Surface etching induced ultrathin sandwich structure realizing enhanced photocatalytic activity

Photocatalytic conversion efficiency is limited by serious charge carrier recombination. Efficient carrier separation is usually achieved by elegantly-designed multi-component structures connected by directional electric field. Herein, we developed a two-dimensional (2D) sandwich structure, as a new photocatalytic system, to realize high-efficiency carrier separation. This strategy integrated multifunction into a single structure for the first time, which successfully introduces a stable built-in electric field, realizing high-effective carrier separation. Besides, the carrier concentration is dramatically increased due to dimensional confinement. Benefiting from above synergic advantages, 2D sandwich photocatalyst achieves the highest nitrogen fixation rate (435 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)) in inorganic solid photocatalysts under visible light irradiation. We anticipate that 2D sandwich photocatalyst holds promises for the application and expansion of 2D materials in photocatalysis research.