Indium Clusters With 6 s 2 Lone‐Pair Effect as Excitonic Electron Reservoirs for Direct 2e − Photocatalytic H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

ABSTRACT The intrinsic activity–selectivity trade‐off in photocatalytic 2e − oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for H 2 O 2 photosynthesis originates from the kinetic dilemma between weak O 2 adsorption at single‐atom sites and unfavorable O–O cleavage at multimetal sites. Herein, we demonstrate that indium (In) clusters with a unique 6 s 2 lone‐pair effect can break this long‐standing single‐atom/cluster trade‐off by acting as excitonic electron reservoirs on carbon nitride. InSAC‐DCN delivers a remarkable H 2 O 2 generation rate of 1930.8 µmol∙g −1 ∙h −1 with selectivity exceeding 90%, far surpassing both pristine carbon nitride and In single‐atom counterparts. Combined fs‐TAS and in situ characterizations reveal that In clusters enable ultrafast exciton dissociation and instantaneously deliver electrons to the geometric Yeager‐type side‐on O 2 adsorption site, thereby favoring direct 2e − H 2 O 2 formation. DFT calculations elucidate lowered energy barriers for ∗OOH formation, suppressed O–O dissociation, and accelerated water dissociation. Meanwhile, the synergistic coupling between water oxidation and ORR establishes a self‐sustained proton‐feedback loop for enhanced overall efficiency. This work highlights that exciton engineering coupled with p ‐block metal clusters enables efficient and selective 2e − ORR beyond conventional single‐atom strategies to overcome the activity–selectivity trade‐off, establishing a distinct material‐design paradigm for high‐performance photocatalysts toward H 2 O 2 photosynthesis.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2026-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.3765495
Primary Topic
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Indium Clusters With 6 s 2 Lone‐Pair Effect as Excitonic Electron Reservoirs for Direct 2e − Photocatalytic H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

Yurou Song, Shijie Xie, Yaru Shao, Tianyi Ma et al.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
article

Indium Clusters With 6 s 2 Lone‐Pair Effect as Excitonic Electron Reservoirs for Direct 2e − Photocatalytic H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

Yurou Song, Shijie Xie, Yaru Shao, Tianyi Ma, Jungang Hou, Teng Shao, Yuye Jiao, Huijie Cheng
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The intrinsic activity–selectivity trade‐off in photocatalytic 2e − oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for H 2 O 2 photosynthesis originates from the kinetic dilemma between weak O 2 adsorption at single‐atom sites and unfavorable O–O cleavage at multimetal sites. Herein, we demonstrate that indium (In) clusters with a unique 6 s 2 lone‐pair effect can break this long‐standing single‐atom/cluster trade‐off by acting as excitonic electron reservoirs on carbon nitride. InSAC‐DCN delivers a remarkable H 2 O 2 generation rate of 1930.8 µmol∙g −1 ∙h −1 with selectivity exceeding 90%, far surpassing both pristine carbon nitride and In single‐atom counterparts. Combined fs‐TAS and in situ characterizations reveal that In clusters enable ultrafast exciton dissociation and instantaneously deliver electrons to the geometric Yeager‐type side‐on O 2 adsorption site, thereby favoring direct 2e − H 2 O 2 formation. DFT calculations elucidate lowered energy barriers for ∗OOH formation, suppressed O–O dissociation, and accelerated water dissociation. Meanwhile, the synergistic coupling between water oxidation and ORR establishes a self‐sustained proton‐feedback loop for enhanced overall efficiency. This work highlights that exciton engineering coupled with p ‐block metal clusters enables efficient and selective 2e − ORR beyond conventional single‐atom strategies to overcome the activity–selectivity trade‐off, establishing a distinct material‐design paradigm for high‐performance photocatalysts toward H 2 O 2 photosynthesis.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition
The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU), Dalian University (CN), RMIT Europe (ES)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
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