Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 87: 1-21.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65084-X
• Reviews • Next Articles
Yang Dinga,*(
), Zhixue Lia, Shuzeng Zhanga, Guoxiang Yangb,*(
), Runtian Zhengc, Chunhua Wangd,*(
)
Received:2025-11-20
Accepted:2025-12-19
Online:2026-08-18
Published:2026-06-24
About author:Yang Ding is currently an associate professor at College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, China. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Laboratory of Inorganic Materials Chemistry (CMI), University of Namur, Belgium, in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Bao-Lian Su. His research interest includes but is not limited to photocatalysis, porous material design, sustainable energy evolution and luminescent materials.Supported by:Yang Ding, Zhixue Li, Shuzeng Zhang, Guoxiang Yang, Runtian Zheng, Chunhua Wang. Atomic vacancies accelerating photochemical solar fuel and value-added chemical production: From materials to mechanism[J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 87: 1-21.
Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX
URL: https://www.cjcatal.com/EN/10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65084-X
Fig. 2. (a) The photo-assisted heating treatment process for the preparation of deficient C3N4. (b) SEM image of the obtained C3N4 sample. Density of states for the bulk C3N4 (c) and deficient C3N4 (d). (e) UV-Vis absorption curves and the photographs (inset) of the prepared deficient C3N4 materials. Reprinted with the permission of Ref. [35]. Copyright 2018, John Wiley & Sons. UV-Vis absorption spectra with the photographs (inset) (f) and bandgap width values (g) of the prepared nitrogen vacancy contained g-C3N4 samples. Reprinted with the permission of Ref. [36]. Copyright 2017, John Wiley & Sons.
Fig. 3. Electronic bandgap configuration (a) and CO evolution rates (b) of the prepared Bi4Ti3O12 samples. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [40]. Copyright 2020, Elsevier. Electronic bandgap configuration (c) and photocatalytic H2O2 evolution pathways (d) of the prepared samples. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [41]. Copyright 2020, Elsevier. CO2 adsorption curves (e), water contact angle test picture (f), and CO evolution rates (g) of the prepared ZnIn2S4 photocatalysts. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [45]. Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. (h) The scheme of photocatalytic N2 fixation on the deficient BiOBr nanosheets. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [46]. Copyright 2015, American Chemical Society.
Fig. 6. Ti L-edge electron energy loss spectra of the pristine TiO2 (a) and Sc doped TiO2 (b) samples. (c) Electron spin resonance spectra of the prepared samples. (d) Three-dimensional atomic force microscopy topographic (top) and the corresponding SPVM images of Sc doped TiO2 (bottom). (e) Surface photovoltage spectra of the prepared samples. (f) Photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen generation rates over the prepared photocatalysts. (g) Cycling stability of water spitting over Sc doped TiO2. (h) Time dependent water splitting over Sc-TiO2 under AM1.5G excitation and the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [93]. Copyright 2025, American Chemical Society. (i) Photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen generation rates over the prepared photocatalysts. (j) Photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen generation rates over PbTiO3 with different SrTiO3 nanolayers thickness. (k) Photocatalytic mechanism over Ti deficient PbTiO3 sample. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [97]. Copyright 2025, Nature.
Fig. 7. (a) The band gap widths of usual metal sulfide materials. (b) TEM image of the obtained zinc‐deficient ZnS photocatalyst. (c) The electronic band gap configurations of ZnS photocatalysts with different zinc vacancy amounts. (d) H2 evolution rates of the obtained zinc‐deficient ZnS photocatalysts. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [101]. Copyright 2018, Elsevier. (e) The structure models of the ZnIn2S4 with different layers. TEM (f), HR-TEM (g), and false-color (h) images of the HRTEM images of the prepared monolayered ZnIn2S4 with sulfur vacancies. (i) Photocatalytic H2 evolution rates of theZnIn2S4 photocatalysts. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [103]. Copyright 2019, Elsevier.
Fig. 8. (a) Schematic diagram of CO2 conversion into oxygen and organic substances by plants in nature. (b) Photocatalytic CO2 reduction into different chemical products upon various reduction potentials.
Fig. 9. (a) ESR spectra of ZnS samples synthesized at different pH conditions. (b) The relationship between EPR signal intensity of Zn vacancies and the pH values. (c) Proton adsorption site on the surface of deficient ZnS sample. Proton adsorption free energy (d), and free energy of CO2 molecule conversion route (e) on the surface of pristine ZnS and deficient ZnS samples. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [112]. Copyright 2019, American Chemical Society. (f) The band gap widths and Bi based photocatalyst materials. (g) HAADF-STEM image of the obtained 2D BiOBr nanosheets with Bi vacancies. (h) The CB and VB potentials of pristine BiOBr and deficient BiOBr nanosheets in CO2 reduction. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [117]. Copyright 2019, American Chemical Society. (i) The diagram of liquid‐phase exfoliation synthesis. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [118]. Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society.
