Photocatalysis, which converts natural solar energy into chemical energy, has emerged as one of the most appealing technologies in the past decades. However, photocatalytic performances are limited by the poor absorption of visible light, charge‐carrier recombination during migration, and a high energy barrier for activating reactants. Oxygen vacancies in semiconductive metal oxides are reported to be vital to improve their photocatalytic efficiency. In this regard, this review provides a concise overview of oxygen vacancies in transition metal oxides in photocatalytic systems, including their functions, construction strategies, characterization methods, and applications. Moreover, an outlook on the current challenges and promising opportunities in this field is provided.

中文翻译：

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光催化中的氧空缺工程

在过去的几十年中，将自然太阳能转化为化学能的光催化已经成为最吸引人的技术之一。但是，光催化性能受到可见光吸收差，迁移过程中电荷-载流子复合以及活化反应物的高能垒的限制。据报道，半导体金属氧化物中的氧空位对于提高其光催化效率至关重要。在这方面，本综述简要概述了光催化体系中过渡金属氧化物中的氧空位，包括其功能，构建策略，表征方法和应用。此外，提供了对该领域当前挑战和有希望的机会的展望。