Light-controlled convergence of photogenerated carriers and reactants to boost photocatalytic performance

A strategy was proposed to converge photocarriers and reactants by growing cocatalysts at designated sites. Based on energy band engineering, we offer a light-controlled method for the first time: with the change of the irradiation wavelength, the quasi-Fermi levels difference between the adjacent semiconductor surfaces changes, so the band bending of the surface heterojunction can be regulated, and finally the selective growth position of the cocatalyst can be adjusted. The pinpointed growth of the cocatalyst, serving as a bridge between the photocarriers and reactants, confines the photocarriers and reactants to one concentrated site, and thus improves the photocatalytic efficiency.