Amorphous‐Phase Tailoring of TiO <sub>2</sub> –ZrO <sub>2</sub> Interfacial Linkages Regulates Radical Pathways for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Methane Oxidation

ABSTRACT Amorphous oxides offer unique short‐range order and coordination flexibility, yet their capacity to orchestrate interfacial radical chemistry and suppress over‐oxidation during photocatalytic methane to liquid conversion remains a critical frontier. Herein, we strategically construct TiO 2 –ZrO 2 architectures where the ZrO 2 phase is precisely tuned from amorphous (TiO 2 –ZrO 2 –A) to crystalline (TiO 2 –ZrO 2 –A800) to elucidate the governance of structural disorder over aerobic CH 4 functionalization. Multimodal characterizations—including x–ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES)/extended x‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), AC‐HRTEM, transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and density functional theory (DFT), reveal that the amorphous ZrO 2 phase enriches surface oxygen vacancies relative to its crystalline counterpart and establishes robust Ti–O–Zr interfacial linkages. This configuration enhances charge separation and supports higher effective steady‐state hole availability for efficient C–H bond activation while effectively tempering the flux of water‐derived reactive oxygen species. At room temperature TiO 2 –ZrO 2 –A achieves an exceptional liquid oxygenate selectivity of up to 98.2%, remarkably outperforming its crystalline analogue by resisting deep oxidation to CO 2 . Kinetic analyses reveal the rapid formation of *CH 3 and *CH 3 O intermediates, consistent with faster intermediate turnover and reduced overoxidation on the amorphous interface, consistent with DFT‐calculated barriers that favor methane activation over non‐selective reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. These findings identify amorphous‐phase engineering as a kinetic valve for tuning pathways and selectivity in photocatalytic C–H transformations.

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Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-04-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.9660324
Primary Topic
TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Amorphous‐Phase Tailoring of TiO 2 –ZrO 2 Interfacial Linkages Regulates Radical Pathways for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Methane Oxidation

Yuhang Shao, Hui Song, Shengrong Zhou, Xinru Jiang et al.
Angewandte Chemie
TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells
article

Amorphous‐Phase Tailoring of TiO 2 –ZrO 2 Interfacial Linkages Regulates Radical Pathways for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Methane Oxidation

Yuhang Shao, Hui Song, Shengrong Zhou, Xinru Jiang, Xiaolei Guo, Guangzhao Li, Dong Fang, Yi Xie, Hongwei Zhang, Ran Ran, Zitong Bao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Amorphous oxides offer unique short‐range order and coordination flexibility, yet their capacity to orchestrate interfacial radical chemistry and suppress over‐oxidation during photocatalytic methane to liquid conversion remains a critical frontier. Herein, we strategically construct TiO 2 –ZrO 2 architectures where the ZrO 2 phase is precisely tuned from amorphous (TiO 2 –ZrO 2 –A) to crystalline (TiO 2 –ZrO 2 –A800) to elucidate the governance of structural disorder over aerobic CH 4 functionalization. Multimodal characterizations—including x–ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES)/extended x‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), AC‐HRTEM, transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and density functional theory (DFT), reveal that the amorphous ZrO 2 phase enriches surface oxygen vacancies relative to its crystalline counterpart and establishes robust Ti–O–Zr interfacial linkages. This configuration enhances charge separation and supports higher effective steady‐state hole availability for efficient C–H bond activation while effectively tempering the flux of water‐derived reactive oxygen species. At room temperature TiO 2 –ZrO 2 –A achieves an exceptional liquid oxygenate selectivity of up to 98.2%, remarkably outperforming its crystalline analogue by resisting deep oxidation to CO 2 . Kinetic analyses reveal the rapid formation of *CH 3 and *CH 3 O intermediates, consistent with faster intermediate turnover and reduced overoxidation on the amorphous interface, consistent with DFT‐calculated barriers that favor methane activation over non‐selective reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. These findings identify amorphous‐phase engineering as a kinetic valve for tuning pathways and selectivity in photocatalytic C–H transformations.

Angewandte Chemie
Xihua University (CN), Tianjin University (CN), Biogas Institute of Ministry of Agriculture (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells
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