Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is considered the most promising photocatalyst for the highly selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde, though the origins of its catalytic activity and reaction mechanism are still debated. Here, the authors use WO3 with {001} and {110} facets as model photocatalysts, demonstrating that the photocatalytic oxidation of methane to formaldehyde in WO3 depends on the surface structure, leading to different formaldehyde selectivity.
- Yingying Fan
- Yuheng Jiang
- Zhiyong Tang