A review of updated red phosphorus-based photocatalysts

Red phosphorus (RP), as a promising non-metallic photocatalyst, has garnered considerable attention due to its unique structural characteristics and exceptional optoelectronic properties. While previous reviews have explored RP-based photocatalysis, recent advancements in fabrication strategies, characterization techniques, and theoretical modeling have significantly reshaped the design, synthesis, and optimization of these materials. This review provides a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the latest progress in RP-based photocatalysts over the past five years, with a particular focus on strategies aimed at enhancing light harvesting capabilities, improving the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers, and ensuring long-term stability. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of innovative in-situ characterization techniques and density functional theory (DFT) simulations in elucidating the underlying photocatalytic mechanism across diverse applications, including photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, CO₂ reduction, bacterial disinfection and organic pollutant degradation. Finally, this review highlights emerging challenges and forward-looking strategies to further boost the photocatalytic performance of RP-based systems, offering valuable insights for the rational design of next-generation non-metallic photocatalysts.