Unveiling Mechanistic Insight into Accelerating Oxygen Molecule Activation by Oxygen Defects in Co₃O_4‐x/g‐C₃N₄ p–n Heterojunction for Efficient Photo‐Assisted Uranium Extraction from Seawater

Abstract

Photo‐assisted uranium extraction from seawater (UES) is regarded as an efficient technique for uranium resource recovery, yet it currently faces many challenges, such as issues like biofouling resistance, low charge separation efficiency, slow carrier transfer, and a lack of active sites. Based on addressing the above challenges, a novel oxygen‐deficient Co3O4‐x/g‐C3N4 p–n heterojunction is developed for efficient photo‐assisted uranium extraction from seawater. Relying on the defect‐coupling heterojunction synergistic effect, the redistribution of molecular charge density formed the built‐in electric field as revealed by DFT calculations, significantly enhancing the separation efficiency of carriers and accelerating their migration rate. Notably, oxygen vacancies served as capture sites for oxygen, effectively promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby significantly improving the photo‐assisted uranium extraction performance and antibacterial activity. Thus, under simulated sunlight irradiation with no sacrificial reagent added, Co3O4‐x/g‐C3N4 extracted a high uranium extraction amount of 1.08 mg g−1 from 25 L of natural seawater after 7 days, which is superior to most reported carbon nitride‐based photocatalysts. This study elaborates on the important role of surface defects and inerface engineering strategies in enhancing photocatalytic performance, providing a new approach to the development and design of uranium extraction material from seawater.