Background

The production of ammonia in the nitrogen cycle plays an essential role in sustaining life. Recently, clean and efficient photocatalytic processes for the synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen under mild conditions have been considered. However, progress in the design of efficient photocatalysts operating in the visible region for the nitrogen fixation reaction remains a challenge.

Methods

For the first time, a novel visible-light-driven g-C₃N₄ nanosheet/Cu₃V₂O₈ photocatalyst with prominent photocatalytic nitrogen fixation ability was synthesized by a facile calcination synthetic method. The purity, morphology, crystallinity, optical property, and chemical composition of prepared samples were investigated by XRD, FT-IR, DRS, PL, FESEM, TEM, HRTEM, EDX, XPS, and photoelectrochemical techniques.

Significant Findings

The g-C₃N₄ nanosheet/Cu₃V₂O₈ nanocomposite exhibited an outstanding improved photocatalytic ammonium generation of 3850 μmol L⁻¹ g⁻¹, which was 2.6 and 4.3 times higher than that of g-C₃N₄ nanosheet and Cu₃V₂O₈. The positive effect of n-n-heterojunction formation increased photocatalytic activity through the built-in electric field between g-C₃N₄ nanosheet and Cu₃V₂O₈, transferring electron-hole pairs and extending the life of charge carriers. High efficiency and reusability of the photocatalyst after 5 consecutive tests show the prepared nanocomposite potential for large-scale photocatalytic processes.