Interdisciplinary Insights: Exploring the Photocatalytic Potential of Carbon-Modified Materials

Abstract

ABSTRACT Photocatalysis has emerged as a promising strategy for mitigating the impact of greenhouse gases, offering effective degradation, and reducing the effects of global warming. Notably, carbon materials, including graphene and its derivatives, exhibit certain limitations in photocatalysis, such as quick electron-hole pair recombination and poor visible-light absorption. The popularity of consumer-based electric vehicles (EVs) has increased in the context of international initiatives aimed at mitigating climate change and reducing the use of fossil fuels. Energy conversion and storage technologies have played crucial roles in this transition, and supercapacitor technology has emerged as a noteworthy alternative to traditional batteries. Due to their enormous surface area, electrical conductivity, and chemical stability, graphene-based materials are needed for supercapacitors. Supercapacitors and photocatalysts require electrical conductivity for charge transfer. To prolong supercapacitor and photocatalyst performance, chemically stable materials must resist corrosive electrolytes and reactive species. Electrochemical methods are essential for supercapacitors and photocatalysts, which require materials with appropriate redox potentials and charge-transfer kinetics for charge storage and catalysis. This multidisciplinary study discusses the concepts and limitations of using carbon-based materials in supercapacitor and photocatalytic technologies. This review discusses the synergistic potential of graphene and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) in energy storage and environmental remediation. Graphene’s high conductivity, and surface area, along with g-C₃N4’s visible-light photocatalytic activity offer potential for supercapacitors and photocatalyzed technologies. This review examines the challenges and potential of improving charge transfer, stability, and redox kinetics in carbon-based materials, highlighting how they could advance environmental technology and sustainable energy.