Efficient Visible Light Nitrogen Fixation with BiOBr Nanosheets of Oxygen Vacancies on the Exposed {001} Facets

Even though the well-established Haber-Bosch process has been the major artificial way to "fertilize" the earth, its energy-intensive nature has been motivating people to learn from nitrogenase, which can fix atmospheric N2 to NH3 in vivo under mild conditions with its precisely arranged proteins. Here we demonstrate that efficient fixation of N2 to NH3 can proceed under room temperature and atmospheric pressure in water using visible light illuminated BiOBr nanosheets of oxygen vacancies in the absence of any organic scavengers and precious-metal cocatalysts. The designed catalytic oxygen vacancies of BiOBr nanosheets on the exposed {001} facets, with the availability of localized electrons for…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 21177048, 51472100, 21425728
• MO
  Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China

  Award: 2013CB632402