Nanostructured semiconductors for bifunctional photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical energy conversion

Bifunctional photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems have attracted increasing attention due to their advantages of making good use of both photoexcited electrons and holes for simultaneous solar fuel production, organic pollutant degradation, value-added chemical, or electricity generation. Compared to conventional PC and PEC systems, only limited reports have systematically studied this new emerging research field. This chapter aims to provide readers the underlying fundamentals including the working mechanisms and configurations of bifunctional PC/PEC systems. A few types of bifunctional systems are discussed and recent development of nanostructured semiconductors for bifunctional PC/PEC systems is also concisely summarized. The challenges and future developments are also discussed at the end of the chapter