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 N-2 to NH3 in vivo under mild conditions with its precisely arranged proteins. Here we demonstrate that efficient fixation of N-2 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 pi-back-donation, have the ability to activate the adsorbed N-2, which can thus be efficiently reduced to NH3 by the interfacial electrons transferred from the excited BiOBr nanosheets. This study might open up a new vista to fix atmospheric N-2 to NH3 through the less energy-demanding photochemical process.