Shuzeng Zhang, Zhixue Li, Chunhua Wang, Hongyan Li, Runtian Zheng, Jiehong He, Yang Ding
With the rapid advances of science and technology, energy shortage and environmental deterioration issues have been considered as the two predominant threats to today's society. Utilizing advanced solar-light photocatalytic technique to simultaneously generate hydrogen energy and degrade recalcitrant organic pollutants in water media is a highly promising approach for addressing energy and environmental issues. To be specific, the photoinduced electrons can take part in water reduction to generate hydrogen whereas the photogenerated holes are responsible for organic substance degradation. In this perspective, the advanced photocatalysts, modification methods, and the influences of organic pollutants on the photocatalytic synergistic process are highlighted and discussed. Moreover, the current challenges and future development directions are comprehensively analyzed and outlooked. This perspective provides a theoretical basis for the development of photocatalytic synergistic reactions.