A systematic review on Nb 2 O 5 -based photocatalysts: Crystallography, synthetic methods, design strategies, and photocatalytic mechanisms.

With the increasing popularity of photocatalytic technology and the highly growing issues of energy scarcity and environmental pollution, there is an increasing interest in extremely efficient photocatalytic systems. The widespread immense attention and applicability of Nb ₂ O ₅ photocatalysts can be attributed to their multiple benefits, including strong redox potentials, non-toxicity, earth abundance, corrosion resistance, and efficient thermal and chemical stability. However, the large-scale application of Nb ₂ O ₅ is currently impeded by the barriers of rapid recombination loss of photo-activated electron/hole pairs and the inadequacy of visible light absorption. To overcome these constraints, plentiful design strategies have been directed at modulating the morphology, electronic band structure, and optical properties of Nb ₂ O ₅ . The current review offers an extensive analysis of Nb ₂ O ₅ -based photocatalysts, with a particular emphasis on crystallography, synthetic methods, design strategies, and photocatalytic mechanisms. Finally, an outline of future research directions and challenges in developing Nb ₂ O ₅ -based materials with excellent photocatalytic performance is presented.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)