Perovskite-type lanthanum ferrite based photocatalysts: Preparation, properties, and applications

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordClean energy and a sustainable environment are grand challenges that the world is facing which can be addressed by converting solar energy into transportable and storable fuels (chemical fuel). The main scientific and technological challenges for efficient solar energy conversion, energy storage, and environmental applications are the stability, durability, and performance of low-cost functional materials. Among different nanomaterials, perovskite type LaFeO3 has been extensively investigated as a photocatalyst due to its abundance, high stability, compositional and structural flexibility, high electrocatalytic activity, efficient sunlight absorption, and tunable band gap and band edges. Hence, it is urgent to write a comprehensive review to highlight the trend, challenges, and prospects of LaFeO3 in the field of photocatalytic solar energy conversion and environment purification. This critical review summarizes the history and basic principles of photocatalysis. Further, it reviews in detail the LaFeO3, applications, shortcomings, and activity enhancement strategies including the design of nanostructures, elemental doping, and heterojunctions construction such as Type-I, Type-II, Z-Type, and uncommon heterojunctions. Besides, the optical and electronic properties, charge carriers separation, electron transport phenomenon and alignment of the band gaps in LaFeO3-based heterostructures are comprehensively discussed.Ministry of Science and Technology of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Key R&D Program of ChinaKey Research and Development Program of HubeiSouth Xinjiang Innovation and Development Program of Key Industries of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp