Nanostructured Gold/Bismutite Hybrid Heterocatalysts for Plasmon-Enhanced Photosynthesis of Ammonia

Abstract

Nitrogen (N 2 ) reduction to produce ammonia (NH 3 ) is one of the most important chemical processes globally. Nowadays, the Haber−Bosch process is the main industrial procedure for artificial N 2 fixation, which requires extremely harsh synthetic conditions and large energy consumption resulting in massive emission of greenhouse gas. Hence, an alternative photosynthesis of NH 3 under mild condition, which is sustainable and less energy consuming, would be highly desirable. In this study, Au nanoparticles modified (BiO) 2 CO 3 nanodisks were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal method followed by chemical bath deposition and investigated for the photocatalytic reduction of N 2 in a pure water system at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The induction of Au nanoparticles can dramatically enhance the light trapping as well as charge separation in the Au/(BiO) 2 CO 3 hybrid, thereby promoting overall energy conversion efficiency. The synergetic effect of the nanostructured gold/bismutite hybrid results in high catalytic activity and exhibits high performance for artificial photosynthesis of ammonia.

Operando Oxygen Vacancies for Enhanced Activity and Stability toward Nitrogen Photofixation

“…The decreased activities were ascribed to the attenuated light intensity. As a result, WO 3 ‐600 achieved the highest activity of N 2 fixation among these catalysts, which also ranked among the best photocatalysts reported recently (Table S5, Supporting Information) . Furthermore, no N 2 fixation was triggered without light irradiation over WO 3 ‐600, declaring that the process of N 2 fixation was driven by light (Table S3, Supporting Information, entry 2).…”

“…As a result, WO 3 -600 achieved the highest activity of N 2 fixation among these catalysts, which also ranked among the best photocatalysts reported recently (Table S5, Supporting Information). [7][8][9][10][11]13,[31][32][33][34][35] Furthermore, no N 2 fixation was triggered without light irradiation over WO 3 -600, declaring that the process of N 2 fixation was driven by light (Table S3, Supporting Information, entry 2). Besides, adding K 2 S 2 O 8 or AgNO 3 to scavenge photogenerated electrons greatly decreased the NH 3 production rates for WO 3 -600 (Table S3, Supporting Information, entries 3-4), indicating that photoexcited electrons were essential species for N 2 reduction.…”

Emerging Applications of Plasmons in Driving CO2 Reduction and N2 Fixation

“…In addition, the N 2 reduction reaction in the Au/Si/Cr system is believed to occur on the surface of the Au nanoparticles. (BiO) 2 CO 3 nanodisks deposited with Au nanoparticles have recently been reported to enable photocatalytic N 2 reduction in water . The activity of such a plasmonic photocatalyst has been generally ascribed to the plasmonic effects, including enhanced light absorption, improved electron–hole separation and hot electron generation, as well as to the cocatalyst effect.…”

Tuning and tracking the growth of gold nanoparticles synthesized using binary surfactant mixtures

“…[1][2][3][4][5] The plasmonic properties of Au NPs depend on their size, shape, dielectric properties and the local environment around the NPs, 6 and hence ne-tuning one or a combination of these leads to applications that can range from bio-sensing, photothermal therapy, targeted drug delivery and catalysis among others. 1,[7][8][9][10][11][12] With an aim to achieve control of these properties and in turn of the nal applications, it is essential to understand and control the growth of Au NPs.…”