Artificial photosynthesis, which converts solar energy to chemical energy, is an important strategy for solar energy utilization. Efficient separation of photoinduced electrons and holes is a key issue in artificial photosynthesis. To investigate the photoinduced electrons and holes using techniques of high temporal and spatial resolutions is crucial to the photo(electro) catalytic mechanism study. This review summarizes the main results and latest development in photo(electro)catalytic mechanism research with time-resolved spectroscopy and imaging spectroscopy. It is shown that charge separation, recombination and reaction process are well characterized by time-resolved spectroscopy while the spatial distribution of photogenerated charges and their roles in artificial photosynthesis are revealed by imaging spectroscopy.

artificial photosynthesis  /  time-resolved spectroscopy  /  spatial characterization  /  photo(electro)catalytic mechanism