Boosting Photocatalytic Performance via Electron Transfer Regulation in Biocomponent Hybrid Heterojunctions.

Abstract

Against the backdrop of global climate change and the energy crisis, developing efficient and sustainable catalytic technologies is crucial for addressing environmental and energy challenges. Compared to traditional heterojunctions, the incorporation of natural biogenic components holds great potential for overcoming bottlenecks such as complex crystal engineering, insufficient stability, and limited selectivity. This review established an electron transfer regulation framework to guide the construction of biocomponent hybrid heterojunctions for superior photocatalysis. We systematically cover various biogenic components and their derivatives, from small molecules, conjugated polymers, and supramolecular assemblies, to three-dimensional networks and crystal frameworks such as metal-organic frameworks and covalent-organic frameworks. Based on in-depth mechanistic analysis, this review demonstrates how these biogenic components modulate band engineering, charge transfer kinetics, substrate utilization, and defect passivation, which collectively achieve sequential optimization across the entire charge-carrier lifecycle-from generation and transport to surface reaction and long-term stability. Importantly, all of these directly linked to enhanced photocatalytic performance in H2 evolution, CO2 reduction, H2O2 generation, and pollutant degradation. In addition to conventional band engineering, novel mechanisms such as exciton behavior modulation and conjugated continuity regulation are discussed. This framework transforms empirical material design into predictable catalysis optimization, aiming to accelerate the development of high-performance biocomponent hybrid heterojunctions.

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