Fe-Bi dual sites regulation of Bi 2 O 2.33 nanosheets to promote photocatalytic nitrogen fixation activity

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science 2024-01, Vol.661, p.46
• Main Authors: Zhu, Chuanyu, Zhang, Lulu, Cui, Luyao, Zhang, Ziqiang, Li, Rui, Wang, Yunfang, Wang, Yawen, Fan, Caimei, Yu, Zhuobin, Liu, Jianxin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1095-7103

In the process of photocatalytic ammonia synthesis, efficient activation of nitrogen molecules constitutes a fundamental challenge. During the N activation, the close interdependence between the acceptance and donation of electron results in their mutual limitation, leading to high energy barrier for N activation and unsatisfactory photocatalytic performance. This work decoupled the electron acceptance and donation processes by constructing Fe-Bi dual active sites, resulting in enhancing N activation through the high electron trapping ability of Fe and strong electron donating ability of Bi . The photocatalytic nitrogen reduction efficiency of 3%Fe/Bi O (118.71 μmol g h ) is 5.3 times that of Bi O (22.41 μmol g h ). In-situ Fourier transform infrared (In situ FTIR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations manifest that Fe -Bi dual active sites work together to promote nitrogen adsorption and activation, and the reaction path is more inclined toward alternate hydrogenation path. N adsorption and activation properties are optimized by heteronuclear bimetallic active sites, which offers a new way for the rational design of nitrogen-fixing photocatalysts.