Advances in nanostructure-induced photocatalysis

As the catastrophic effects of global energy are becoming severe day by day, researchers are focusing on adapting environmental sustainability in order to restore the natural habitat of the planet. Photocatalysis is an environmentally benign approach to combating various non-sustainable operations via green chemistry. Photocatalysis comprises the change in the kinetics of chemical transformations by the absorption of light. Photocatalysis is the promising route of producing green hydrogen via overall water splitting without any toxic by-products. Verily, photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide is another significant sustainable operation that ascertains its sequestration and conversion into value-added chemical feedstock and fuels. These highly sought photocatalytic applications demand unique multifunctional nano catalytic systems that can effectively carry out these sustainable operations due to their advanced optoelectronic and morphological properties alongside having higher exposed active sites. Realizing the potential of nanostructures in the field of photocatalysis, we have synergistically emphasized both these topics in this book chapter under the light of the classification of nanostructures and two vital photocatalytic applications of hydrogen evolution and carbon dioxide mitigation.