The photocatalytic fixation of N2 is a promising technology
for sustainable production of ammonia, while the unsatisfactory efficiency
resulting from the low electron-transfer rate, narrow light absorption
range, and limited active sites of the photocatalyst seriously hinder
its application. Herein, we designed a noble metal-free Schottky junction
photocatalyst constructed by g-C3N4 nanosheets
with N vacancies (VN-CN) and metallic Ni3B nanoparticles
(Ni3B/VN-CN) for N2 reduction to
ammonia. The ammonia yield rate over the optimized Ni3B/VN-CN is 7.68 mM g–1 h–1, which is 6.7 times higher than that of pristine CN (1.15 mM g–1 h–1). The superior photocatalytic
N2 fixation performance of Ni3B/VN-CN can be attributed not only to the formation of Schottky junctions
between Ni3B and VN-CN, which facilitates the
migration and separation of photogenerated electrons, but also to
the incorporation of VN into g-C3N4, which enhances visible light absorption and improves electrical
conductivity. More importantly, Ni3B nanoparticles can
act as the cocatalyst, which provide more active sites for the adsorption
and activation of N2, thereby improving the N2 reduction activity. This work provides an effective strategy of
designing noble metal-free-based cocatalyst photocatalyst for sustainable
and economic N2 fixation.