Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy investigation into the electron transfer mechanism in photocatalysis

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS) is a powerful technique for monitoring the electron transfer kinetics in photocatalysis. Several important works have successfully elucidated the electron transfer mechanism in heterojunction photocatalysts (HPs) using fs-TAS measurements, and thus a timely summary of recent advances is essential. This feature article starts with a thorough interpretation of the operating principle of fs-TAS equipment, and the fundamentals of the fs-TAS spectra. Subsequently, the applications of fs-TAS in analyzing the dynamics of photogenerated carriers in semiconductor/metal HPs, semiconductor/carbon HPs, semiconductor/semiconductor HPs, and multicomponent HPs are discussed in sequence. Finally, the significance of fs-TAS in revealing the ultrafast interfacial electron transfer process in HPs is summarized, and further research on the applications of fs-TAS in photocatalysis is proposed. This feature article will provide deep insight into the mechanism of the enhanced photocatalytic performance of HPs from the perspective of electron transfer kinetics.

Automated summary

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS) is a powerful technique for studying the electron transfer kinetics in photocatalysis. This feature article provides a thorough interpretation of the operating principle of fs-TAS equipment and the fundamentals of fs-TAS spectra. It discusses the applications of fs-TAS in analyzing the dynamics of photogenerated carriers in various types of heterojunction photocatalysts (HPs). The significance of fs-TAS in revealing the ultrafast interfacial electron transfer process in HPs is summarized, and further research directions in the field of photocatalysis are proposed.