Qiang Wang , Yifei Yang , Yajun Lin , Haijian Zhong , Fang Hu
{"title":"Low-side-effect phototherapy using aggregation-induced emission agents with “turn-on” and “turn-off” strategies","authors":"Qiang Wang , Yifei Yang , Yajun Lin , Haijian Zhong , Fang Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100723","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100723","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a leading approach in modern oncology due to its ability to selectively eliminate cancer cells. The hydrophilic nature of traditional photosensitizers (PSs) often leads to aggregation in the biological environment reducing treatment efficiency. The PSs with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics ensure PSs retain or even enhance their efficacy in aggregated states. However, the non-specific accumulation of AIE PSs in healthy cells, especially in those near tumors, as well as the residual presence of AIE PSs after PDT treatment, presents notable challenges to the safety of PDT. To enhance the safety of PDT impacted by these two factors, researchers have developed activatable turn-on AIE PSs by cancer-specific biomarkers, as well as degradable turn-off AIE PSs. This review summarizes the recent advancements in cancer biomarkers-activated turn-on AIE PSs and degradable turn-off AIE PSs. The strategies of turn-on AIE PSs are mainly based on the mechanisms of photoinduced electron transfer (PET), Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), intersystem crossing, and enhancing the accessibility of oxygen that controls their activation. The strategies of turn-off AIE PSs are based on self-degradation and endogenous ROS degradation, respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 100723"},"PeriodicalIF":13.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145156741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Engineering ZnS quantum dots for photocatalysis: Synthesis, modifications, and multifunctional applications","authors":"Jingjing Zhang , Kezhen Qi , Rosaiah Pitcheri , Chongxiong Duan","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100722","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100722","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photocatalysis is an advanced technology that efficiently converts solar energy into chemical energy, attracting widespread attention in environmental remediation, energy development, and biomedical applications. ZnS quantum dots (ZnS QDs), as a representative wide-bandgap semiconductor, exhibit unique quantum confinement effects, tunable optoelectronic properties, and a high specific surface area, making them a promising metal sulfide photocatalyst. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in ZnS QD-based photocatalytic systems, with a focus on material design strategies and multifunctional applications. First, the fundamental mechanisms of ZnS QDs in photocatalysis are introduced, followed by a discussion on their synthesis methods. Several strategies for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of ZnS QDs, including surface modification, elemental doping, heterojunction formation, and coupling with carbon or organic materials, are discussed in detail. Furthermore, we comprehensively review the applications of ZnS QDs in the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants, water splitting for H<sub>2</sub> production, CO<sub>2</sub> reduction, N<sub>2</sub> fixation, antimicrobial activity, and organic synthesis, highlighting their breakthroughs in biomedical field, such as near-infrared-activated antimicrobial systems and tumor-specific photodynamic/photothermal therapy. Finally, by analyzing the current challenges of ZnS QDs in photocatalysis, we propose three future research directions to promote their practical applications in sustainable energy, environmental restoration, and precision medicine.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 100722"},"PeriodicalIF":13.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145120676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advances of COFs for photocatalytic application: Water splitting, CO2 reduction, H2O2 production, and organic transformation","authors":"Xiaoli Fan, Zhonghua Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100712","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100712","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The clean conversion of solar energy presents a potential approach to addressing the current energy and environmental predicament. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as effective and stable photocatalytic materials possess high crystallinity and porosity, structural and functional adjustability, and pre-designed properties, which are widely employed in the photocatalytic water-splitting resolution to mitigate energy shortage, in the carbon dioxide reduction to combat the greenhouse effect, in the photosynthesis of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to achieve green chemical production, as well as in the photocatalytic organic conversion to obtain the required organic products. This work systematically summarizes strategies for improving photocatalytic performances and presents a comprehensive review of the recent advancements of COF-based materials in photocatalysis. Furthermore, we provide a brief outlook on unresolved issues in this field, aiming to contribute to a comprehensive comprehension about the advantages and disadvantages of COFs as photocatalysts and inspire scientists to address the challenges that stand in the way of further progress in this field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 100712"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yaocheng Deng , Wanjing Li , Ling Li , Zhanpeng Zhou , Yu Shi , Rongdi Tang , Ying Huang
