Tuning the Disordered Structure: Recent Advances in Amorphization Engineering for Enhanced Photocatalysis.

Abstract

Amorphization engineering, which introduces tunable structural disorder into crystalline photocatalysts, has emerged as a promising strategy for enhancing photocatalytic performance. The disorder-induced increase in system entropy can lead to a "cocktail effect", manifesting as a reconstruction of electronic structures, asymmetric electron density distribution, tailored relaxation dynamics of photoinduced charge carriers, unique local microenvironments of active sites, etc. These features collectively influence the overall photocatalytic process. Herein, this perspective presents recent advances in amorphization engineering, covering the synthesis, modification, and application of amorphous-based photocatalysts. The synthesis section elaborates on preparation methodologies, while the modification and application sections systematically summarize various amorphization schemes for performance enhancement. Despite the progress, challenges remain in achieving controllable synthesis and elucidating the structure-activity relationship. Future efforts should focus on gaining mechanistic insights and developing advanced characterization techniques to guide the rational design of high-performance amorphous-based photocatalysts for sustainable energy and environmental applications.