The synthesis of photocatalysts with both broad light

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and future-work section and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2024 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 99 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 4 representative gaps

• Donor-acceptor conjugated polymers for the photosynthesis of H2O2 in pure water (2026) · Catal · doi

  The photocatalytic synthesis of H2O2 has emerged as a promising sustainable strategy to replace the traditional anthraquinone process. D-A conjugated polymers, owing to their tunable band structures, broad visible-light absorption, and efficient charge separation, have demonstrated remarkable potential as photocatalysts for sacrificial-agent-free H2O2 production in pure water. Recent progress has highlighted the importance of rational molecular engineering, including modulation of donor and acceptor units, linkage design, topology optimization, active-site regulation, and mass transfer enhancement. These strategies have significantly improved the production rate, selectivity, and stability of D-A conjugated polymers for H2O2 photosynthesis, pushing the field closer toward practical applications. Despite these advances, several challenges remain. First, the solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency is still limited under ambient conditions. Currently, the reported solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency is still not higher than 3%, which is far from the industrial requirement for the photoproduction of H2O2. Additionally, stability during long-term operation requires further improvement. Apparent decay can be observed for many reported D-A conjugated polymers after several cycling tests, which could be attributed to the change in the chemical structure of the photocatalysts during operation. Second, the structure-activity relationship is still lacking. Until now, the exploration of the D-A conjugated polymers employs a “trial and error” method, which is comparatively low efficiency. Therefore, the structureactivity relationship is highly needed for the directed design of the photocatalysts. In addition, stability during long-term operation remains another critical challenge. Significant performance decay has been observed for many reported photocatalysts after repeated cycling tests, which may originate from changes in the chemical Wang et al. Catal (2026) 2:13 Page 14 of 18 Fig. 11 a The behaviors of excitons, polarons and charge carriers in 3D photocatalysts with much enhanced mass transfer comparing to 2D photocatalysts. Copyright 2024, Springer Nature. b 2D covalent organic framework with engineered hydraulically active 1D channels.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: photocatalysts polymers chemical conjugated stability efficiency still reported structure charge production design tion active mass
• A A Short Review of Recent Advances in ArtificialP hotosynthesis Chemistry (2026) · مجلة جامعة صنعاء للعلوم التطبيقية والتكنولوجيا · doi

  Recent advances in artificial photosynthesis have improved catalyst performance and integrated system efficiencies, bringing laboratory prototypes closer to practical applications. Future research should explicitly target the development of durable, earth-abundant catalysts, design optimized multi-component interfaces for efficient light harvesting and charge transfer, scalable fabrication of device architectures, and mechanistic studies combining experimental and computational approaches. Focusing on these areas (Scalable Synthesis, Device Integration, Product Selectivity) will accelerate the development of sustainable, high-efficiency artificial photosynthetic technologies. 8. CONCLUSIONS In the last three to five years (2020–2025), chemical research in artificial photosynthesis has achieved meaningful advances in both catalyst design and integrated systems. Researchers have developed self-photosensitizing molecular catalysts and robust hybrid assemblies that improve light absorption and charge transfer, while new earth-abundant catalysts show enhanced activity and selectivity for CO2 reduction and water oxidation. Progress in artificial leaf architectures and photoelectrochemical cells has also demonstrated higher solar-to-chemical conversion efficiencies under practical conditions, narrowing the gap between fundamental chemistry and functional prototypes. Despite remaining challenges in longterm stability, material cost, and scale-up, recent studies highlight promising strategies such as bio-inspired catalyst motifs, optimized ligand environments, and coupled catalytic interfaces. Key takeaways from this review: • Main progress: Self-photosensitizing molecular catalysts (Ru and Co) eliminate the need for separate photosensitizers, simplifying system design. MOF and COF frameworks have improved catalyst stability by 10–20× compared to homogeneous analogs. • Main bottleneck – stability: Most advanced catalysts still degrade within 12–100 h of continuous operation. Commercial viability requires >1000 h (or >1 year) of stability.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: artificial stability catalyst catalysts design recent advances photosynthesis integrated system prototypes development earth abundant optimized
• Donor-acceptor conjugated polymers for the photosynthesis of H2O2 in pure water (2026) · Catal · doi

  Developing scalable synthetic routes for donor-acceptor conjugated polymers. Improving solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency for H2O2 photosynthesis. Exploring new applications of donor-acceptor conjugated polymers in energy and environmental fields.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: developing scalable synthetic routes donor-acceptor conjugated polymers improving
• Anisotropic Charge Migration on Perovskite Oxysulfide for Boosting Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting (2024) · Journal of the American Chemical Society · cited 99× · doi

  The synthesis of photocatalysts with both broad light absorption and efficient charge separation is significant for a high solar energy conversion, which still remains to be a challenge.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: synthesis photocatalysts broad light absorption efficient charge separation significant high solar energy conversion still remains

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