Fe S bridged CdS/MIL-68(Fe) heterojunction for biomimetic photocatalytic N2 fixation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Inspired by biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) via nitrogenase, researchers develop novel metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-based photocatalytic nitrogen fixation (PNF) systems to address the challenge of activating N2. However, the inherent low mobility of charge carriers in MOFs results in insufficient migration of photogenerated electrons to active sites for N2 reduction. In this work, a series of CdS/MIL-68(Fe) heterojunctions (x%CdS/MF) were successfully developed by in-situ growth of various mass fractions of ultrafine CdS nanoparticles (about 5.0 nm) for biomimetic photocatalytic N2 fixation. A tightly combined interface between MIL-68(Fe) and CdS via a Fe‒S bond induces interfacial electric field, promoting the charge mobility. CdS functions as an electron donor (the role of the Fe protein in nitrogenase) to transfer additional electrons to the active sites (the role of the FeMo-cofactor in nitrogenase), i.e. the coordinatively unsaturated Fe sites in MIL-68(Fe). Consequently, CdS/MIL-68(Fe) heterojunctions effectively mimic the behavior of the two fundamental components in nitrogenase. 10%CdS/MF exhibits the highest NH4+ production rate (51.6 µmol·h–1·g–1), which is 15.6 and 5.1 times higher than those of unmodified MIL-68(Fe) and pristine CdS, respectively. This work sheds new light on the rational design of MOF-based photocatalysts for biomimetic N2 fixation.
Authors: Qi Chen, Zewei Zhang, Yueling Chen, Jimmy C. Yu, Cheng Liu, Ling Wu
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,950
Awards: G4880256142, G7812991729
OpenAlex ID: W4413154167