Fig. 10. (a) The applications of H2O2 in different fields. (b) H2O2 utilized as energy carrier in fuel cell. (c) The diagram of industrial production of H2O2 via anthraquinone oxidation method.
Fig. 12. (a) The process of synthesizing carbon deficient C3N4 sample upon argon condition. (b) The structure of carbon deficient C3N4 sample. (c) one‐step two‐electron reduction for H2O2 generation. (d) photocatalytic H2O2 evolution rate of the prepared samples. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [129]. Copyright 2016, Elsevier. (e) The electronic band gap configurations of the prepared samples. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [35]. Copyright 2018, John Wiley & Sons. (f) Adsorption energy of H+ and O2 on the sulfur atom site for various photocatalysts. The free-energy picture of oxygen reduction (g) and water oxidation (h) processes for H2O2 evolution on various photocatalysts. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [131]. Copyright 2023, American Chemical Society.
Fig. 13. (a) Diagram of nitrogen fixation by microorganisms. The schematic process of Haber-Bosch process for synthesizing ammonia (b) and photocatalytic N2 fixation (c).
Fig. 14. (a) A two-step synthesis method for the synthesis of dual deficient C3N4 nanorods. (b) SEM and (c) TEM images of the obtained C3N4 nanorods. (d) Electron localization function pictures of the prepared samples. (e) Calculated N2 adsorption energy on different samples. (f) Gibbs free energy profiles of the N2 reduction process. (g) NH3 evolution rate over the prepared photocatalysts. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [140]. Copyright 2022, Elsevier. (h) UV-Vis absorption spectra of the obtained deficient La2TiO5 samples. Reproduced with the permission of Ref. [148]. Copyright 2021, Elsevier.
| Material | Synthesis method | Photocatalytic application | Condition | Performance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoS2@S deficient ZnIn2S4 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | water+glucose, 300 W Xe lamp | 1572 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient TiO2 | H2 reduction | H2 production | water+α-cellulose, 300 W Xe lamp | 1146 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| N deficient g-C3N4 | photo-assisted heating | H2O2 production | 20 vol% IPA AM 1.5 | 98 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| N deficient g‐C3N4 | alkali‐assisted synthesis | H2 production | lactic acid aqueous solution 300 W Xe lamp λ > 420 nm | 0.44 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient Bi4Ti3O12 | glyoxal reduction | CO2 reduction | gas-solid system 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 11.7 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| C deficient g-C3N4 nanosheets | calcination in N2 | H2O2 production | ethanol + water, O2, l > 420 nm, AM1.5 | 1083 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| Z deficient ZnIn2S4 | hydrothermal method | CO2 reduction | Deionized water 300UV Xe lamp | CO productivity of 33.2 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient BiOBr | solvothermal method | Nitrogen Fixation | water 300 W Xe lamp λ > 420 nm | 104.2 μmol h−1 | [ |
| N deficient g‐C3N4 | higher temperature calcination | H2 production | 10% triethanolamine + water 300 WXe lamp λ > 440 nm | 310 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient Sc-TiO2 | molten salt method | H2 production | water, 300 W Xe lamp | 758 μmol h−1 | [ |
| O deficient PbTiO3 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | water, 300 W Xe lamp | 758 μmol h−1 | [ |
| O deficientPbTiO3@SrTiO3 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | water, 300 W Xe lamp | 216.8 μmol h−1 | [ |
| Z deficient ZnS | solvothermal method | H2 production | Na2S + Na2SO3 + water 300 W Xe lamp λ > 420 nm | 337.71 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| S deficient ZnIn2S4 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | 10 vol% TEOA 300 W Xe lamp (λ > 400 nm) | 13.478 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| Z deficient ZnS | acid‐etching method | CO2 reduction | KHCO3 + 0.2 mol L-1 K2SO3 Water, 500 W Xe lamp | >85% selectivity of formate generation | [ |
| Bi deficient BiOBr | ionic liquid‐assisted route | CO2 reduction | deionized water 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 20.1 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient BiOBr | liquid exfoliation | CO2 reduction | gas-solid system 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 0.875 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient BiOCl | solvothermal method | CO2 reduction | NaHCO3 + Water, 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 16.76 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| C deficient g‐C3N4 | HFDT method | H2O2 production | water, O2,20 W Neon lamp, λ ≥ 400 nm | 6287.5 μmol L-1 g−1 h−1 | [ |
| C deficient g‐C3N4 | calcination in Ar | H2O2 production | water, O2, λ ≥ 420 nm, 300 W | 90 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| S deficient ZnIn2S4 | calcination in Air | H2O2 production | water, O2, LED lamp (λ ≥ 400 nm) | 1706.4 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| bi-vacancyive g-C3N4 | calcination in N2 | N2 fixation | water+methanol, N2, 300 W Xe lamp | NH3 productivity of 23.5 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient P-Bi2WO6 | solvothermal method | N2 fixation | water, N2, λ ≥ 420 nm, 300 W Xe lamp | NH3 productivity of 73.6 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient La2TiO5 | NaBH4 reduction | N2 fixation | water, N2, 300 W Xe lamp | NH3 productivity of 158.13 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
Table 1 The detailed data of photocatalytic fuels and valued chemicals evolution over representative vacancy contained photocatalysts.
