Photocatalytic Reduction Of N2 Research Articles

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

Nitrogen (N2) reduction to produce ammonia (NH3) is one of the most important chemical processes globally. Nowadays, the Haber–Bosch process is the main industrial procedure for artificial N2 fixation, which requires extremely harsh synthetic conditions and large energy consumption resulting in massive emission of greenhouse gas. Hence, an alternative photosynthesis of NH3 under mild condition, which is sustainable and less energy consuming, would be highly desirable. In this study, Au nanoparticles modified (BiO)2CO3 nanodisks were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal method followed by chemical bath deposition and investigated for the photocatalytic reduction of N2 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)2CO3 hybrid, thereby promoting overall energy conversion efficiency. The synergetic effect of the nanostructured gold/bismutite hybrid results in hig...

Photo-illuminated diamond as a solid-state source of solvated electrons in water for nitrogen reduction

The photocatalytic reduction of N₂ to NH₃ is typically hampered by poor binding of N₂ to catalytic materials and by the very high energy of the intermediates involved in this reaction. Solvated electrons directly introduced into the reactant solution can provide an alternative pathway to overcome such limitations. Here we demonstrate that illuminated hydrogen-terminated diamond yields facile electron emission into water, thus inducing reduction of N₂ to NH₃ at ambient temperature and pressure. Transient absorption measurements at 632 nm reveal the presence of solvated electrons adjacent to the diamond after photoexcitation. Experiments using inexpensive synthetic diamond samples and diamond powder show that photocatalytic activity is strongly dependent on the surface termination and correlates with the production of solvated electrons. The use of diamond to eject electrons into a reactant liquid represents a new paradigm for photocatalytic reduction, bringing electrons directly to reactants without requiring molecular adsorption to the surface.

Photocatalytic reduction of N2 to NH 3 sensitized by the [RuIII-ethylenediaminetetraacetate-2,2′-bipyridyl]− complex in a Pt-TiO2 semiconductor particulate system

The complex K[RuIII(EDTA)(bipy)] (where EDTA denotes ethylenediaminetetraacetate, and bipy denotes 2,2′-bipyridyl) was synthesized and characterized. The photophysical properties of this complex were studied and its application as photosensitizer in the photoreduction of N2 to NH3 in a Pt-TiO2 semiconductor particulate system is reported.