The purification of water and air by semiconductor photocatalysis is a rapidly growing area for academic research and industrial innovation, featured with ambient removal of organic or inorganic pollutants by using solar light as the energy source and atmospheric O-2 as the green oxidant. Both charge transfer and energy transfer from excited photocatalysts can overcome the spin-forbidden nature of O-2. Layered bismuth oxyhalides are a new group of two-dimensional photocatalysts with an appealing geometric and surface structure that allows the dynamic and selective tuning of O-2 activation at the surface molecular level. In this Feature Article, we specifically summarize our recent progress in selective O-2 activation by engineering surface structures of bismuth oxyhalides. Then, we demonstrate selective photocatalytic O-2 activation of bismuth oxyhalides for environmental control, including water decontamination, volatile organic compound oxidation and nitrogen oxide removal, as well as selective catalytic oxidations. Challenges and opportunities regarding the design of photocatalysts with satisfactory performance for potential environmental control applications are also presented.
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