Enhancing Photocatalysis: Understanding the Mechanistic Diversity in Photocatalysts Modified with Single-Atom...

Surface modification of heterogeneous photocatalysts with single-atom catalysts (SACs) is an attractive approach for achieving enhanced photocatalytic performance. However, there is limited knowledge of the mechanism of photocatalytic enhancement in SAC-modified photocatalysts, which makes the rational design of high-performance SAC-based photocatalysts challenging. Herein, a series of photocatalysts for the aerobic degradation of pollutants based on anatase TiO₂ modified with various low-cost, non-noble SACs (vanadate, Cu, and Fe ions) is reported. The most active SAC-modified photocatalysts outperform TiO₂ modified with the corresponding metal oxide nanoparticles and state-of-the-art benchmark photocatalysts such as platinized TiO₂ and commercial P25 powders. A combination of in situ electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that the best-performing photocatalysts modified with Cu(II) and vanadate SACs exhibit significant differences in the mechanism of activity enhancement, particularly with respect to the rate of oxygen reduction. The superior performance of vanadate SAC-modified TiO₂ is found to be related to the shallow character of the SAC-induced intragap states, which allows for both the effective extraction of photogenerated electrons and fast catalytic turnover in the reduction of dioxygen, which translates directly into diminished recombination. These results provide essential guidelines for developing efficient SAC-based photocatalysts.