Valorization of biomass derivatives for photocatalytic synthesis of nitrogen-containing chemicals

Nitrogen-containing chemicals are an important class of organic compounds, with significant application in medicine, materials, and agrochemicals. Traditional methods for synthesizing nitrogen-containing chemicals rely on intense conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, strong acids/bases, involving high energy consumption and environmental burdens. In recent years, the synthesis of nitrogen-containing chemicals using biomass and its derivatives as raw materials, integrated with photocatalytic technology, has become a research hotspot in this field. This method combines the utilization of solar energy with the conversion of renewable carbon resources, achieving efficient and highly selective synthesis of nitrogen-containing chemicals under mild conditions. This article reviews the generation, migration patterns, and surface reaction kinetic characteristics of photogenerated carriers in photocatalytic reactions and summarizes typical reaction pathways including coupling methanol oxidation, hydrogen peroxide generation, and hydrogen evolution in nitrogen-containing chemicals synthesis. Several modification strategies to improve the photocatalytic performance are described such as heterostructure construction, surface coordination engineering, and crystal plane regulation, with special emphasis on anchoring atomically dispersed catalysts. Our perspectives on the key challenges and future development directions in this research field are presented. This review aims to provide theoretical support and technical references for synthesizing high-value nitrogen-containing chemicals through photocatalytic conversion of biomass.