Artificial photosynthesis articles from across Nature Portfolio

Developing efficient and transparent photoanodes for solar water splitting is crucial for advancing clean energy technologies. Here, the authors report Sb-doped p–n homojunction hematite photoanodes that achieve high transparency and a stable photocurrent density of 4.21 mA cm^–2.

An “all-in-one” high-entropy semiconductor photocatalyst enables the photocatalytic production of H₂O₂ from H₂O and O₂ under visible light without any external cocatalysts or sacrificial agents

The design of effective photoelectrodes for solar energy conversion relies on optimizing charge separation and transfer, which remain a challenge. In this study, the authors demonstrate that an external poling treatment can create a built-in electric field in bismuth vanadate photoelectrodes, thereby facilitating efficient charge transport for water oxidation and methane conversion.

An interfacially coupled Cu-cluster/GaN photocathode is designed to overcome the efficiency and stability bottlenecks in photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction to multicarbon products. The self-optimized Ga–N–O interface facilitates and stabilizes interfacially oxidized copper species of copper clusters, which function as efficient C–C coupling sites for ethylene production.

Oxygen evolution is a critical reaction in the context of renewable fuel production via (photo)electrochemical approaches, yet our understanding of the molecular details of the reaction is limited. Here, the authors explore how specific spectroscopic probes and theory can be combined to reveal the elementary reaction steps.

The photocatalytic redox cycle mediated by the anion radical intermediate promotes oxygen adsorption and lowers the energy barrier of O2 reduction reaction, thereby significantly improving the efficiency of H2O2 photosynthesis.

Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide formation is an advancing field with various approaches motivated by the promise of a green oxidant and energy carrier for a sustainable future. An assessment on quantification methods, sacrificial agents and best practices is provided to avoid false positives and support progress in the field.

Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide synthesis is a green approach to produce this widely-used chemical and potential energy carrier, yet performance is often poor. A porphyrin-based photocatalyst is now shown to produce hydrogen peroxide by an unusual mechanism involving both photoexcited electrons and holes with promising efficiency.