One of the main goals of 21st century chemistry is to replace environmentally hazardous processes with energy efficient routes allowing to totally avoid the use and production of harmful chemicals and to maximise the quantity of raw material that ends up in the final product. Selective photocatalytic conversions will play a major role in this evolution and this account shows how photocatalysis is offering an alternative green route for the production of organics.

Tremendous interest is devoted to fabricating numerous graphene (GR)–semiconductor composites toward improved conversion of solar energy, resulting from the observation that the photogenerated electrons from semiconductors (e.g., TiO₂, CdS) can be readily accepted or shuttled in the two-dimensional (2D) GR sheet. Yet although the hunt is on for GR–semiconductor composite based photoredox applications that aim to exploit the remarkable electronic conductivity of GR, the work necessary to find out how it could best be harnessed to improve the photocatalytic performance of semiconductors remains scanty. In this review, we highlight a few problems associated with improving the photocatalytic performance of semiconductors via methodological coupling with GR. In particular, we address strategies for harnessing the structure and electronic conductivity of GR via strengthening the interfacial contact, optimizing the electronic conductivity of GR, and spatially optimizing the interfacial charge carrier transfer efficiency. Additionally, we provide a brief overview of assembly methods for fabricating GR–semiconductor composites with controllable film infrastructure to meet the requirements of practical photocatalytic applications. Finally, we propose that, only with the principle of designing and understanding GR–semiconductor composites from a system-level consideration, we might get better at imparting the power of GR with unique and transformative properties into the composite system.

Largely increased use of (+)-limonene in the emerging bioeconomy will be twofold: in advanced formulations and as raw material to manufacture valued fine chemicals and high-performance polymers, especially using CO ₂ as co-monomer.