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Electro- and photocatalytic reduction of N 2 to NH 3 —the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR)—is an environmentally- and energy-friendly alternative to the Haber-Bosch process for ammonia production. There is a great demand for the development of novel semiconductor-based electrocatalysts with high efficiency and stability for the direct conversion of inert substrates—including N 2 to ammonia—using visible light irradiation under ambient conditions. Herein we report electro-, and photocatalytic NRR with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), viz MoS 2 and WS 2 . Improved acid treatment of bulk TMDCs yields exfoliated TMDCs (exTMDCs) only a few layers thick with ∼10% S vacancies. Linear scan voltammograms on exMoS 2 and exWS 2 electrodes reveal significant NRR activity for exTMDC-modified electrodes, which is greatly enhanced by visible light illumination. Spectral measurements confirm ammonia as the main reaction product of electrocatalytic and photocatalytic NRR, and the absence of hydrazine byproduct. Femtosecond-resolved transient absorption studies provide direct evidence of interaction between photo-generated excitons/trions with N 2 adsorbed at S vacancies. DFT calculations corroborate N 2 binding to exMoS 2 at S-vacancies, with substantial π -backbonding to activate dinitrogen. Our findings suggest that chemically functionalized exTMDC materials could fulfill the need for highly-desired, inexpensive catalysts for the sustainable production of NH 3 using Sunlight under neutral pH conditions without appreciable competing production of H 2 .
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Promoting nitrogen photofixation over a periodic WS 2 @TiO 2 nanoporous film
Atmospheric nitrogen fixation using a photocatalytic system is a promising approach to produce ammonia. However, most of the recently explored photocatalysts for N 2 fixation are in the powder form, suffering from agglomeration and difficulty in the collection and leading to unsatisfactory conversion efficiency. Developing efficient film catalysts for N 2 photofixation under ambient conditions remains challenging. Herein, we report the efficient photofixation of N 2 over a periodic WS 2 @TiO 2 nanoporous film, which is fabricated through a facile method that combines anodization, E-beam evaporation, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Oxygen vacancies are introduced into TiO 2 nanoporous films through Ar annealing treatment, which plays a vital role in N 2 adsorption and activation. The periodic WS 2 @TiO 2 nanoporous film with an optimized WS 2 content shows highly efficient photocatalytic performance for N 2 fixation with an NH 3 evolution rate of 1.39 mmol g −1 h −1 , representing one of the state-of-the-art catalysts.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1851674
- PAR ID:
- 10132710
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- Volume:
- 8
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2050-7488
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1059 to 1065
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TA12743G
