With the rapid development of shipping industry, marine vessels frequently suffer from biofouling caused by marine organisms, making the effective prevention of marine biofouling a critical issue. Traditional antifouling coatings, which utilize toxic and harmful substances, pose significant risks to marine ecosystems. Therefore, the development of environmentally sustainable antifouling coatings has become imperative. Photocatalytic antifouling coatings, as an eco-friendly alternative, present a promising solution to these economic, energy, and ecological challenges. This review compares the environmental benefits of photocatalytic antifouling coatings to traditional ones, highlighting the underlying mechanisms of marine biofouling. Additionally, it explores the preparation techniques employed in photocatalytic antifoulant, analyzing the advantages, disadvantages, and potential modifications for photocatalytic coatings. Based on these insights, the future development of photocatalytic antifouling coatings is discussed, aiming to provide valuable references for the exploration of more efficient, broad-spectrum, energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective marine antifouling technologies.
Semiconductor nanomaterials have been widely used as light-responsive photocatalysts for solar-to-fuel conversion over the past decade. However, the wide band gap of the most reported photocatalysts stems from light absorption in the visible region and results in low solar conversion efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new semiconductor nanomaterials with high absorption coefficients over the visible region as photocatalysts. The most promising candidates include Cu-based quaternary sulfide nanomaterials (CQSNs), such as Cu-II-III-S (e.g., CuZnInS, CuZnGaS), Cu-II-IV-S (e.g., Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnGeS4), and I-III-IV-S (e.g., CuInSnS4, Cu3GaSnS5). This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent progress in developing CQSNs for various photocatalytic applications. Firstly, we present an overview of the synthesis of CQSNs with precise control over crystal phase, composition, size, and shape using solution-based methods. Then, the enhancement of photocatalytic performance was presented via the engineering of CQSNs, which included surface engineering, elemental doping, cocatalyst loading, vacancy engineering, and interface engineering. Subsequently, we further introduce the photocatalytic applications in the fields of photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical hydrogen conversion, CO2 reduction, organic synthesis, and pollutant degradation. Lastly, this review ends with views on the current challenges and opportunities of CQSNs in future studies.
