Oxygen Vacancy-Mediated Electron Sinking Reprograms Interfacial Charge Flow in MgFe₂O₄/NaNbO₃ Heterojunctions for the...

Photocatalytic reduction of uranyl ion (UO₂²⁺, referred to as U(VI)) is hindered in complex aqueous environments by rapid charge recombination and the instability of radical-based reductive species. Herein, we demonstrate an oxygen vacancy-mediated electron-sinking mechanism that reprograms interfacial charge flow in MgFe₂O₄/NaNbO₃ (MFO/NNO) heterojunctions, enabling efficient and selective photoreduction of U(VI). In this S-scheme heterojunction, photogenerated electrons are directionally transferred across the interface and continuously drained by molecular oxygen at oxygen vacancy-associated sites, where O₂ is consumed through nonradical electron dissipation rather than reactive oxygen species formation. This O₂-regulated electron sinking suppresses interfacial recombination, lowers the electron quasi-Fermi level, and kinetically promotes stepwise uranyl reduction to insoluble U(IV) via direct electron transfer. As a result, the MFO/NNO heterojunction achieves a U(VI) reduction efficiency of 97.36% in real low-concentration U(VI) tailings wastewater under natural light. Density functional theory reveals that oxygen vacancies and Fe-O redox coupling synergistically reduce interfacial electron transfer barriers and stabilize oxygen adsorption. This work establishes O₂ as a nonradical electron sink for charge-flow reprogramming, offering a general strategy for suppression-type photocatalysis in complex wastewater remediation.