| Material | Synthesis method | Photocatalytic application | Condition | Performance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoS2@S deficient ZnIn2S4 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | water+glucose, 300 W Xe lamp | 1572 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient TiO2 | H2 reduction | H2 production | water+α-cellulose, 300 W Xe lamp | 1146 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| N deficient g-C3N4 | photo-assisted heating | H2O2 production | 20 vol% IPA AM 1.5 | 98 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| N deficient g‐C3N4 | alkali‐assisted synthesis | H2 production | lactic acid aqueous solution 300 W Xe lamp λ > 420 nm | 0.44 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient Bi4Ti3O12 | glyoxal reduction | CO2 reduction | gas-solid system 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 11.7 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| C deficient g-C3N4 nanosheets | calcination in N2 | H2O2 production | ethanol + water, O2, l > 420 nm, AM1.5 | 1083 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| Z deficient ZnIn2S4 | hydrothermal method | CO2 reduction | Deionized water 300UV Xe lamp | CO productivity of 33.2 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient BiOBr | solvothermal method | Nitrogen Fixation | water 300 W Xe lamp λ > 420 nm | 104.2 μmol h−1 | [ |
| N deficient g‐C3N4 | higher temperature calcination | H2 production | 10% triethanolamine + water 300 WXe lamp λ > 440 nm | 310 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient Sc-TiO2 | molten salt method | H2 production | water, 300 W Xe lamp | 758 μmol h−1 | [ |
| O deficient PbTiO3 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | water, 300 W Xe lamp | 758 μmol h−1 | [ |
| O deficientPbTiO3@SrTiO3 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | water, 300 W Xe lamp | 216.8 μmol h−1 | [ |
| Z deficient ZnS | solvothermal method | H2 production | Na2S + Na2SO3 + water 300 W Xe lamp λ > 420 nm | 337.71 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| S deficient ZnIn2S4 | hydrothermal method | H2 production | 10 vol% TEOA 300 W Xe lamp (λ > 400 nm) | 13.478 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| Z deficient ZnS | acid‐etching method | CO2 reduction | KHCO3 + 0.2 mol L-1 K2SO3 Water, 500 W Xe lamp | >85% selectivity of formate generation | [ |
| Bi deficient BiOBr | ionic liquid‐assisted route | CO2 reduction | deionized water 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 20.1 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient BiOBr | liquid exfoliation | CO2 reduction | gas-solid system 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 0.875 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient BiOCl | solvothermal method | CO2 reduction | NaHCO3 + Water, 300 W Xe lamp | CO productivity of 16.76 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| C deficient g‐C3N4 | HFDT method | H2O2 production | water, O2,20 W Neon lamp, λ ≥ 400 nm | 6287.5 μmol L-1 g−1 h−1 | [ |
| C deficient g‐C3N4 | calcination in Ar | H2O2 production | water, O2, λ ≥ 420 nm, 300 W | 90 μmol L-1 g-1 h-1 | [ |
| S deficient ZnIn2S4 | calcination in Air | H2O2 production | water, O2, LED lamp (λ ≥ 400 nm) | 1706.4 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| bi-vacancyive g-C3N4 | calcination in N2 | N2 fixation | water+methanol, N2, 300 W Xe lamp | NH3 productivity of 23.5 mmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient P-Bi2WO6 | solvothermal method | N2 fixation | water, N2, λ ≥ 420 nm, 300 W Xe lamp | NH3 productivity of 73.6 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
| O deficient La2TiO5 | NaBH4 reduction | N2 fixation | water, N2, 300 W Xe lamp | NH3 productivity of 158.13 μmol g-1 h-1 | [ |
|
| [1] | Seyed Ghorban Hosseini, Saeid Safshekan. Synthesis, characterization and application of BiVO4 photoanode for photoelectrochemical oxidation of chlorate [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2017, 38(4): 710-716. |
| Viewed | ||||||
|
Full text |
|
|||||
|
Abstract |
|
|||||