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.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2026-09-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.3990578
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
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article
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article

S‐Scheme Charge Separation Enables Photocarrier‐Regulated Aqueous NH 4 + Storage in g‐C 3 N 4 @WO 3 Heterojunctions

Zihang Huang, Yulong Jia, Hongge Pan, Wubin Du et al.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Advanced battery technologies research
article

S‐Scheme Charge Separation Enables Photocarrier‐Regulated Aqueous NH 4 + Storage in g‐C 3 N 4 @WO 3 Heterojunctions

Zihang Huang, Yulong Jia, Hongge Pan, Wubin Du, Tianyi Ma, Jichi Liu, Bing Tang, Hui Li, Fanfang Sun, Yue Zhang
article en

Abstract

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.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Liaoning University (CN), Nanomaterials Research (United States) (US), Xi'an Technological University (CN), China National Petroleum Corporation (China) (CN), Tsinghua University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Advanced battery technologies research
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