Evidence Alignment and Transfer Boundaries in Photocatalysis And Solar Fuels

Abstract

Two distinct lines of inquiry—a beta-FeOOH photo-Fenton platform that couples hydrogen evolution with pollutant degradation and dual-function phosphorus doping and cocatalyst engineering to improve charge use in photocatalytic hydrogen generation—converge on a practical question for photocatalysis and solar fuels: what evidence is needed before a reported advantage becomes a defensible basis for explanation, comparison, or deployment? The review draws on two focal records and 12 established sources already present in the project evidence cache. Its comparative framework links charge separation, active-site chemistry, and reaction selectivity to downstream questions of materials stability and reactor integration. Across the evidence base, the decisive issue is alignment: charge separation shapes what is observed, active-site chemistry shapes how it is compared, and reactor integration governs whether the conclusion can be transferred. Uncertainty is most informative when reported as part of the result rather than treated as a postscript. The contribution is a decision-oriented synthesis that connects method selection to failure cost and treats reproducibility, provenance, and bounded generalization as first-order design requirements.