Two dimensional graphitic materials for photoelectrocatalysis: A short review

Combining photocatalysis with electrochemistry, photoelectrocatalysis with an external circuit has been regarded as an effective approach for suppressing the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in order to improve the photocatalytic activity. Two-dimensional graphitic materials have started being applied in photoelectrocatalysis in the past five years; it will be a popular research area in the near future. To date, the two-dimensional graphitic materials applied in photoelectrocatalysis are mainly graphene, layered transition metal dichalcogenides and g-C3N4. The reported works in this area have been reviewed and discussed. Even though the number of publications is still very few, it would be an attractive research area for effectively improving the photocatalytic activity for direct conversion of solar energy to chemical energy or solar fuels.