The growing consumption of fossil fuels has driven atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to critical levels, necessitating the development of sustainable technologies to close the anthropogenic carbon cycle. Artificial photosynthesis, which utilizes semiconductor materials to harvest solar energy for the reduction of CO2 into value-added chemicals, offers a promising green pathway to simultaneously alleviate energy shortages and environmental crises.
A research team from the University of Science and Technology of China and collaborating institutions has now developed a breakthrough method to modify a promising photocatalytic material. They used an advanced and ultrafast technique for the large-scale synthesis of advanced atomically dispersed catalytic materials. The resulting atomically dispersed photocatalyst exhibits an approximately 10-fold enhancement in photocatalytic CO evolution under simulated solar irradiation, attributed to the formation of efficient electron-trapping centers that boost interfacial charge separation. This work not only provides fundamental insights into the structure-activity relationship of FJH-derived catalysts but also establishes a universal, scalable methodology for designing high-performance ADMs for diverse energy conversion applications. The study was published in the journal Nano Research on July 22, 2026.
Unlike traditional wet-chemistry or calcination methods that are often time-consuming and energy-intensive, FJH offers several advantages, including ultrafast processing, operational simplicity, solvent-free synthesis, high energy efficiency, and scalability. These features make FJH a promising strategy for the large-scale synthesis of advanced atomically dispersed catalytic materials.
The team directed to achieve the controlled synthesis of atomically dispersed Cu species via this ultrafast heating-cooling process. By systematically regulating the pulse parameters, we successfully anchored isolated Cu species with a well-defined local coordination environment.
The ultrafast thermal shock process effectively suppresses metal aggregation and ensures the formation of strongly anchored Cu atomically dispersed metal species via enhanced metal-support interactions. Spectroscopic and microscopic investigations reveal that the superior activity originates from a synergistic mechanism, where the incorporation of Cu not only modulates the band structure to increase the thermodynamic driving force but also serves as an efficient electron trap to suppress charge recombination and accelerate interfacial charge transfer.
FJH strategy successfully constructs isolated, positively charged Cu sites that interact strongly with the support, creating efficient centers for charge trapping and catalytic turnover, explained Prof Chao Zhang, a co-corresponding author. They boost the light absorption significantly extend the separation of the charge carriers essentials for the reaction, and generate highly reactive sites that effectively adsorb and activate the inert CO2 molecules.
The optimized photocatalyst, Cu1.0/TiO2, achieved enhanced CO evolution rate with high selectivity (94%). It also maintained excellent performance over multiple reaction cycles, demonstrating the stability of the Cu anchored isolated metal atoms. Isotope labeling experiments using 13CO2 definitively proved the produced CO originated from the fed CO2.
Theoretical calculations revealed the atomic-level mechanism: the dramatic enhancement in signal intensity and the clear time-dependent accumulation of intermediates on Cu1.0/TiO2 confirm that the atomically dispersed Cu sites act as highly efficient electron collectors. These sites not only stabilize the thermodynamically unstable COOH* intermediate but also effectively lower the activation barrier for the C–O bond cleavage.
This work establishes Flash Joule Heating as a versatile, ultrafast processing, operationally simple, and scalable strategy for precisely tailoring advanced photocatalysts", said Professor Yujie Xiong. The underlying principle can be adopted to other material systems. Our ultimate goal is to develop highly efficient photocatalytic systems capable of sustainably generating solar fuels from CO2 and water.
The research team includes Khadija Tul Kubra, Jian Lei, Zhongliao Wang, Shuaikang Sang, You Li, Saira Man, Zakria Ismail, Chao Zhang, Jingxiang Low, Ran Long, and Yujie Xiong from the University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui Normal University, Huaibei Normal University, and Tiangong University.
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFA0710302, 2022YFE0126500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52261135635, 22150610467, 22232003) and the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2408085MB024).
DOI Link:
https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2026.94908854
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 8,000 articles. In 2025 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2025 IF is 9.4 (8.3, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.
