Recent developments, advances and strategies in heterogeneous photocatalysts for water splitting

Muhammad Sohail, Sana Rauf, Muhammad Irfan, Asif Hayat, Majed M. Alghamdi, Adel A. El-Zahhar, Djamel Ghernaout, Yas Al-Hadeethi and Weiqiang Lv

Nanoscale Adv., 2024, 6, 1286
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Vanadium-based oxyhalide photocatalysts for visible-light-driven Z-scheme water splitting: advancing conduction band engineering

Hajime Suzuki, Ryuki Tomita, Yusuke Ishii, Osamu Tomita, Akinobu Nakada, Akinori Saeki and Ryu Abe

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2025, 13, 25356
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Development of non-oxide semiconductors as light harvesting materials in photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting

Tsuyoshi Takata and Kazunari Domen

Dalton Trans., 2017, 46, 10529
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What is the transfer mechanism of photogenerated carriers for the nanocomposite photocatalyst Ag3PO4/g-C3N4, band–band transfer or a direct Z-scheme?

Sugang Meng, Xiaofeng Ning, Tao Zhang, Shi-Fu Chen and Xianliang Fu

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 11577
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Z-scheme water splitting utilizing CuLi1/3Ti2/3O2 as a hydrogen-evolving photocatalyst with photo-response up to 600 nm

Shunya Yoshino, Tanya Kurutach, Qingshan Liu, Toshiki Yamanaka, Shunsuke Nozawa, Makoto Kobayashi, Hiromu Kumagai and Hideki Kato

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2024, 8, 1260
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Prospects and challenges in designing photocatalytic particle suspension reactors for solar fuel processing

Swarnava Nandy, Sangram Ashok Savant and Sophia Haussener

Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 9866
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Synthesis of BaTaO2N oxynitride from Ba-rich oxide precursor for construction of visible-light-driven Z-scheme overall water splitting

Beibei Dong, Yu Qi, Junyan Cui, Baodan Liu, Fengqiang Xiong, Xin Jiang, Zheng Li, Yejun Xiao, Fuxiang Zhang and Can Li

Dalton Trans., 2017, 46, 10707
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Nitrogen/fluorine-codoped rutile titania as a stable oxygen-evolution photocatalyst for solar-driven Z-scheme water splitting

Akinobu Miyoshi, Junie Jhon M. Vequizo, Shunta Nishioka, Yuma Kato, Muneaki Yamamoto, Shunsuke Yamashita, Toshiyuki Yokoi, Akihide Iwase, Shunsuke Nozawa, Akira Yamakata, Tomoko Yoshida, Koji Kimoto, Akihiko Kudo and Kazuhiko Maeda

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2018, 2, 2025
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A new Pb(iv)-based photocathode material Sr2PbO4with good light harvesting ability

Dan Zhao, Jing-Feng Han, Jun-Yan Cui, Xu Zong and Can Li

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 12051
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Heterogeneous doping of visible-light-responsive Y2Ti2O5S2 for enhanced hydrogen evolution

Hiroaki Yoshida, Zhenhua Pan, Ryota Shoji, Vikas Nandal, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki, Kazuhiko Seki, Takashi Hisatomi and Kazunari Domen

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 24552
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Highly Dispersed RuO2 Hydrates Prepared via Simple Adsorption as Efficient Cocatalysts for Visible-Light-Driven Z-Scheme Water Splitting with an IO3–/I– Redox Mediator

Hajime Suzuki, Shinnosuke Nitta, Osamu Tomita, Masanobu Higashi and Ryu Abe

ACS Catal., 2017, 7, 4336
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Z-Schematic Solar Water Splitting Using Fine Particles of H2-Evolving (CuGa)0.5ZnS2 Photocatalyst Prepared by a Flux Method with Chloride Salts

Shunya Yoshino, Akihide Iwase, Yun Hau Ng, Rose Amal and Akihiko Kudo

ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2020, 3, 5684
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Layered Anion‐Mixed Oxycompounds: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

Yange Luan, Yumin Li, Zhong Li, Bao Yue Zhang and Jian Zhen Ou

Advanced Science, 2025, 12
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Morphology Control of a Layered Oxyhalide Bi4NbO8Cl Photocatalyst via Flux Synthesis

Yasutaka Soga, Hajime Suzuki, Piérre Friedel, Yusuke Ishii, Daichi Kato, Osamu Tomita, Akinobu Nakada, Yasuhiro Tachibana, Akinori Saeki and Ryu Abe

