Photoelectrochemical (PEC) or photocatalytic water splitting is considered as a promising approach of hydrogen production because it consumes only sunlight as a driving energy. Until now, a large number of semiconductors have been utilized as photoelectrocatalysts and/or photocatalysts. However, the solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiencies of various semiconductors are still low due to the wide band gap, poor conductivity and fast charge recombination. Therefore, the development of high-performance materials for solar water splitting is essential. In this talk, Professor Shen presented the recent progresses in hematite photoanode and g-C3N4 photocatalyst achieved in his group.