Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3): 688-697.doi: 10.1007/s40242-022-2045-6

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Artificial Photosynthesis(AP): from Molecular Catalysts to Heterogeneous Materials

JI Yuancheng1, XU Jiayun2, SUN Hongcheng2, and LIU Junqiu1,2   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, P. R. China;
    2. College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Material Technology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, P. R. China
  • Received:2022-02-07 Revised:2022-04-05 Online:2022-06-01 Published:2022-05-26
  • Contact: SUN Hongcheng, LIU Junqiu E-mail:sunhc@hznu.edu.cn;junqiuliu@jlu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.2211101029, 22001054, 22075065), the National Key R&D Program of China(Nos.2020YFA0908500, 2018YFA0901600), and the Scientific Research Start-up Foundation of Hangzhou Normal University, China(Nos.2019QDL026, 2019QDL025, 2019QDL024).

Abstract: The development of green and renewable energy sources is in high demand due to energy shortage and productivity development. Artificial photosynthesis(AP) is one of the most effective ways to address the energy shortage and the greenhouse effect by converting solar energy into hydrogen and other carbon-based high value-added products through the understanding of the mechanism, structural analysis, and functional simulation of natural photosynthesis. In this review, the development of AP from natural catalysts to artificial catalysts is described, and the processes of oxygen production, hydrogen production, and carbon fixation are sorted out to understand the properties and correlations of the core functional components in natural photosynthesis, to provide a better rational design and optimization for further development of advanced heterogeneous materials.

Key words: Artificial photosynthesis, Oxygen evolution reaction, Hydrogen evolution reaction, CO2 reduction reaction, Heterogeneous material