Is photocatalysis catalytic?

Heterogeneous photocatalysis has been known as one of the most promising alternative energy technologies due to its ability to directly convert solar energy into chemical energy, yet its practical applications are rarely reached. Amidst its development, several important aspects of conventional catalysis have been constantly overlooked, limiting the potential enhancements of photocatalytic performance. In this regard, well-established conventional catalysis should be referred to and can provide enormous impetus for widening applications of photocatalysis. In this opinion, we start by providing an overview of the historical development of conventional catalysis and photocatalysis. Then, several important aspects of catalysis that should be paid attention to during the research in photocatalysis are discussed. Finally, comments on the future research direction in photocatalysis are given.