Synthesis and Applications of Metal-Derived Catalysts on Semiconductor Materials for Photoelectrocatalytic Processes

Dear Colleagues,

Photoelectrocatalysis takes advantage of an intimate combination of photovoltaic and electrocatalytic processes. Applying a potential to a photoelectrode with a surface catalyst can effectively: (i) overcome the kinetic barriers of traditional electrochemical conversion in catalytic materials and (ii) reduce the significant recombination of electron–hole pairs in photocatalytic systems. Major advances in nano/material science have increased the efficiency, versatility, and applicability of photoelectrocatalytic materials such as those used for hydrogen production, CO₂ reduction, and the degradation of pollutants in wastewaters or industrial effluents.

The current trend is to develop new composite photoelectrodes based on increasingly sophisticated metal catalysts. These photoelectrodes, developed through novel engineering of their structural, architectural and compositional characteristics, exhibit high photoelectrocatalytic activity (in terms of light absorption, photocurrent densities and shifted Voc) as well as high stability and selectivity. Examples include Mo:BiVO₄/NiFe photoanodes for water splitting, TiO₂/Au_xPd_100-x for photoelectrocatalytic synthesis, Zn‑Re-based molecular catalysts for CO₂RR, and bimetal oxides for OER or urea oxidation (UOR). Owing to their remarkable compositional diversities and tuning capabilities, composite photoelectrodes based on metallic catalysts will form part of the next era of photoelectrocatalysts for the energy transition.

This Special Issue aims to cover recent progress in the development of metallic-derived semiconductor materials and their applications in photoelectrocatalysis. We welcome original research and short communications on the following topics:

• The synthesis and assembly processes of metallic catalysts on semiconductors: metallic deposition, grafting, and surface engineering;
• The electronic, geometrical, and compositional effects on photoelectrochemical performance;
• The design and implementation of photoelectrocatalytic cells;
• Heterogeneous and molecular photoelectrocatalysts;
• Plasmonic photoelectrocatalysis based on metallics.

Some examples of applications include reactions of environmental interest (HER, OER, CO₂RR, UOR, water- and air-pollution control), photoelectrosynthesis, and photoelectrochemical detection.

Dr. Encarnacion Torralba-Peñalver
Dr. Stéphane Bastide
Guest Editors

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• bimetallic catalysts
• photoelectrode
• semiconductor
• energy conversion
• light-to-electricity
• light-to-chemical