Enhancement of built-in electric field strength of BiOCl/NMT Z-scheme heterojunctions through photoinitiated defects for optimized photocatalytic performance

Abstract

Facilitating carrier migration within Z-scheme heterojunctions is essential for improving the efficiency of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation. Herein, we successfully constructed BiOCl/NMT Z-scheme heterojunctions by a simple solvothermal process and adsorption–deposition methods. Under photoinitiation, BiOCl quantum dots could be transformed into defective structures with more oxygen vacancies. Increasing the concentration of oxygen vacancies in BiOCl not only altered the energy band structure, but also further modulated the position of the Fermi energy level (Ef). The downward migration of the Ef of BiOCl enhanced the built-in electric field (BEF) strength between it and NMT, which enabled the rapid separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. 0.05-BiOCl/NMT expressed optimal nitrogen reduction performance along with NH3 generation at a rate of 88.6 μmol g−1 h−1. The nitrogen fixation rate of 0.05-BiOCl/NMT was 8.5 and 2.7 times higher than that of BiOCl and NMT. This work adjusted the BEF intensity by a straightforward self-conversion to a defective structure, which offered fresh insights into the promotion of carrier separation in photocatalytic nitrogen fixation.

Graphical abstract: Enhancement of built-in electric field strength of BiOCl/NMT Z-scheme heterojunctions through photoinitiated defects for optimized photocatalytic performance

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Jun 2025
Accepted
10 Jul 2025
First published
23 Jul 2025

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article

Enhancement of built-in electric field strength of BiOCl/NMT Z-scheme heterojunctions through photoinitiated defects for optimized photocatalytic performance

L. Wang, X. Wu, Y. Zhang, Y. Wang, Q. Zhu, Y. Wang, J. Li, G. Liu and Z. Hou, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5TC02216A

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