0D/2D AgInS2/MXene Z-scheme heterojunction nanosheets for improved ammonia photosynthesis of N2

In order to explore efficient photocatalysts for N2 reduction reaction (NRR), 0D AgInS2 nanoparticles and 2D MXene (Ti3C2) nanosheets with different mass ratios are employed for building Z-scheme heterostructures. The resultant hybrids exhibit excellent interfacial charge transfer ability according to their optical and photo-electro properties. As a result, the obtained composite (30 wt% AgInS2) shows significant improvement on the photocatalytic performance for N2 fixation with a high ammonia yield rate of 38.8 μmol/(g∙h) under visible-light illumination (>400 nm). Meanwhile, the DFT calculations show that the activation of N2 in a dinuclear end-on bound structure could lead to high adsorption energy (Ead = −5.20 eV). Moreover, the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity was proposed in terms of the quantum calculation between Ti3C2 and N2. This work provides new systems for enhanced NRR performance.