Ammonia synthesis via the Haber-Bosch process, which has been heralded as the most important invention of the 20 th century, consumes massive amounts of energy, around 1%–2% of the world’s annual energy...Ammonia synthesis via the Haber-Bosch process, which has been heralded as the most important invention of the 20 th century, consumes massive amounts of energy, around 1%–2% of the world’s annual energy consumption. Developing green and sustainable strategies for NH3 synthesis under ambient conditions, using renewable energy, is strongly desired, by both industrial and sci-entific researchers. Artificial photosynthesis for ammonia synthesis, which has recently attracted significant attention, directly produces NH3 from sunlight, and N2 and H2O via photocatalysis. This has been regarded as an ideal, energy-saving and environmentally-benign process for NH3 produc-tion because it can be performed under normal temperature and atmospheric pressure using re-newable solar energy. Although sustainable developments have been achieved since the pioneering work in 1977, many challenging issues（e.g., adsorption and activation of nitrogen molecules on the surface of photocatalysts under mild conditions） have still not been well solved and the photocata-lytic activities are generally low. In this miniature review, I summarize the most recent progress of photocatalytic N2 fixation for ammonia synthesis, focusing specifically on two attractive aspects for adsorption and activation of nitrogen molecules： one is engineering of oxygen vacancies, and the other is mimicking natural nitrogenase for constructing artificial systems for N2 fixation. Several representative works focusing on these aspects in artificial systems have been reported recently, and it has been demonstrated that both factors play more significant roles in photocatalytic N2 re-duction and fixation under ambient conditions. At the end of the review, I also give some remarks and perspective on the existing challenges and future directions in this field.展开更多
The fabrication of efficient catalysts to reduce nitrogen(N_(2))to ammonia(NH3)is a significant challenge for artificial N_(2) fixation under mild conditions.In this work,we demonstrated that the simultaneous introduc...The fabrication of efficient catalysts to reduce nitrogen(N_(2))to ammonia(NH3)is a significant challenge for artificial N_(2) fixation under mild conditions.In this work,we demonstrated that the simultaneous introduction of oxygen vacancies(OVs)and Mo dopants into Bi_(5)O_(7)Br nanosheets can significantly increase the activity for photocatalytic N_(2) fixation.The 1 mol% Mo-doped Bi_(5)O_(7)Br nanosheets exhibited an optimal NH_(3) generation rate of 122.9μmol g^(-1) h^(-1) and durable stability,which is attributed to their optimized conduction band position,suitable absorption edge,large number of light-switchable OVs,and improved charge carrier separation.This work provides a promising approach to design photocatalysts with light-switchable OVs for N_(2) reduction to NH_(3) under mild conditions,highlighting the wide application scope of nanostructured BiOBr-based photocatalysts as effective N_(2) fixation systems.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41571464)Education Department of Liaoning Province,China(L2014145)Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province,China(201602467)~~
文摘Ammonia synthesis via the Haber-Bosch process, which has been heralded as the most important invention of the 20 th century, consumes massive amounts of energy, around 1%–2% of the world’s annual energy consumption. Developing green and sustainable strategies for NH3 synthesis under ambient conditions, using renewable energy, is strongly desired, by both industrial and sci-entific researchers. Artificial photosynthesis for ammonia synthesis, which has recently attracted significant attention, directly produces NH3 from sunlight, and N2 and H2O via photocatalysis. This has been regarded as an ideal, energy-saving and environmentally-benign process for NH3 produc-tion because it can be performed under normal temperature and atmospheric pressure using re-newable solar energy. Although sustainable developments have been achieved since the pioneering work in 1977, many challenging issues（e.g., adsorption and activation of nitrogen molecules on the surface of photocatalysts under mild conditions） have still not been well solved and the photocata-lytic activities are generally low. In this miniature review, I summarize the most recent progress of photocatalytic N2 fixation for ammonia synthesis, focusing specifically on two attractive aspects for adsorption and activation of nitrogen molecules： one is engineering of oxygen vacancies, and the other is mimicking natural nitrogenase for constructing artificial systems for N2 fixation. Several representative works focusing on these aspects in artificial systems have been reported recently, and it has been demonstrated that both factors play more significant roles in photocatalytic N2 re-duction and fixation under ambient conditions. At the end of the review, I also give some remarks and perspective on the existing challenges and future directions in this field.
文摘The fabrication of efficient catalysts to reduce nitrogen(N_(2))to ammonia(NH3)is a significant challenge for artificial N_(2) fixation under mild conditions.In this work,we demonstrated that the simultaneous introduction of oxygen vacancies(OVs)and Mo dopants into Bi_(5)O_(7)Br nanosheets can significantly increase the activity for photocatalytic N_(2) fixation.The 1 mol% Mo-doped Bi_(5)O_(7)Br nanosheets exhibited an optimal NH_(3) generation rate of 122.9μmol g^(-1) h^(-1) and durable stability,which is attributed to their optimized conduction band position,suitable absorption edge,large number of light-switchable OVs,and improved charge carrier separation.This work provides a promising approach to design photocatalysts with light-switchable OVs for N_(2) reduction to NH_(3) under mild conditions,highlighting the wide application scope of nanostructured BiOBr-based photocatalysts as effective N_(2) fixation systems.
