Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Selective Formation of High-Value-Added Molecules: Some Chemical and Engineering Aspects

Abstract

This review deals with the parameters that influence heterogeneous photocatalysis (PC) for selective synthesis of high-value chemicals by itself or in combination with other technologies. In particular, the parameters related to the photocatalysts, such as crystallinity degree, type of polymorph, surface acid-base properties, exposure of particular crystalline facets, coupling of different semiconductors, position of the valence and conduction band edge, addition of doping agents, and those related to the reaction system, such as setup configuration and reactor geometry, type of solvent, type and amount of photocatalyst, affecting the selectivity toward specific products are described and discussed. The presented results highlight that a precise evaluation of the efficiency of the process is a challenging but necessary task to be approached in order to allow real applications of photocatalytic processes.