Research advances on two-dimensional materials using as photocatalysts

Two-dimensional materials (such as graphene) showed many physical and chemical properties due to their unique thickness dimensions and layered structure characteristics, such as high conductivity, stable chemical properties and large specific surface area, which led to the wide range of applications in environment, materials, energy, and catalysis. The combination of two-dimensional materials and semiconductors can not only have the advantages of a single component, but the interaction between each component may also cause the synergistic enhancement of intrinsic properties. Therefore, the two-dimensional material-semiconductor composite photocatalyst had received extensive attention. In this review, the classification of two-dimensional materials was first introduced, including graphene-based two-dimensional materials and graphene-like two-dimensional materials (hexagonal boron nitride, transition metal chalcogenides, graphite phase carbon nitride, black phosphorus, group IV grapheme-like materials, metal organic framework compounds and covalent organic framework compounds, layered double hydroxides). Secondly, the preparation of two-dimensional materials and semiconductor-two-dimensional materials photocatalysts was summarized, and the preparation strategies of two-dimensional materials were focused on "top-down" and "bottom-up". Finally, the applications of two-dimensional materials were reviewed based on photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and photolysis of water to produce hydrogen. Based on the research current and advances of two-dimensional materials, this article looked forward to the prospects of two-dimensional materials in the field of photocatalysis, with the purpose of improving their practical application value.