Feng, Guanghui; Zhao, Yonghui; Mao, Jianing; Li, Guihua; Zhu, Chang; Li, Shoujie; Dong, Xiao; Song, Yanfang; Wei, Wei; Chen, Wei

APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

2025, ,

Feng, Guanghui; Zhao, Yonghui; Mao, Jianing; Li, Guihua; Zhu, Chang; Li, Shoujie; Dong, Xiao; Song, Yanfang; Wei, Wei; Chen, Wei

The photochemical (PC) methane (CH4) conversion with low-energy input has been extensively studied for producing value-added chemicals. However, the efficient activation and conversion of CH4 in high selectivity toward C2+ products remain a great challenge. This study reports that the efficient electric-field-assisted photochemical (EPC) CH4 conversion to n-propanol with a nearly 100 % selectivity and a yield of 20.31 mu mol gcat- 1 h- 1 can be achieved using a nanostructured TiO2/Ti hollow fiber penetration photoanode in an alkaline electrolyte under ambient conditions. The rational construction of the unique penetrated photoanode with a Schottky contact greatly promotes carrier separation and mass transportation under an oriented external bias. Experimental and theoretical investigations indicate that Ti atoms along the TiO2-Ti interface act as active sites and enable the robust stretching ability for C-H scissoring and C-C coupling, ensuring the formation of npropanol exclusively during EPC CH4 conversion. This study provides new insights to design active and selective catalysts for direct CH4 utilization.