Research Progress on the Preparation of Cobaltate Materials and Their Application in Photocatalysis

Photocatalytic technology, as a highly promising green technology, can directly utilize solar energy to decompose pollutants in the environment and convert them into clean energy. Cobaltate materials, due to their unique physicochemical properties, show great application potential in the field of photocatalysis. It features a flexibly controllable crystal structure, a rich variety of valence states, and outstanding photoelectrochemical performance. This article comprehensively reviews its current research status and development trends, elaborately introduces the structural characteristics, common preparation methods and advantages of cobaltate materials, and also deeply expounds the research achievements in multiple aspects such as photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, carbon dioxide reduction, water decomposition for hydrogen production, and antibacterial properties. By comparing the synthesis strategies and photocatalytic performances of different cobaltate materials, we deeply explored the mechanisms by which morphology, structure, and composition affect photocatalytic activity. The study found that methods such as constructing heterojunctions, introducing oxygen vacancies, and appropriately adjusting the metal doping amount can effectively improve the separation and transmission characteristics of photogenerated electrons and holes, thereby significantly enhancing photocatalytic activity. This paper hopes to promote the practical application of cobaltate materials in environmental remediation and energy conversion, providing a solid theoretical basis and useful research references for the future material design and efficiency improvement in this field.