{"title":"Emerging inorganic-organic hybrid photocatalysts for solar-driven overall water splitting: progress and perspectives.","authors":"De-Shan Zhang,Lei Wang,Xiaodong Zhang,Xu-Bing Li,Hangxun Xu,Chen-Ho Tung,Li-Zhu Wu","doi":"10.1039/d5cs00378d","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The pursuit of sustainable energy technologies has long inspired the development of efficient photocatalysts capable of converting solar energy into hydrogen (H2) via overall water (H2O) splitting. While inorganic semiconductors, such as metal oxides, oxynitrides, and oxysulfides, have demonstrated reasonable activity and robustness, their intrinsic limitations in light harvesting and charge separation continue to hinder their photocatalytic performance. Conversely, organic semiconductors offer compelling advantages, including tunable electronic structures, visible-light absorption, and synthetic versatility. However, their application in overall H2O splitting remains constrained by short exciton diffusion lengths, low carrier mobility, and poor activity in multi-electron processes. Recently, integrating organic and inorganic materials into hybrid photocatalysts has emerged as a powerful strategy to overcome these bottlenecks. By synergistically combining the efficient charge transport of inorganic frameworks with the structural adaptability and optoelectronic tunability of organic materials, rationally designed hybrid systems have shown remarkable potential in enhancing light utilization, facilitating exciton dissociation, and suppressing recombination. These advances not only improve overall H2O splitting efficiency but also open new avenues for photocatalyst design. This review critically examines the fundamental principles, interfacial interactions, and photophysical mechanisms underpinning inorganic-organic hybrid photocatalysts for solar-driven overall H2O splitting. We highlight recent breakthroughs, analyse the remaining scientific and engineering challenges, and propose strategic directions for next-generation hybrid systems with improved scalability, efficiency, and durability. Our goal is to establish a forward-looking roadmap that defines the role of hybrid photocatalysts as a transformative platform in achieving a sustainable, carbon-neutral society.","PeriodicalId":68,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Society Reviews","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chemical Society Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cs00378d","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The pursuit of sustainable energy technologies has long inspired the development of efficient photocatalysts capable of converting solar energy into hydrogen (H2) via overall water (H2O) splitting. While inorganic semiconductors, such as metal oxides, oxynitrides, and oxysulfides, have demonstrated reasonable activity and robustness, their intrinsic limitations in light harvesting and charge separation continue to hinder their photocatalytic performance. Conversely, organic semiconductors offer compelling advantages, including tunable electronic structures, visible-light absorption, and synthetic versatility. However, their application in overall H2O splitting remains constrained by short exciton diffusion lengths, low carrier mobility, and poor activity in multi-electron processes. Recently, integrating organic and inorganic materials into hybrid photocatalysts has emerged as a powerful strategy to overcome these bottlenecks. By synergistically combining the efficient charge transport of inorganic frameworks with the structural adaptability and optoelectronic tunability of organic materials, rationally designed hybrid systems have shown remarkable potential in enhancing light utilization, facilitating exciton dissociation, and suppressing recombination. These advances not only improve overall H2O splitting efficiency but also open new avenues for photocatalyst design. This review critically examines the fundamental principles, interfacial interactions, and photophysical mechanisms underpinning inorganic-organic hybrid photocatalysts for solar-driven overall H2O splitting. We highlight recent breakthroughs, analyse the remaining scientific and engineering challenges, and propose strategic directions for next-generation hybrid systems with improved scalability, efficiency, and durability. Our goal is to establish a forward-looking roadmap that defines the role of hybrid photocatalysts as a transformative platform in achieving a sustainable, carbon-neutral society.
期刊介绍:
Chemical Society Reviews is published by: Royal Society of Chemistry.
Focus: Review articles on topics of current interest in chemistry;
Predecessors: Quarterly Reviews, Chemical Society (1947–1971);
Current title: Since 1971;
Impact factor: 60.615 (2021);
Themed issues: Occasional themed issues on new and emerging areas of research in the chemical sciences