Citation: Wei Chen, Yihang Hua, Juan Zheng, Li Li, Ruohan Yu, Xiaoping Chen, Fangfang Xia, Xiaoli Zhou, Guoli Liu, Yarong Fang, Chuanqi Pan, Weihao Li, Jinsong Wu, Zhu Luo, Yanbing Guo. Active lattice-superoxide over CuO nanosheets for efficient propene oxidation[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(11): 112629. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2026.112629 shu

Active lattice-superoxide over CuO nanosheets for efficient propene oxidation

Wei Chen ^a ,
Yihang Hua ^a ,
Juan Zheng ^a ,
Li Li ^a ,
Ruohan Yu ^d ,
Xiaoping Chen ^a ,
Fangfang Xia ^e ,
Xiaoli Zhou ^a ,
Guoli Liu ^a ,
Yarong Fang ^a ,
Chuanqi Pan ^a ,
Weihao Li ^a ,
Jinsong Wu ^d ,
Zhu Luo ^{a, b, c, *,} ,
Yanbing Guo ^{a, b, c}

a.
Institute of Environmental and Applied Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
b.
Engineering Research Center of Photoenergy Utilization for Pollution Control and Carbon Reduction, Ministry of Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
c.
Wuhan Institute of Photochemistry and Technology, Wuhan 430083, China
d.
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Nanostructure Research Centre, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
e.
State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, China

luo.z@mail.ccnu.edu.cn

Received Date: 14 November 2025
Revised Date: 11 March 2026
Accepted Date: 13 March 2026
Available Online: 14 March 2026

Figures(4)

Monatomic oxygen ions (O^–), superoxide (O₂^–), peroxide (O₂^2–), singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and active lattice oxygen species are traditional reactive oxygen species (ROS) that boosting oxidation reactions in cell growing, life activities and industrial production. However, other ROS is rarely reported due to lack of evidence. Here, a new reactive chemisorbed oxygen species named lattice-superoxide species (LSO) was found, which exclusively generated on the surface oxygen vacancy over CuO (010) nanosheets. In situ near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (in situ NAP-XPS) shows that the LSO possesses binding energy in between ordinary superoxide and the lattice oxygen. Theoretical calculations show that LSO adsorbs in a side-on configuration, with comparable electron (bader charge) on O_I and O_II (0.22 vs. 0.20 e^-), and a lower O-O bond crystal orbital Hamilton population (COHP) than ordinary superoxides (12.45 vs. 15.37). The LSO works as a new adsorption site for C₃H₆ with lower C-H bond broken barrier, follow the ethylene pathway with lower activation energy for propene combustion. A considerably improved oxidation activity (T_90% = 229 ℃ vs. 312 ℃) compare to CuO catalyst without LSO can be achieved. This study establishes new pathway for constructing new reactive oxygen species and provides high-performance alternative for oxidation reactions.
- Lattice-superoxide species,
- Oxygen vacancy,
- Propene oxidation,
- CuO nanosheet,
- Reaction mechanism
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