Recent Progress in Porphyrin/g-C(3)N(4) Composite Photocatalysts for Solar Energy Utilization and Conversion

Transforming solar energy into chemical bonds is a promising and viable way to store solar energy. Porphyrins are natural light-capturing antennas, and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C(3)N(4)) is an effective, artificially synthesized organic semiconductor. Their excellent complementarity has led to a growing number of research papers on porphyrin/g-C(3)N(4) hybrids for solar energy utilization. This review highlights the recent progress in porphyrin/g-C(3)N(4) composites, including: (1) porphyrin molecules/g-C(3)N(4) composite photocatalysts connected via noncovalent or covalent interactions, and (2) porphyrin-based nanomaterials/g-C(3)N(4) composite photocatalysts, such as porphyrin-based MOF/g-C(3)N(4), porphyrin-based COF/g-C(3)N(4), and porphyrin-based assembly/g-C(3)N(4) heterojunction nanostructures. Additionally, the review discusses the versatile applications of these composites, including artificial photosynthesis for hydrogen evolution, CO(2) reduction, and pollutant degradation. Lastly, critical summaries and perspectives on the challenges and future directions in this field are also provided.