  The demand for renewable and environmentally friendly energy source has
attracted extensive research on high performance catalysts. Ferroelectrics
which are a class of materials with a switchable polarization are the unique
and promising catalyst candidates due to the significant effects of
polarization on surfaces physical and chemical properties. The band bending at
the ferroelectric/semiconductor interface induced by the polarization flip
promotes the charge separation and transfer, there by enhancing the
photocatalytic performance. More importantly, the reactants can be selectively
adsorbed on the surface of the ferroelectric materials depending on the
polarization direction, which can effectively lift the basic limitations as
imposed by Sabatier principle on catalytic activity. This review summarizes the
latest developments of ferroelectric materials, and introduces the
ferroelectric-related catalytic application. The possible research directions
of 2D ferroelectric materials in chemical catalysis is discussed at the end.
The review is expected to inspire the extensive research interests from
physical, chemical and material science communities.
