Progress of visible-light and near-infrared-driven photocatalysis based on upconversion luminescence

Up-converting phosphors(UCPs)can effectively convert longer wavelength radiation into shorter wavelength fluorescence and exhibit application potential in improving the light energy utilization,especially the sunlight with a longer wavelength.In this paper,the research background of the photocatalysis based on UCPs is introduced with TiO2 as an example,the advances of research on UCPs are summarized,and the mechanism of light energy utilization is presented,including light absorption,light conversion,light transfer,and surface reaction.Meanwhile,the visible-light and near-infrared-driven photocatalysis based on rare-earth UCPs are analyzed in detail,and the mechanism for improving TiO2 catalytic activity using UCPs and other methods are explained.Additionally,a research approach to improve TiO2 photocatalytic efficiency by UCPs composite of is presented,and the application perspective of photocatalysis based on upconversion luminescence is discussed as well.