Advanced Photocatalysts for CO₂ Conversion by Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD).

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Excessive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels drive global warming and environmental crises.
• Photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into valuable products is a key strategy to mitigate these issues.
• Developing highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• This review focuses on the application of severe plastic deformation (SPD) in developing advanced functional ceramics for photocatalytic CO2 conversion.
• It highlights recent progress and strategies employed to enhance photocatalyst performance.

Main Methods:

• Severe plastic deformation (SPD) via high-pressure torsion (HPT) is utilized to engineer novel photocatalysts.
• Four main strategies are employed: oxygen vacancy and strain engineering, stabilization of high-pressure phases, synthesis of defective high-entropy oxides, and synthesis of low-bandgap high-entropy oxynitrides.

Main Results:

• SPD-engineered photocatalysts demonstrate enhanced efficiency compared to conventional materials.
• Improvements are attributed to enhanced CO2 adsorption, increased light absorbance, optimized band structure, narrowed bandgap, accelerated charge carrier migration, and suppressed electron-hole recombination.
• These materials provide abundant active sites for photocatalytic reactions.

Conclusions:

• SPD is a powerful technique for designing high-performance photocatalysts for CO2 conversion.
• The reviewed strategies offer a pathway to developing efficient materials for addressing environmental concerns related to CO2 emissions.