charge separation and movements, and suppression of charge recombination. These enhancements lead to a boost in catalytic active sites, optimization of electronic structures, tailored band alignments, and the development of mid‐gap states, leading to improved structural stability, photocorrosion resistance, and better reaction selectivity. Furthermore, the most recent improvements, such as oxygen vacancies, nitrogen and sulfur doping, surface defect engineering, and innovations in heterostructures, defect‐rich metal–organic frameworks, and defective nanostructures, are examined comprehensively. This study offers essential insights into modern techniques and approaches in defect engineering, highlighting its significance in addressing challenges in photocatalytic materials and promoting the advancement of effective and adaptable platforms for renewable energy and environmental uses. image
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DOI: 10.1002/inf2.70040
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