{
  "abstract": "Photoreduction of CO2 and H2O to CH4 offers a sustainable pathway for solar-to-chemical energy conversion. However, premature desorption of the CO* intermediate before coupling with protons (H*) to form a CHO* intermediate remains a major bottleneck, severely suppressing CH4 selectivity. Herein, we design a novel biomimetic “nucleus–cytoplasm” configuration photocatalyst, Pd1(C)/Ns/CNNs, where atomically dispersed Pd single atoms (Pd1(C)) serve as the cytoplasm for selective CO2 activation, while the adjacent Pd nanosheets (PdNs) act as the “nucleus” to supply H* and catalyze downstream hydrogenation. This configuration induces a short-range internal electric field, analogous to intracellular signaling, which synchronizes electron–H* transfer, facilitates directional CO* migration toward the “nucleus”, and restrains premature desorption, enabling CHO* formation seamlessly. Experimental results and density functional theory calculations show that Pd1(C) binds and activates CO2, while PdNs stabilize CO* and promote H2O dissociation to generate H*. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations capture the CO*–H* coupling into CHO*, directly visualizing this key transformation step. As a result, the Pd1(C)/Ns/CNNs achieves an outstanding CH4 evolution rate of 876.8 µmol g−1 h−1 with nearly 100% selectivity. This work introduces a biologically inspired spatial design that regulates intermediate evolution via local electronic synergy, providing a new idea for highly efficient and selective CO2 photomethanation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shantou University Shantou 515063 P. R. China +86 754 82902767 +86 754 86503791",
    "College of Chemical Engineering, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology Qinhuangdao 066004 P. R. China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yang Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoxue Zhao",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-8087-5618"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yujie Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanshan Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiahao Zheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhi Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1600-0588"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/chpgc59mh5kvp.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1039/d6sc04259g",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13552526/",
  "id": "chpgc59mh5kvp",
  "issns": [
    "2041-6520",
    "2041-6539"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc04259g",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-3.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 3.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2105|Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7206208609",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13552526",
  "pmid": "42713535",
  "published": "2026-09-02",
  "publisher": "Royal Society of Chemistry",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/chpgc59mh5kvp.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:23:45Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13552526",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc04259g"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:1605|Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes",
      "subfield": "organic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Biomimetic spatial compartmentalization directs C1 intermediate evolution for highly selective CO2 photomethanation",
  "title_text": "Biomimetic spatial compartmentalization directs C1 intermediate evolution for highly selective CO2 photomethanation",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:20:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/chpgc59mh5kvp",
  "venue": "Chemical Science",
  "versions": []
}