Unraveling Alkali Ion Electron Donation for Enhancing Heterogeneous Catalytic Oxidation.

ABSTRACT: Alkali ions, widely employed as promoters, play crucial roles in heterogeneous catalysis. However, their electron donation mechanism remains poorly understood because alkali ions do not have transferable electrons as metallic alkalis do. Here, a new mechanistic pathway is identified for potassium (K) ions to act as electron donors by constructing single chains of K ions confined within hexagonal WO₃ tunnels with theoretical limit-breakthrough K concentrations. The as-produced high-electron-density K^δ+ (0<δ<1) ions not only facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies that behave classical electronic effect but, more importantly, also directly donate electrons to [WO₆] motif antibonding orbitals, thereby triggering the lattice oxygen activation. As a proof o

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12786274 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature