Issue 7, 2023

Understanding the role of Ce sites for boosting PEC-NIRR without externally applied potentials

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (PEC-NIRR) is a promising technology of nitrogen fixation, which has the advantages of mild conditions and small carbon footprint. However, due to the low selectivity and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), PEC-NIRR still faces a critical challenge to achieve the efficient production of NH3. For the first time, in this study, Ce-doped p-BiVO4 was fabricated and applied to PEC-NIRR. Ce3+ mainly replaced the Bi3+ sites in the p-BiVO4 matrix, and the reversible redox ability of Ce effectively promoted internal carrier migration and surface catalytic kinetics. Without the externally applied potentials (0 V vs. RHE), 1.5% Ce–BiVO4 showed desirable activity, and the NH3 yield of 1.5% Ce–BiVO4 reached 31.54 μg h−1 cm−2, which is 3.9 times that of p-BiVO4. The selectivity of NH3 (relative to NO2) was enhanced to 24.5 times, compared with that of pristine p-BiVO4. In addition, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy verified that the source of N was entirely NO3. Therefore, this work identifies the critical role of Ce sites for tailoring the nature of p-BiVO4 for efficient PEC-NIRR.

Graphical abstract: Understanding the role of Ce sites for boosting PEC-NIRR without externally applied potentials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
29 Dez 2022
Accepted
21 Feb 2023
First published
22 Feb 2023

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 2060-2066

Understanding the role of Ce sites for boosting PEC-NIRR without externally applied potentials

L. Liu, Y. Bai, Z. Huang, G. Wang, J. Cui, H. Bai and W. Fan, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023, 10, 2060 DOI: 10.1039/D2QI02764J

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