Solar RRL, 2026, 10
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Novel materials and techniques for photocatalytic water splitting developed by Professor Kazunari Domen

Yaqiang Wu, Jianuo Li, Wei-Kean Chong, Zhenhua Pan and Qian Wang

Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2025, 68, 1
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Recent Advances on Small Band Gap Semiconductor Materials (≤2.1 eV) for Solar Water Splitting

Hefeng Zhang, Jiaqi Liu, Ting Xu, Wenqian Ji and Xu Zong

Catalysts, 2023, 13, 728
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An Oxysulfide Photocatalyst Evolving Hydrogen with an Apparent Quantum Efficiency of 30 % under Visible Light

Hiroaki Yoshida, Zhenhua Pan, Ryota Shoji, Vikas Nandal, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki, Kazuhiko Seki, Lihua Lin, Masanori Kaneko, Tsuyoshi Fukui, Koichi Yamashita, Tsuyoshi Takata, Takashi Hisatomi and Kazunari Domen

Angewandte Chemie, 2023, 135
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Exploring critical development in photocatalytic overall water splitting: Recent trend, races predictions and environmental impacts

Zeeshan Ajmal, Muhammad Haseeb Ullah, Abdul Qadeer, Huanhuan Zhang, Muhammad Abubaker Khan, Shenjie Shen, Yasin Orooji, Mohd. Imran, M.K.M. Ali, Ramadan Taha, Junmin Li, Shirong Lu, Waseem Abbas and Shuhang Wang

Green Energy & Environment, 2026, 11, 401
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Synthesis of a Ga-doped La5Ti2Cu0.9Ag0.1O7S5 photocatalyst by thermal sulfidation for hydrogen evolution under visible light

Zhenhua Pan, Qi Xiao, Shanshan Chen, Zheng Wang, Lihua Lin, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Naoya Shibata, Tsuyoshi Takata, Takashi Hisatomi and Kazunari Domen

Journal of Catalysis, 2021, 399, 230
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Flux Growth of Layered Sm2Ti2O5S2 Crystal with Two Types of Simultaneously Exposed Facets

Masaki Moriwaki, Tsuyoshi Higashino, Fumitaka Hayashi, Kazunori Fujisawa, Hiroh Miyagawa, Tetsuya Yamada and Katsuya Teshima

Crystal Growth & Design, 2025, 25, 4679
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Sulfide-Based Photocatalysts Using Visible Light, with Special Focus on In2S3, SnS2 and ZnIn2S4

José C. Conesa

Catalysts, 2021, 12, 40
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Z‐Scheme Water Splitting Systems Based on Solid‐State Electron Conductors

Chen Gu, Takashi Hisatomi, Tsuyoshi Takata and Kazunari Domen

Adv Funct Materials, 2026, 36
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Inhibiting competing reactions of iodate/iodide redox mediators by surface modification of photocatalysts to enable Z-scheme overall water splitting

Yu Qi, Shanshan Chen, Junyan Cui, Zhiliang Wang, Fuxiang Zhang and Can Li

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2018, 224, 579
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Construction of TiO2/SrTiO3 Heterojunction Derived from Monolayer Ti3C2 MXene for Efficient Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting

Zhenzhen Zhuo, Xue Wang, Cheng Shen, Mengdie Cai, Yong Jiang, Zhaoming Xue, Zhiyuan Fu, Qi Wang, Yuxue Wei and Song Sun

Chemistry A European J, 2023, 29
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Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Water Splitting: Recent Progress and Challenges

Lihua Lin, Takashi Hisatomi, Shanshan Chen, Tsuyoshi Takata and Kazunari Domen

Trends in Chemistry, 2020, 2, 813
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Photocatalytic water splitting for solving energy crisis: Myth, Fact or Busted?

