Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites
Gaseous nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere, and its efficient conversion to ammonia is vital to the future of a greener and more sustainable world. Since the N≡N covalent triple bond is difficult to break, the adsorption and activation of N2 molecules on the photocatalyst surface are critical to...
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Tsinghua University Press
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Advanced Ceramics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221070 |
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| author | Xinzhu Qian Xianpeng Liang Taiyan Ding Xing Ji Junhao Shao Siqiang Feng Chunliang Zhou Jianku Shang Qi Li |
| author_facet | Xinzhu Qian Xianpeng Liang Taiyan Ding Xing Ji Junhao Shao Siqiang Feng Chunliang Zhou Jianku Shang Qi Li |
| author_sort | Xinzhu Qian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gaseous nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere, and its efficient conversion to ammonia is vital to the future of a greener and more sustainable world. Since the N≡N covalent triple bond is difficult to break, the adsorption and activation of N2 molecules on the photocatalyst surface are critical to improve the efficiency of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation. In this work, Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets were synthesized by a hydrothermal reduction process with a weak reducing agent of glyoxal, which created more oxygen vacancies on their surfaces. Furthermore, their surface acidity was modulated by subsequent heat treatment in an Ar atmosphere. Thus, the effects of the oxygen vacancy and surface acidity on the photocatalytic nitrogen fixation performance of these Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets could be investigated. It was found that both factors contributed to the adsorption/activation of N2 and the charge carrier separation/transfer in these Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets. Owing to their synergistic effect, a high ammonia yield of 173.7 μmol/(g·h) was achieved by these Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets through photocatalysis in pure water under simulated solar illumination without assistance from either sacrificial agents or cocatalysts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d798ea59aa0f4058b6a4e09aae7343e5 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2226-4108 2227-8508 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Tsinghua University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Advanced Ceramics |
| spelling | doaj-art-d798ea59aa0f4058b6a4e09aae7343e52025-08-20T03:16:07ZengTsinghua University PressJournal of Advanced Ceramics2226-41082227-85082025-05-01145922107010.26599/JAC.2025.9221070Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sitesXinzhu Qian0Xianpeng Liang1Taiyan Ding2Xing Ji3Junhao Shao4Siqiang Feng5Chunliang Zhou6Jianku Shang7Qi Li8Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, ChinaShenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaYantai Research Institute, Harbin Engineering University, Yantai 264000, ChinaShenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaGaseous nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere, and its efficient conversion to ammonia is vital to the future of a greener and more sustainable world. Since the N≡N covalent triple bond is difficult to break, the adsorption and activation of N2 molecules on the photocatalyst surface are critical to improve the efficiency of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation. In this work, Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets were synthesized by a hydrothermal reduction process with a weak reducing agent of glyoxal, which created more oxygen vacancies on their surfaces. Furthermore, their surface acidity was modulated by subsequent heat treatment in an Ar atmosphere. Thus, the effects of the oxygen vacancy and surface acidity on the photocatalytic nitrogen fixation performance of these Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets could be investigated. It was found that both factors contributed to the adsorption/activation of N2 and the charge carrier separation/transfer in these Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets. Owing to their synergistic effect, a high ammonia yield of 173.7 μmol/(g·h) was achieved by these Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets through photocatalysis in pure water under simulated solar illumination without assistance from either sacrificial agents or cocatalysts.https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221070nb2o5·nh2o nanosheetsoxygen vacanciesacid sitesphotocatalytic nitrogen fixationn2 adsorption and activation |
| spellingShingle | Xinzhu Qian Xianpeng Liang Taiyan Ding Xing Ji Junhao Shao Siqiang Feng Chunliang Zhou Jianku Shang Qi Li Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites Journal of Advanced Ceramics nb2o5·nh2o nanosheets oxygen vacancies acid sites photocatalytic nitrogen fixation n2 adsorption and activation |
| title | Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites |
| title_full | Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites |
| title_short | Enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin Nb2O5·nH2O nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites |
| title_sort | enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation on ultrathin nb2o5·nh2o nanosheets in pure water through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and acid sites |
| topic | nb2o5·nh2o nanosheets oxygen vacancies acid sites photocatalytic nitrogen fixation n2 adsorption and activation |
| url | https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221070 |
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