{"title":"Carbon nitride in dark photocatalysis: Construction, reaction mechanism, and environmental application","authors":"Yaocheng Deng , Wanjing Li , Ling Li , Zhanpeng Zhou , Yu Shi , Rongdi Tang , Ying Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100711","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100711","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dark photocatalysis can effectively overcome the dependence of traditional photocatalysis on continuous light by decoupling the light absorption and catalytic reaction process. By storing photogenerated charge carriers produced by light, this technology can continuously drive catalytic reactions under dark conditions, thus improving the efficiency of solar energy utilization. Research on dark photocatalysis is still in its initial stage, with current work mainly focusing on metal-based material systems. Due to its unique electronic structure and other advantages, carbon nitride (CN<sub>X</sub>) offers new possibilities for the development of non-metallic dark photocatalysts. This paper reviews research progress of CN<sub>X</sub>-based materials in the field of dark photocatalysts, focusing on methods for endowing them with dark photocatalytic ability through the construction of heterojunctions (such as composites with energy storage materials or long afterglow materials), and through molecular modification (introduction of functional groups, construction of conjugated structures and defect engineering). This paper also reviews the applications of CN<sub>X</sub>-based dark photocatalysts in hydrogen production, hydrogen peroxide synthesis, and pollutant degradation. Finally, by analyzing the main challenges and opportunities of CN<sub>X</sub> in the process of dark photocatalysis, this review presents strategies for developing more efficient CN<sub>X</sub>-based dark photocatalysts and solving energy and environmental problems in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 100711"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144338349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Near infrared light-assisted photoelectrochemical conversion and environmental remediation","authors":"Mohit Kumar , Phyu Phyu Cho , Rajesh Kumar Sethi , Vasudevanpillai Biju , Challapalli Subrahmanyam","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Solar energy conversion to chemical energy is a practical approach to sustainable development. Despite continuous advancements in energy technologies, conversion efficiencies remain shallow and below desired levels. Most research efforts are concentrated on absorbing the UV-Vis portion of solar radiation, with relatively little attention given to the infrared segment, even though it constitutes a substantial portion of solar radiation, accounting for ∼50 %. The photon energy in the NIR (Near-Infrared) range is insufficient. It does not correspond adequately to the semiconductor bandgap energy levels required to stimulate the generation of electrons and holes. However, novel nanomaterials are being scrutinized to absorb NIR light and generate photoexcited electrons/holes, which can be utilized to transform effectively through novel electron transfer pathways. Engineering surface and bulk properties of these NIR absorbing nanomaterials and harnessing NIR radiations have shown promising results in ameliorating the light conversion, yield, and faradaic efficiencies. This review article highlights the methodology, in-depth mechanistic models, current progress, and potential of NIR light in assisting organic dye degradation (waste water treatment), H<sub>2</sub> production, CO<sub>2</sub> reductions, N<sub>2</sub> reduction through photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic pathways.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 100710"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144280915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hao-Sen Liao, Bao-Yue Wang, Dong Chen, Yi-Ming Cao, Xiao Li
{"title":"Blue organic multifunctional fluorescent materials for efficient full-color and white organic light-emitting diodes","authors":"Hao-Sen Liao, Bao-Yue Wang, Dong Chen, Yi-Ming Cao, Xiao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100709","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100709","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nowadays, blue organic multifunctional fluorescent (OMF) materials have attracted great interest due to their potentiality to be used as emitters for blue non-doped organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and as hosts to transfer energy to long-wavelength guests. Moreover, blue OMF fluorophores can easily achieve full-color and white emission only with the participation of extra red, yellow and green dopants. Therefore, these materials are of great significance for simplifying the device's structure and preparation process to lower the device's manufacturing cost. Recently, many blue OMF materials have been reported and exhibited excellent electroluminescence performances. This review systematically summarizes the recent progress of blue OMF materials and briefly discusses their molecular design. We have classified the materials according to their molecular building blocks and summarized their molecular design strategies, photophysical properties, luminescence mechanisms and device performances. Furthermore, we discuss the pros and cons of the reported OMF materials and provide an outlook for their development in the future. We believe that blue OMF will play a key role in achieving low-cost and commercialized OLEDs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 100709"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144306648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spectrophotometric analysis: Challenge for a reliable evaluation of photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation","authors":"Fitri Rizki Amalia , Bunsho Ohtani , Ewa Kowalska","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100701","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Even though dyes have often been used as a model pollutant in photocatalytic degradation tests, their utilization as a substrate might cause unreliable results. Under visible-light (vis) irradiation, dye absorbs light and might sensitize wide-bandgap photocatalyst, which usually is only active under UV. Consequently, dye-decoloration analysis should not be used in the evaluation of photocatalytic activity under vis. To obtain reliable data, colorless compounds are commonly considered as much better substrates for photocatalytic activity testing since they do not absorb vis. However, more expensive analytic methods (e.g., gas and liquid chromatography) than simple UV/vis spectrophotometry (or even spectrometry) must be used for estimation of their concentration. Moreover, colorless compounds might also interact with UV-active photocatalyst, e.g., via molecule to band charge transfer (MBCT), causing photoinduced activity under vis irradiation. Accordingly, this review presents possible prospective methods for reliable but also inexpensive testing of photocatalytic activity under vis irradiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 100701"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ehsan Ullah Mughal , Nafeesa Naeem , Syeda Fariha Kainat , Abdulaziz M. Almohyawi , Jihan Qurban , Amina Sadiq , Ahmad Abd-El-Aziz , Ning Ma , Alaa S. Abd-El-Aziz , A. Timoumi , Ziad Moussa , Sameer S.A. Natto , Saleh A. Ahmed
