Photothermal effect promoting the reconstruction and mass-energy transfer for the enhancement of three-dimensional confinement catalysis

Photothermal catalysis, as an emerging technology, has attracted lots of attention, due to its high efficiency and renewable sustainability. In current industry applications, solar light coupling with fossil energy to realize scalable chemical-engineering production still suffers from some challenges, such as the catalytic site reconstruction leading to selectivity change and the catalyst deactivation resulting in economic loss. Therefore, a reasonable structure design could enormously enhance the mass and energy transfer during the catalytic reaction. Considering the complexity of the reaction micro-environment, catalytic site reconstruction plays a crucial role in dynamic photothermal catalysis. Related to the spatial and temporal reaction process, this review is focused on the latest progress of the catalytic sites confined into the different three-dimensional (3D) structures. Firstly, we introduced the mechanism of photothermal reaction on the 3D structure, focusing on the mass and energy transferring pathway and the corresponding reaction. Subsequently, several typical distribution types of the catalytic sites were concluded. This part emphasized that the various 3D configurations modified with different types of catalytic sites would drive different reactions, including the biological enzyme site interaction process. Then, we try to illustrate the active site structure reconstruction with the micro-environment changing, especially noticing the species adsorption and the influence of weak fields. Moreover, the application of photothermal 3D materials was discussed under a realistic reaction condition, which might open a new window for filling the gap between micro-structure and macro-process in catalysis. Finally, we briefly summarized and pointed out the future challenges in solar-assisted catalytic engineering.