Plethora of preparatory features on single layered double hydroxide towards energy conversion process

Sun light-driven photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting are propitious towards solar to chemical energy conversion. Incorporating solitary pho-toelectrode or dispersed photocatalyst emulated the properties of visible light harvester, together with transporting photogenerated charge carriers for activating the redox activities. Consequently, indulgent the correlation among intrinsic structural behavior, performance and stability of photoelectrodes/photocatalyst is essential. Hence, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) as one of the propitious photocatalysts intensively researched due to their layered structure and excellent physicochemical properties. Here, this review summarizes the simplified synthesis strategy to fabricate solitary LDHs semiconductor photocatalyst covering optical and morphological aspects towards superior photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting activities. Initially, the review outlines photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical energy conversion mechanism along with the synthetic methods to highlight the present status of the LDHs for practical application. Afterward, tactics in the synthetic technique of solitary LDHs and their photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting performances have been reviewed.

Automated summary

Sun light-driven photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting have great potential for solar to chemical energy conversion. The incorporation of solitary photoelectrodes or dispersed photocatalysts mimics visible light harvesting and facilitates the activation of redox activities by transporting charge carriers. Therefore, understanding the correlation between the intrinsic structural behavior, performance, and stability of photoelectrodes/photocatalysts is crucial. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), with their layered structure and excellent physicochemical properties, have been extensively studied as promising photocatalysts. This review summarizes a simplified synthesis strategy for fabricating solitary LDHs semiconductor photocatalysts, covering optical and morphological aspects, to enhance photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting activities. The review outlines the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical energy conversion mechanism and highlights the current status of LDHs for practical applications through synthetic methods. Furthermore, the synthetic techniques and performance of solitary LDHs for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting have been reviewed.