{"title":"Advances in the design of thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials for high-efficiency OLEDs","authors":"Ehsan Ullah Mughal , Nafeesa Naeem , Syeda Fariha Kainat , Abdulaziz M. Almohyawi , Jihan Qurban , Amina Sadiq , Ahmad Abd-El-Aziz , Ning Ma , Alaa S. Abd-El-Aziz , A. Timoumi , Ziad Moussa , Sameer S.A. Natto , Saleh A. Ahmed","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100700","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100700","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) has emerged as a pivotal innovation in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), offering a pathway to high-efficiency electroluminescent devices by harnessing triplet excitons for light emission. Unlike conventional fluorescence, TADF materials exploit a unique reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) mechanism, enabling the upconversion of triplet excitons to singlet states, which ultimately enhances the emission efficiency without relying on expensive heavy metals. Recent advancements in TADF emitters are highlighted, encompassing small molecules, polymers, and hybrid systems, with an emphasis on their integration into state-of-the-art OLED architectures. In this manuscript, a comprehensive overview of the applications of TADF molecules in OLEDs is presented, covering developments in this field from 2019 to 2025. Finally, future directions in TADF research and its potential for next-generation displays, lighting solutions, and energy-efficient devices are considered. This review aims to provide a consolidated perspective on TADF materials, bridging molecular insights with practical applications in high-performance OLEDs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 100700"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144170685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chetan C. Revadekar , Aditya A. Patil , Jong-Man Kim , Bum Jun Park
{"title":"Microfluidic fabrication of polydiacetylene materials and their applications in colorimetric and fluorometric sensing","authors":"Chetan C. Revadekar , Aditya A. Patil , Jong-Man Kim , Bum Jun Park","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100699","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100699","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microfluidic platforms have revolutionized both the synthesis and application of polydiacetylene (PDA)-based materials by enabling precise control over their unique colorimetric and fluorescence properties. In the first part of this review, we highlight how microfluidic technologies facilitate the fabrication of PDA materials with improved uniformity, sensitivity, and reproducibility. In the second part, we examine the diverse sensing applications of PDA-integrated microfluidic systems. The intrinsic responsiveness of PDAs to various external stimuli enables their use in chemical, mechanical, temperature, and pH sensing. These integrated systems facilitate dynamic, real-time detection with enhanced analytical precision, reduced reagent consumption, and scalable formats suitable for diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and chemical analysis. Together, these developments highlight the transformative potential of combining PDA materials with microfluidic technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 100699"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent advances in the molecular designs of near ultraviolet emitters for efficient organic light emitting diodes","authors":"P. Keerthika , Ankit Kumar , Arthanareeswari Maruthapillai , Venkatramaiah Nutalapati , Rajendra Kumar Konidena","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100698","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2025.100698","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The exploration of pure organic violet emitters (<em>λ</em><sub>em</sub> < 420 nm) has garnered significant attention within the scientific community due to their widespread applications in various research domains, including organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), biomedical applications, and photolithography, etc. Despite the availability of several near-ultraviolet (NUV) sources, organic emitters have stood out due to their cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and extensive potential for functional tunability. However, the development of highly efficient NUV emitters for OLEDs faces substantial challenges and lags behind their red, green and blue counterparts, primarily due to stringent molecular requirements. Over the past decade, substantial efforts have been dedicated to devising new molecular designs aimed at striking a balance between conjugation length, donor-acceptor interactions, photoluminescence quantum yield, charge transporting properties, and color purity of violet emitters. However, a limited number of reviews were reported on different design strategies for producing violet (< 420 nm) emitters to date. Addressing this gap, this review provides an overview of recent design advances in constructing violet emitters. It delves into their structure-function relationship focusing on photophysical properties and OLED performance. Further, the current status and future prospectus of violet organic emitters are presented.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":376,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 100698"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143892222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}