Kim Hoong Ng, Sin Yuan Lai, Chin Kui Cheng, Yoke Wang Cheng and Chi Cheng Chong

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2021, 417, 128847
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Photocatalytic Z‐Scheme Overall Water Splitting: Recent Advances in Theory and Experiments

Jamal Abdul Nasir, Akhtar Munir, Naveed Ahmad, Tanveer ul Haq, Zaibunisa Khan and Ziaur Rehman

Advanced Materials, 2021, 33
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Development of Mixed‐Anion Photocatalysts with Wide Visible‐Light Absorption Bands for Solar Water Splitting

Junyan Cui, Can Li and Fuxiang Zhang

ChemSusChem, 2019, 12, 1872
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Layered WS2/WO3 Z-scheme photocatalyst constructed via an in situ sulfurization of hydrous WO3 nanoplates for efficient H2 generation

Shuai Zhang, Shengtao Chen, Dong Liu, Jing Zhang and Tianyou Peng

Applied Surface Science, 2020, 529, 147013
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Highly Efficient Water Oxidation Photoanode Made of Surface Modified LaTiO2N Particles

Seiji Akiyama, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Naoya Shibata, Tsutomu Minegishi, Yusuke Asakura, Md. Abdulla‐Al‐Mamun, Takashi Hisatomi, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Masao Katayama, Taro Yamada and Kazunari Domen

Small, 2016, 12, 5468
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Visible‐Light‐Responsive Photoanodes for Highly Active, Stable Water Oxidation

Jeongsuk Seo, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Taro Yamada and Kazunari Domen

Angew Chem Int Ed, 2018, 57, 8396
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Z-scheme Si/MgTiO3 porous heterostructures: Noble metal and sacrificial agent free photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Wenjing Zhu, Dongxue Han, Li Niu, Tongshun Wu and Hongyu Guan

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2016, 41, 14713
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Particulate Photocatalysts for Light-Driven Water Splitting: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Design Strategies

Qian Wang and Kazunari Domen

Chem. Rev., 2020, 120, 919
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Z‐Scheme Photocatalytic Systems for Promoting Photocatalytic Performance: Recent Progress and Future Challenges

Haijin Li, Wenguang Tu, Yong Zhou and Zhigang Zou

Advanced Science, 2016, 3
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Efficiency of TiO2 composited with carbon nanofibers for hydrogen production from water

Nancy Nyamai and Tumelo Phaahlamohlaka

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2025, 282, 113354
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Recent Advances in Redox-Based Z-Scheme Overall Water Splitting under Visible Light Irradiation

Yu Qi and Fuxiang Zhang

J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2024, 15, 2976
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Data mining in photocatalytic water splitting over perovskites literature for higher hydrogen production

Elif Can and Ramazan Yildirim

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2019, 242, 267
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Formation Mechanism for Particulate Y2Ti2O5S2 Photocatalyst by the Solid-State Reaction

Lihua Lin, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Daling Lu, Takashi Hisatomi, Tsuyoshi Takata and Kazunari Domen

Chem. Mater., 2024, 36, 1612
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Visible Light-Driven Z-Scheme Water Splitting Using Oxysulfide H2 Evolution Photocatalysts

Guijun Ma, Shanshan Chen, Yongbo Kuang, Seiji Akiyama, Takashi Hisatomi, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Naoya Shibata, Masao Katayama, Tsutomu Minegishi and Kazunari Domen

J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2016, 7, 3892
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Efficient and stable visible-light-driven Z-scheme overall water splitting using an oxysulfide H2 evolution photocatalyst

Lihua Lin, Yiwen Ma, Junie Jhon M. Vequizo, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Chen Gu, Xiaoping Tao, Hiroaki Yoshida, Yuriy Pihosh, Yuta Nishina, Akira Yamakata, Naoya Shibata, Takashi Hisatomi, Tsuyoshi Takata and Kazunari Domen

Nat Commun, 2024, 15
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Layered Perovskite Oxychloride Bi4NbO8Cl: A Stable Visible Light Responsive Photocatalyst for Water Splitting

Hironori Fujito, Hironobu Kunioku, Daichi Kato, Hajime Suzuki, Masanobu Higashi, Hiroshi Kageyama and Ryu Abe

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2016, 138, 2082
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Arc Plasma Deposition as an Effective and Versatile Method for Loading Highly Dispersed and Active Nanococatalysts onto Particulate Photocatalysts for Efficient H2 Evolution

Hajime Suzuki, Toshiki Abe, Takahide Otsubo, Yasunori Watanabe, Osamu Tomita, Masanobu Higashi, Akinori Saeki and Ryu Abe

J. Phys. Chem. C, 2024, 128, 4924
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Two-dimensional (2D) oxysulfide nanosheets with sulfur-rich vacancy as an visible-light-driven difunctional photocatalyst for hydrogen and oxygen evolution

Hui Liang, Han Sun, Shuyu Jiang, Shuqing Cui, Fujiao Song, Lan Fan and Qi Xu

Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2024, 1004, 175898
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Particulate photocatalysts for overall water splitting

