Nanostructured metal nitrides for photocatalysts

Abstract

Recently, metal nitrides (MNs) have received renewed attention due to their potential as catalytic materials in energy transformations, with water spitting and CO₂ reduction being the most studied reactions. Reactions considered in this review are limited to photocatalysis. Moreover, the morphology, size, defects and nanostructured construction of MNs are demonstrated to be critical factors in their catalytic efficiency, emphasizing the importance of their synthetic method. Mono, binary, ternary and doped nanostructured MN materials have been synthesized and evaluated as photocatalysts. The latest research is focused on the development of new synthetic methods, cocatalysts, and constructure design, aiming to achieve improved activity, selectivity, and stability. This review provides a broad overview of the development of photocatalysts for the generation of H₂ and CO₂ reduction reaction, summarizing the current state of work focusing on the recent progress in light-induced overall water splitting and CO₂ reduction on metal nitride photocatalysts.