Effective SrWO4/TiO2 Heterojunction with Enhanced Carriers Separation and Transfer for Photocatalytic Methane Oxidation

Graphical Highly effective SrWO 4 /TiO 2 heterojunction photocatalysts were fabricated for photocatalytic methane oxidation into oxygenates with O 2 under mild conditions. The high-speed transfer channel between SrWO 4 and TiO 2 on SrWO 4 /TiO 2 photocatalysts promoted separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers, which enhanced the generation of oxygenates with high selectivity. Photocatalytic methane oxidation to oxygenates with promising performance remains as a grand challenge due to the low productivity and severe overoxidation. Herein, SrWO 4 /TiO 2 heterojunction was developed for photocatalytic methane oxidation with O 2 to liquid oxygenates ( Please replace “oxygenates” with “oxygenated”)products under mild reaction conditions. The optimized SrWO 4 /TiO 2 catalyst exhibited high productivity of 13365 μmol/g with high selectivity of 98.7 % for oxygenates. Benefited from the intimate heterojunction interface of SrWO 4 /TiO 2 , the constructed I-type heterostructure improved the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers, and a high-speed transfer channel for photogenerated carriers was fabricated. Simultaneously, the special band structure can increase the amount of photogenerated electrons and holes on the TiO 2 surface, which promoted the formation of reactive oxygen species to enhance liquid oxygenates productivity.