Shanshan Chen, Tsuyoshi Takata and Kazunari Domen

Nat Rev Mater, 2017, 2
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A Rutile Titania Photoanode for Solar Water Oxidation Workable under Mild Conditions

Kazuhiko Maeda

Chemistry Letters, 2015, 44, 934
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Plate-like Sm2Ti2S2O5 Particles Prepared by a Flux-Assisted One-Step Synthesis for the Evolution of O2 from Aqueous Solutions by Both Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Reactions

Guijun Ma, Yongbo Kuang, Dharmapura H. K. Murthy, Takashi Hisatomi, Jeongsuk Seo, Shanshan Chen, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki, Yohichi Suzuki, Masao Katayama, Tsutomu Minegishi, Kazuhiko Seki, Akihiro Furube and Kazunari Domen

J. Phys. Chem. C, 2018, 122, 13492
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Photocatalytic application of Z-type system

Li Ping, Li Hai-Jin, Tu Wen-Guang, Zhou Yong and Zou Zhi-Gang

Acta Phys. Sin., 2015, 64, 094209
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Mimicking Natural Photosynthesis: Solar to Renewable H2 Fuel Synthesis by Z-Scheme Water Splitting Systems

Yiou Wang, Hajime Suzuki, Jijia Xie, Osamu Tomita, David James Martin, Masanobu Higashi, Dan Kong, Ryu Abe and Junwang Tang

Chem. Rev., 2018, 118, 5201
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An Overview of the Photocatalytic Water Splitting over Suspended Particles

Muhammad Amtiaz Nadeem, Mohd Adnan Khan, Ahmed Abdeslam Ziani and Hicham Idriss

Catalysts, 2021, 11, 60
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Auf sichtbares Licht ansprechende Photoanoden für hochaktive, dauerhafte Wasseroxidation

Jeongsuk Seo, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Taro Yamada and Kazunari Domen

Angewandte Chemie, 2018, 130, 8530
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The Effect of the Morphology of BiVO4 on Z‐scheme Photocatalyst of ZnIn2S4/RGO/BiVO4 for Hydrogen Generation Under Visible Light

Yingying Fan, Jian Zhong, Ruijie Yang, Rongshu Zhu, Fei Tian, Longjun Hu and Qianqian Chen

ChemistrySelect, 2019, 4, 9595
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Water Splitting on Rutile TiO2‐Based Photocatalysts

Akinobu Miyoshi, Shunta Nishioka and Kazuhiko Maeda

Chemistry A European J, 2018, 24, 18204
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An Oxysulfide Photocatalyst Evolving Hydrogen with an Apparent Quantum Efficiency of 30 % under Visible Light

Hiroaki Yoshida, Zhenhua Pan, Ryota Shoji, Vikas Nandal, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki, Kazuhiko Seki, Lihua Lin, Masanori Kaneko, Tsuyoshi Fukui, Koichi Yamashita, Tsuyoshi Takata, Takashi Hisatomi and Kazunari Domen

Angew Chem Int Ed, 2023, 62
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Improvement of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of La5Ti2AgS5O7 by flash sintering method

Mengdie Cai, Xue Wang, Jiawei Xue, Yong Jiang, Yuxue Wei, Qin Cheng, Jingshuai Chen and Song Sun

Applied Physics Letters, 2021, 119
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Z‐Scheme Photocatalytic Systems for Solar Water Splitting

Boon‐Junn Ng, Lutfi Kurnianditia Putri, Xin Ying Kong, Yee Wen Teh, Pooria Pasbakhsh and Siang‐Piao Chai

Advanced Science, 2020, 7
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Hydrogen Production from Water Splitting through Photocatalytic Activity of Carbon‐Based Materials

M. Sumon Reza, Nurnazurah Binti Haji Ahmad, Shammya Afroze, Juntakan Taweekun, Mohsen Sharifpur and Abul Kalam Azad

Chem Eng & Technol, 2023, 46, 420
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Directed Substitutional Control Unlocks Intrinsic Water Oxidation and Reduction Activity in an Oxyhalide Photocatalyst

Yudai Furuta, Hajime Suzuki, Yusuke Ishii, Osamu Tomita, Akinobu Nakada, Daichi Kato, Shunsuke Nozawa, Takashi Tachikawa, Akinori Saeki, Hiroshi Kageyama and Ryu Abe

Chem. Mater., 2026
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