Kinetics and mechanisms of charge transfer processes in photocatalytic systems: A review

Charge carrier transfer processes are very important and play a vital role in photocatalytic reactions. A fundamental understanding of the kinetics and mechanisms of these charge transfer processes is crucial from the viewpoint of developing efficient photocatalysis systems for large-scale industrialization. In this work, recent efforts concerning the understanding of the kinetics and the mechanisms of the charge transfer in photocatalytic processes have been reviewed. Fundamental aspects involved in these charge transfer processes, such as charge generation, charge trapping, charge recombination, and electron and hole transfer are primarily discussed. Moreover, some recent studies focusing on enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency by improving the charge transfer and separation are also reviewed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.