Recently, a research team helmed by the up-and-coming researcher Tang Pengyi at the National Key Laboratory of Integrated Circuit Materials, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, put forward an atomic-scale surface state reconstruction strategy. This move is aimed at tackling problems like severe surface recombination and sluggish interfacial carrier transport that plague zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) photoelectrodes in the realm of photoelectrochemical water splitting. In Western academic and research contexts, precise control over material properties at the atomic level is highly valued as it often leads to breakthroughs in performance and efficiency. This strategy meticulously fine-tunes the surface state electronic structure of the ZnFe₂O₄ semiconductor. It achieves this through the coordinated modification of single-atom platinum and oxygen vacancies. Such a synergy brings about a marked improvement in the separation and transport dynamics of interfacial carriers. As a result, the photocurrent performance of the device sees a substantial boost. The pertinent research findings have already been published.