S‐Scheme Charge Separation Enables Photocarrier‐Regulated Aqueous NH 4 + Storage in g‐C 3 N 4 @WO 3 Heterojunctions
ABSTRACT Aqueous ammonium‐ion (NH 4 + ) batteries are promising for sustainable energy storage, yet their performance is severely constrained by sluggish reaction kinetics. Photo‐assisted strategies offer a compelling route to overcome these limitations; however, single‐semiconductor electrodes suffer from rapid photogenerated carrier recombination, resulting in poor light‐utilization efficiency. Here, we develop a g‐C 3 N 4 @WO 3 S‐scheme heterojunction (CNW) that unlocks efficient light‐to‐charge conversion for photocarrier‐regulated reversible NH 4 + storage. Characterization and simulation reveal that Fermi level alignment and band bending at the CNW interface establish a built‐in electric field, driving S‐scheme charge separation with selective recombination of low‐energy carriers and retention of high‐energy electrons on g‐C 3 N 4 and holes on WO 3 . This preserves strong redox capability, thereby enabling efficient utilization of photoexcited carriers in the electrochemical storage process. Together with pronounced interfacial orbital coupling, the resulting photocarrier redistribution accelerates NH 4 + adsorption and electron/ion transport. Consequently, the CNW electrode delivers a 187% capacity enhancement under illumination, achieving 452 mAh g −1 at 2 A g −1 with excellent cycling stability, surpassing all currently reported W‐based and C‐based materials for NH 4 + storage. Correlative electrochemical, spectroscopic, and theoretical analyses decouple photoelectric and thermal effects, revealing a photoelectric‐dominated, thermally assisted synergistic mechanism that simultaneously enhances NH 4 + storage kinetics and capacity.
Authors
- Zihang Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3591-5169)
- Yulong Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0544-6138)
- Hongge Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7582-3744)
- Wubin Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9396-0275)
- Tianyi Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1042-8700)
- Jichi Liu
- Bing Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4637-3809)
- Hui Li
- Fanfang Sun
- Yue Zhang
Institutions
- Liaoning University (CN)
- Nanomaterials Research (United States) (US)
- Xi'an Technological University (CN)
- China National Petroleum Corporation (China) (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie
- Published
- 2026-09-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.3990578
- Primary Topic
- Advanced battery technologies research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00