Chemically Bonded Schottky Junction for Efficient N2 Photofixation

Construction of the Schottky junction is a promising strategy for realizing efficient photocatalytic N2 fixation; however, the reported Schottky junction photocatalysts are mainly constructed via physical stacking or Van der Waals interaction with much room to improve performance. Herein, a chemically bonded Schottky junction photocatalyst is constructed for the fixation of N2 to NH3 production. The photocatalyst exhibits a unique 1D necklace-like morphology with hollow ZnCo bimetal sulfide (ZnCoSx) nanocages strung by carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Experimental and theoretical results reveal that the formation of C–O–Co chemical bonds at the interface not only provides an atomic transportation highway for charge transfer but also modulates the electronic structure of Co active sites toward enhanced N2 chemisorption and activation. The elaborately designed CNT/ZnCoSx junction with a chemically bonded interface exhibits superior nitrogen fixation activity with an NH3 yield of 1644 μmol g–1 h–1 in pure water. This study paves the way for the development of efficient Schottky junction photocatalysts for their applications.