Catalytic applications of phosphorene: Computational design and experimental performance assessment

In the current era, catalysts have gained intensive research interest in development of sustainable energy as well as environmental remediation. Recent exploration of novel two-dimensional (2D) materials can offer unparalleled superiorities in catalysis due to their novel geometric structure and electronic properties (e.g. intrinsically anisotropic electronic, thermoelectric, mechanical, and transport properties). Phosphorene, composed of a single atomic layer of black phosphorous, has emerged as a potential single elemental 2D material that bridges the gap between 2D metal chalcogenides and graphene in terms of physical properties. The puckered structure of phosphorene imparts great potential for their catalytic applications such as the generation and storage of clean energy (e.g. photovoltaic cells, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, solar water splitting, and hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). In this review, an emphasis is placed on describing phosphorene in terms of its structural features (e.g. presence of defects) and catalytic properties along with synthesis strategies (e.g. liquid phase exfoliation, mechanical exfoliation, plasma exfoliation, and electrochemical exfoliation). This review is thus expected to provide comprehensive information on the current status of phosphorene as a catalyst (e.g. photocatalyst, electrocatalyst, and thermocatalyst) based on a combination of computational and experimental results.