Adsorption based on excitation.

Qi, Shi-Chao; Han, Yan-Yan; Liu, Yong-Lan; Zhao, Yun-Jie; Huang, Qi-Qi; Liu, Xiao-Qin; Sun, Lin-Bing · Nat Commun · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Traditionally, adsorption is believed to take place only in the ground state, but here we report an excitation-driven adsorption mode. Composites of metallophthalocyanines and carbonaceous substrates are prepared, among which the potassium-phthalocyanine (KPc)/reduced graphene oxide (RG) composite shows the most typical behavior. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and first-principles simulations reveal that under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, the excited electrons in the composite transfer efficiently from KPc to RG, leaving long-lived excited holes on KPc that enable selective adsorption of CO molecules. In the dark, the composite shows negligible CO adsorption (0.06 mmol g⁻<sup>1</sup>), whereas its CO uptake increases to 1.20 mmol g⁻<sup>1</sup> upon UV light, with a UV-modulated adsorption capacity ratio of up to 95%. This adsorption mode is also applicable to other metallophthalocyanine/carbonaceous composites. This work presents a potential strategy for photoexcitation utilization and the development of energy-efficient chemical separation technologies.