Photocatalysis, a technology that converts solar energy into chemical reactions, holds immense promise for addressing energy shortages and environmental pollution. However, traditional crystalline semiconductors face limitations in efficiency and stability. A groundbreaking review led by researchers from China Three Gorges University and Capital Normal University unveils how amorphous nanomaterials, which are lacking of long-range atomic order, could overcome these barriers and provide a new thought of advanced photocatalysis.
Published in Nano Research, the review systematically analyzes the unique advantages of amorphous materials, including their high density of catalytic sites, tunable electronic structures, and enhanced light absorption. These properties enable unprecedented efficiency in critical applications such as hydrogen evolution, carbon dioxide reduction, and pollutant degradation.
Unlike their crystalline counterparts, amorphous materials possess disordered atomic arrangements, creating abundant defects and unsaturated bonds that act as active sites for catalytic reactions. "The intrinsic flexibility of amorphous structures allows for tailored energy band engineering, which significantly improves charge separation and light utilization,"explained Dr. Binbin Jia, corresponding author and professor at China Three Gorges University. "This opens up possibilities for designing photocatalysts that operate under visible or even infrared light, vastly expanding their practical applications."
The first is photocatalytic hydrogen production (HER), where the most common strategy is to enable a significant increase in photogenerated electron transfer efficiency by constructing amorphous/crystalline heterojunctions. This is followed by carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂RR), in which the efficiency of selective reduction of CO₂ to CO is effectively enhanced by defect modulation or heteroatom doping of conventional crystalline materials for amorphization. In the visible light, amorphous semiconductors also play an important role in organic degradation due to their unique surface properties, including large specific surface area, abundant surface functional groups, and the ability to promote the adsorption of substrates onto their surfaces through chemical bonding, which can be more effectively utilized for better photocatalytic efficiencies by loading single atoms or groups on their surfaces. Of course, the applications of amorphous materials in other fields, such as photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and photocatalytic H2O2 preparation, have also been mentioned and showed better functionality.
Despite their promise, amorphous materials face hurdles such as structural instability and complex synthesis. The team emphasizes the need for advanced characterization techniques, such as in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and transient photoluminescence, to unravel dynamic catalytic mechanisms. "Future research must focus on stabilizing these materials through cross-scale design and AI-driven optimization," noted Dr. Liqun Ye, co-author and professor at China Three Gorges University.
The review underscores the potential of amorphous nanomaterials to drive sustainable technologies, from green hydrogen production to carbon-neutral chemical synthesis. "By integrating amorphous materials into industrial-scale processes, we can significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate environmental damage,"said Dr. Xiaoyu Fan, co-author from Capital Normal University.
The researchers anticipate that their work will inspire collaborations across materials science, chemistry, and engineering to accelerate the commercialization of amorphous photocatalysts.
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.
