High-Efficiency Photocatalytic Ammonia Synthesis by FacetOrientation-Supported Heterojunction Cu2O@BiOCl[100] Boostedby Double Built-In Electric Fields

In this work, the advantages of in situ loading,heterojunction construction, and facet regulation were integrated basedon the poly-facet-exposed BiOCl single crystal, and a facet-orientedsupported heterojunction of Cu2O and BiOCl was fabricated (Cu2O@BiOCl[100]). The photocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (pNRR)activity of Cu2O@BiOCl[100] was as high as 181.9 mu molmiddotg-1middoth-1, which is4.09, 7.13, and 1.83 times that of Cu2O, BiOCl, and Cu2O@BiOCl-ran(Cu2O randomly supported on BiOCl). Combined with the results of thephotodeposition experiment, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy character-ization, and DFT calculation, the mechanism of Cu2O@BiOCl[100] forpNRR was discussed. When Cu2O directionally loaded on the [100] facet of BiOCl, electrons generated by Cu2O will be transmittedto the [100] facet of BiOCl through Z-scheme electron transmission. Due to the directional separation characteristics of charge inBiOCl, the electrons transmitted from Cu2O are enriched on the [001] facet of BiOCl, which will together with the originalelectrons generated by pristine BiOCl act on pNRR, thus greatly improving the activity of photocatalytic ammonia synthesis. Thus, anew construction scheme of biphasic semiconductor heterojunction was proposed, which provides a reference research idea fordesigning and synthesizing high-performance photocatalysts for nitrogen reduction.

Automated summary

In this study, a facet-oriented supported heterojunction of Cu2O and BiOCl (Cu2O@BiOCl[100]) was fabricated based on the poly-facet-exposed BiOCl single crystal. The photocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (pNRR) activity of Cu2O@BiOCl[100] was significantly enhanced compared to Cu2O, BiOCl, and Cu2O@BiOCl-ran. The mechanism of Cu2O@BiOCl[100] for pNRR was discussed, showcasing the potential of this construction scheme for designing high-performance photocatalysts for nitrogen reduction.