Citation: Lin Cai, Lina Su, Zhiruo Zhou, Jianhua Liu, Li Li, Fengyang Yu, Jiaqi Li, Wenjin Wang, Pengfei Wang, Sihui Zhan. Ho-Engineered electronic structure of LaFeO₃ for enhanced photocatalytic molecular oxygen activation and water purification[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(7): 112158. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112158 shu

Ho-Engineered electronic structure of LaFeO₃ for enhanced photocatalytic molecular oxygen activation and water purification

Lin Cai ^{a, 1} ,
Lina Su ^{a, *,} ,
Zhiruo Zhou ^b ,
Jianhua Liu ^a ,
Li Li ^a ,
Fengyang Yu ^a ,
Jiaqi Li ^a ,
Wenjin Wang ^a ,
Pengfei Wang ^c ,
Sihui Zhan ^{d, *,}

a.
State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
b.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, China
c.
MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
d.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China

sulina@xju.edu.cn

shzhan@tju.edu.cn

Received Date: 18 June 2025
Revised Date: 5 September 2025
Accepted Date: 21 November 2025
Available Online: 22 November 2025

Figures(6)

Rare–earth–based perovskite materials, due to their low cost and tunable structure, have been regarded as a promising platform for photoinduced molecular oxygen activation. However, a comprehensive understanding and precise regulation of the surface reconstruction of the active phase in perovskite oxides during molecular oxygen activation remain highly challenging tasks. Herein, a refined A–site management strategy is proposed for perovskite oxides, which provides power for molecular oxygen activation by adjusting the electronic structure of B–site elements. Comprehensive experimental results reveal that the enhanced photocatalytic mechanism is attributed to the substitution of holmium (Ho) at the atomic level, which facilitates an increase in the valence state of iron and shifts the center of the d–band to a more positive energy level, thereby promoting O₂ adsorption. Additionally, theoretical calculations demonstrate that the Ho 4f orbital overlaps with the Fe 3d and O 2p orbitals near the Fermi level, significantly enhancing charge transfer between oxygen and metal, thereby facilitating the conversion of oxygen into highly reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the optimized La_0.97Ho_0.03FeO₃ (LHFO) exhibits greatly enhanced catalytic performance for molecular oxygen activation, and the degradation rate constant of tetracycline is 9.5 times higher than LaFeO₃, representing one of the most efficient and robust RE–based perovskites.
- Photocatalytic molecular oxygen activation,
- LaFeO₃ perovskite,
- Holmium doping,
- Electronic structure modulation,
- Water treatment
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

Ho-Engineered electronic structure of LaFeO3 for enhanced photocatalytic molecular oxygen activation and water purification

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

Ho-Engineered electronic structure of LaFeO₃ for enhanced photocatalytic molecular oxygen activation and water purification