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Defect-engineered WO3−x nanosheets for optimized photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production

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Abstract

Developing artificial N2 fixation and hydrogen production using mild, green, clean, and reliable sunlight is of great significance. In this study, the photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production performances of WO3−x were improved by oxygen vacancies engineering. WO3−x nanosheets with oxygen-rich defects were readily synthesized by hydrogen reduction treatment. WO3−x exhibits a two-dimensional nanosheets structure, and the introduction of oxygen defects affects its energy band structure. The slight narrowing of the band gap and the increase of the conduction band facilitate the transfer of photogenerated charges and increase the reducibility of WO3−x. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and N2-temperature programmed desorption (N2-TPD) prove that oxygen vacancies can regulate the adsorption and activation of N2 molecules. W500 specimen has a photocatalytic nitrogen fixation activity of 28.4 μmol g−1 h−1 and a hydrogen production activity of 60.4 μmol g−1 h−1 under the full spectrum. It is hoped that oxygen vacancies engineering can provide some inspiration for the rational design and optimization of efficient photocatalytic fixation of N2 and hydrogen production.

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The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and supplementary materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (22366018, 21962006, 22272034), Jiangxi Province “Double Thousand” Talent Training Plan (jxsq2023201086, Hou Yang, jxsq2023102141), Jiangxi Provincial Academic and Technical Leaders Training Program--Young Talents (20204BCJL23037), Key Projects of Jiangxi Natural Science Foundation (20232ACB203022), Program of Qingjiang Excellent Young Talents, JXUST (JXUSTQJBJ2020005), Ganzhou Young Talents Program of Jiangxi Province (204301000111), Postdoctoral Research Projects of Jiangxi Province in 2020 (204302600031), Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation (20224BAB203018, 20212BAB213016) and the Foundation Engineering Research Center of Tungsten Resources High-Efficiency Development and Application Technology of the Ministry of Education (W-2021YB003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou, 341000, Jiangxi, China

    Kaiyang Shi, Fulin Wang, Xiangwei Li, Weiya Huang, Kangqiang Lu & Kai Yang

  2. School of Chemical Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, 525000, Guangdong, China

    Changlin Yu

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  1. Kaiyang Shi
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Contributions

Conceptualization, K.Y.; methodology, K.Y., C.Y. and K.L.; investigation, K.S.; resources, K.Y., C.Y., K.L. and W.H.; data curation, X.L.; writing—original draft preparation, K.S. and F.W.; writing—review and editing, K.S. and X.L.; visualization, K.S.; supervision, K.Y. and C.Y.; project administration, K.Y. and C.Y.; funding acquisition, K.Y. and C.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Changlin Yu or Kai Yang.

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Shi, K., Wang, F., Li, X. et al. Defect-engineered WO3−x nanosheets for optimized photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production. J Mater Sci 58, 16309–16321 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-09093-z

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