Electron‑Sponge S‑Scheme Heterojunctions via Mo–N Bridging Enable Highly Selective Photocatalytic CO 2 Methanation

ABSTRACT The kinetic limitations of multi‐electron transfer present a fundamental challenge to achieve selective CO 2 photoreduction to CH 4 . This work pioneers an interface electron‐flux intensification strategy by constructing a Mo–N‐bridged S‐scheme phosphomolybdic acid (PMA)/carbon nitride (CN) heterojunction synergistically coupled with the electron‐sponge functionality of PMA, directing charge transfer and electron utilization pathways. PMA/CN‐2 materials exhibit remarkable CO 2 ‐to‐CH 4 conversion rate of 20.76 µmol·g −1 ·h −1 , representing a 148.3‑fold over CN (0.14 µmol·g −1 ·h −1 ), while the CH 4 selectivity sharply rises from 6.37% (CN) to 98.95% (PMA/CN‑2). X‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and femtosecond transient absorption (fs‐TAS) spectroscopy reveal that N–Mo–O 5 coordination environment can regulate interfacial charge kinetics triggering ultrafast migration and consequent accumulation of photo‐induced electrons. Furthermore, in situ measurement, Gibbs’ energy changes and crystal orbital Hamilton populations (COHP) analysis elucidates the electronic modulation of Mo centers in Mo–N‐bridged PMA/CN heterojunction contributes to enhanced bonding with *CH 3 O at Mo–O 5 active sites for accelerating CH 4 generation. This manuscript establishes a foundational strategy for engineering atomically bridged S‐scheme heterojunctions with regulated electron dynamics, advancing the development of artificial photosynthesis systems for selective CO 2 ‐to‐fuel conversion.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.78890
Primary Topic
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Electron‑Sponge S‑Scheme Heterojunctions via Mo–N Bridging Enable Highly Selective Photocatalytic CO 2 Methanation

Bin Wang, Jiexiang Xia, Hongwei Huang, Henan Li et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
article

Electron‑Sponge S‑Scheme Heterojunctions via Mo–N Bridging Enable Highly Selective Photocatalytic CO 2 Methanation

Bin Wang, Jiexiang Xia, Hongwei Huang, Henan Li, Hailong Chen, Shengqun Cao, Jinman Yang, Chang Ma, Yixuan Gao, Zhishuai Wang, Yi Zhang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The kinetic limitations of multi‐electron transfer present a fundamental challenge to achieve selective CO 2 photoreduction to CH 4 . This work pioneers an interface electron‐flux intensification strategy by constructing a Mo–N‐bridged S‐scheme phosphomolybdic acid (PMA)/carbon nitride (CN) heterojunction synergistically coupled with the electron‐sponge functionality of PMA, directing charge transfer and electron utilization pathways. PMA/CN‐2 materials exhibit remarkable CO 2 ‐to‐CH 4 conversion rate of 20.76 µmol·g −1 ·h −1 , representing a 148.3‑fold over CN (0.14 µmol·g −1 ·h −1 ), while the CH 4 selectivity sharply rises from 6.37% (CN) to 98.95% (PMA/CN‑2). X‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and femtosecond transient absorption (fs‐TAS) spectroscopy reveal that N–Mo–O 5 coordination environment can regulate interfacial charge kinetics triggering ultrafast migration and consequent accumulation of photo‐induced electrons. Furthermore, in situ measurement, Gibbs’ energy changes and crystal orbital Hamilton populations (COHP) analysis elucidates the electronic modulation of Mo centers in Mo–N‐bridged PMA/CN heterojunction contributes to enhanced bonding with *CH 3 O at Mo–O 5 active sites for accelerating CH 4 generation. This manuscript establishes a foundational strategy for engineering atomically bridged S‐scheme heterojunctions with regulated electron dynamics, advancing the development of artificial photosynthesis systems for selective CO 2 ‐to‐fuel conversion.

Advanced Functional Materials
Jiangsu University (CN), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CN), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
Affordable and clean energy, Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 35%
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
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