Tuning the Interfaces of ZnO/ZnCr₂O₄ Derived from Layered‐Double‐Hydroxide Precursors to Advance Nitrogen Photofixation

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from the enzyme nitrogenase in nature, researchers are increasingly delving into semiconductor photocatalytic nitrogen fixation due to its similar surface catalytic processes. Herein, we reported a facile and efficient approach to achieving the regulation of ZnO/ZnCr2O4 photocatalysts with ZnCr‐layered double hydroxide (ZnCr‐LDH) as precursors. By optimizing the composition ratio of Zn/Cr in ZnCr‐LDH to tune interfaces, we can achieve an enhanced nitrogen photofixation performance(an ammonia evolution rate of 31.7 µmol g‐1 h‐1 using pure water as a proton source) under ambient conditions. Further, photo‐electrochemical measurements and transient surface photovoltage spectroscopy revealed that the enhanced photocatalytic activity can be ascribed to the effective carrier separation efficiency, originating from the abundant composite interfaces. This work further demonstrated a promising and viable strategy for the synthesis of nanocomposite photocatalysts for nitrogen photofixation and other challenging photocatalytic reactions.

Construction of Fe(III) Active Sites on Phenanthroline-Grafted g-C3N4: Reduced Work Function and Enhanced Intramolecular Charge Transfer for Efficient N2 Photofixation

“…Ammonia (NH 3 ) is an important chemical raw material and a very promising energy carrier. , The main source of NH 3 is atmospheric N 2 , but the N 2 molecule is very stable in the atmosphere, and the NN triple bond energy is so high (941 kJ/mol) that it cannot be used directly. , Today, the efficient production of ammonia in industry is still mainly based on the traditional Haber–Bosch process, but the harsh reaction conditions of this method, the need to consume large amounts of energy, and the emission of greenhouse gases put a great burden on energy and environmental protection. , Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation for NH 3 synthesis is a procedure that uses naturally abundant solar energy as the energy source and N 2 and H 2 O as the feedstock at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, with no carbon products emitted during the reaction process, and it is considered to be an ideal pathway for reducing N 2 to NH 3 to satisfy the carbon-neutral background …”