Progress and perspectives of bismuth oxyhalides in catalytic applications

Bismuth oxyhalides are characterized by their open two-dimensional layered crystalline structures which endow bismuth oxyhalides with high specific surface areas, large amount of surface exposed atoms and some other unique physical and chemical properties. Owing to these abundant features, bismuth oxyhalides have great potential in serving as excellent photocatalysts and electrocatalysts and have received enormous research interest in addressing serious global environmental pollution and energy shortage crisis recent years. In this review, we first discuss the superior structural characteristics of bismuth oxyhalides, comprehensively summarize the efficient strategies including metal/non-metal incorporation, modulating strain, constructing vacancies, constructing heterostructures and constructing moiré superlattice to improve the photocatalytic activities, and then introduce current progress on bismuth-oxyhalides-templated electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction. At the end of this article, we propose some perspectives for the future development of bismuth oxyhalides as photocatalysts and templates of electrocatalysts, aiming at constructing superior photoelectrochemical devices and promoting this bifunctional material into industrial application.