Metallic and bimetallic phosphides-based nanomaterials for photocatalytic hydrogen production and water detoxification: a review

Providing sustainable energy and cleaning water pollution are actually major societal issues requiring new catalysts. In particular, transition metal phosphides are emerging as effective photocatalytic materials. Here we review synthetic strategies for metal phosphides by various methods. We discuss passivation strategies for engineering electronic and structural properties of metal phosphide nanocomposites. Electronic properties, stability and activity depend upon the type of metal phosphides, either phosphorus-rich or metal-rich. Typically, a high content of phosphorous in metal phosphides improves the catalysis. The crystalline structure of metal phosphides also varies and depends upon their chemical composition. We present the latest developments in H2 production and photodegradation of aqueous pollutants using metal phosphide-based heterojunctions, with focus on type-II-, Z-scheme- and S-scheme-based heterojunctions.