Advances in Artificial Photosynthesis: The Role of Chalcogenides and Chalcogenide-Based Heterostructures

Abstract

Artificial photosynthesis, encompassing the photocatalytic generation of H₂ and CO₂ reduction innovations, seems to be a highly promising approach. This is due to its ability to efficiently transform CO₂ into hydrocarbon fuel and valuable chemical products using solar energy as a direct energy source. This will simultaneously help to mitigate global warming and energy shortage issues. Chalcogenide-based semiconductors have recently gotten a lot of attention as an important area of research for photocatalytic H₂ production and CO₂ conversion, owing to their low band gap energy, suitable band structures, and a great photoresponsivity spectrum. Modifying chalcogenides into their heterostructures could be a great way to solve problems like photo corrosion and carrier recombination. Therefore, this review summarized a series of different modifications of chalcogenides and recent developments in their photocatalytic and photo electrocatalytic performance, particularly in H₂ production and CO₂ conversion. Lastly, we discussed the challenges, limitations, areas for development, and future prospects of chalcogenides and their heterostructures capable of utilizing visible light to produce H₂ gas and reduce CO₂.