Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation Coupled with the Generation of Value-Added Chemicals from N 2 and Cellulose over MoO 3 Nanosheets.

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation from N 2 provides an alternative strategy for ammonia (NH 3 ) production, but it was limited by the consumption of a sacrificial electron donor for the currently reported half-reaction system. Here, we use naturally abundant and renewable cellulose as the sacrificial reagent for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation over oxygen-vacancy-modified MoO 3 nanosheets as the photocatalyst. In this smartly designed photocatalytic system, the photooxidation of cellulose not only generates value-added chemicals but also provides electrons for the N 2 reduction reaction and results in the production of NH 3 with a maximum rate of 68 μmol·h -1 ·g -1 . Also, the oxygen vacancies provide efficient active sites for both cellulose oxygenolysis and nitrogen fixation reactions. This work represents useful inspiration for realizing nitrogen fixation coupled with the generation of value-added chemicals from N 2 and cellulose through a photocatalysis strategy.