Simultaneous promotion of photocatalytic CH(4) conversion and H(2)O(2) production via nanopore water confinement.

Aqueous photocatalytic CH oxidation offers a promising route for converting natural gas into oxygenates, a process governed by multi-electron and proton transfer at the catalyst-water interface. Here, we demonstrate that spatially confining water within Au/TiO@pSiO core-shell catalysts-by reducing silica pore size to 1.7 nm-increases CH conversion three-fold and HO production 22-fold compared to Au/TiO. This strategy is generalizable to other semiconductors and cocatalysts, with Pt/TiO@pSiO-1.7 exhibiting oxygenate yields of 32.7 mmol g h and a 14.1% apparent quantum yield at 365 nm. Spectroscopic studies and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that water confined within pores, with a weakened hydrogen-bonding network, alters proton-coupled electron transfer pathways. Water oxidation transits to a concerted pathway, favoring •OH production for CH conversion, while oxygen reduction shifts to a two-electron process, directly producing HO. This work highlights the potential of water confinement for designing efficient photocatalysts for CH conversion.